The French Book Speaks Spreadsheet

Page Line W. Fol. Text Context In Source?
12 27 missing/12 "whether it were Powlis or not the Frensshe booke maketh no mencyon" Cathedral where the sword in the stone appears as a divine test of kingship No--it established Malory's concern for accuracy and links the sword ordeal to the place in London where official government announcements were made, like the Chancellor's proclamation of Edward IV's victory at Towton in April 1461 (Richmond "Hand" 234).
162 3 60v/162 "For as the booke rehersyth in Freynsch there was this many knyghtes that overmacched sir Gawayne for al his thryse double myghte that he had" (Lancelot, Trystram, Bors, Precyvale, Pelleas and Marhaus) Marhaus, having withstood Gawayne's maximum "solar" strength, halts the battle as Gawayne is nearly defeated; Gawayne accepts graciously Yes but Malory adds Pelles and Percyvale in place of Hector and Gaherietz
180 3 70v/180 "but Pelleas loved never after sir Gawayne but as he spared him for the love of the kynge but oftyntymes at justis and at turnementes sir Pelleas quytte sir Gawayne for so hit rehersyth in the booke of Frensh" Pelleas and Marhalte are made RT knights and win the prize at the Pentecostal tournement No, it reverses the source's reconcilliation of Gawayne and Pelleas, points (erroneously) forward to Pelleas in the "Sankgreall" and allows the Damesall of the Laake to prevent Pelleas from fighting against Lancelot
180 15 70v/180 "Here endyth this tale as the Freynshe booke seyth fro the maryage of kynge Uther unto kyng Arthure that regned aftir hym and ded many batayles..." After Arthur's wars of legitimation, Malory's first explicit calls on readers to "seke other bookis of kynge Arthure or of sir Launcelot or sir Trystrams" and says "this was drawyn by a knyght presoner sir Thomas Malleorre that God send hym good recover" No, it cuts off the Suite du Merlin, anticipates knights who receive special treatment, and constructs a service relationship with his readers and God.  Having "drawyn" this tale, he can urge others to seek "bookis" and to ask God for rescue from prison.
253 14 96v/253 "So this sir Launcelot encresed so mervaylously in worship and honoure therefore he is the fyrste knyght that the Frey[n]sh booke makyth me[n]cion of aftir kynge Arthure com frome Rome" Part of the "Lancelot" segment's inrtroduction: reiterates its position as a sequel to the Roman War, Lancelot's preeminence in that war, Gwenyvere's love for Lancelot, and his battles for her, including when he "saved her from the fyre." No, it constructs authority for putting Prose Lancelot matter after the Roman War, with which it never has been connected, and forecasts Lancelot's three battles to save Gwenyvere from execution, perhaps as far as Gareth's accidental killing
286 14 112v/286 "And as it tellyth in the Frenshe booke whan he com unto Rome the Pope there bade hym go agayne unto quene Gwenyver and in Rome was his lady buryed by the Popys commaundement" At the end of the last episode of the "Lancelot" segment, Pedyvere does penance for killing his wife while she rode under Lancelot's safe conduct No, it gives Pedyvere the same kind of "ending" Lancelot receives after killing Gareth: "And after thys knyght sir Pedyvere fell to grete goodnesse and was an holy man and an hermyte"
362 24 147v/362 "Also there was grete justys three dayes but the kynge wolde nat suffir sir Gareth to juste because of his new bryde for as the Freynsh boke seyth that dame Lyonesse desyred of the kyng that none that were wedded sholde juste at that feste" Introduces the tournement of Gareth's wedding at which Lamerok, Trystram, and Launcelot are the victors; Lamerok and Trystram "departed suddeynly" and Gareth, Gahereis, and Aggravayne are married to Lyonesse, Lyonette, and Lawrell No, it authorizes the lady's ethic of restraint in the jousting much as the Damesall of the Laak restrained Pelleas from encountering Lancelot and it excuses Gareth from the tournement whose victors will lead the next segment, the "Trystram"
384 1 155r/384 "So sir Trystrames lay there a moneth and more and ever he was lyke to dey of the stroke that sir Marhalte smote hym fyrst with wyth the spere for as the Frenshe booke seyth the sperehede was invenymed that sir Trystrams myght nat be hole" Outcome of Trystram's duel with Marhalte which leads to his voyage to Ireland to be cured Yes.  
419 20 173v/419 "But evir as the Frenshe booke seyth sir Trystrames and La Beale Isode loved ever togedyrs" Just after Lancelot has defeated Carados and rescued Gawayne from imprisonment, Trystram is told of the deed, and Malory ends with this comment Check Prose Tristan!  Probably not, but it is certainly true of the tale.  Why emphasize enduring love using his keyword, "togedyrs" at this point?  To contrast with Gawayne's later hate.
435 2 181r/435 As for [other] fleyshely lustys sir Trystrames had never ado with hir suche mencion makyth the Freynshe booke.  Also hit makyth mencion that the lady wente there had be no plesure but kyssynge and clyppynge" Trystram weds Isode le Blaunche Maynes but the memory of La Beale Isode drives lust from his heart, save for "kyssynge and clyppynge," which temporarily satisfies his bride Check Pros Tristan!  Vinaver points out the second "mencion" is a near translation of the French.
476 24 195v/476 "And also as the Freynshe booke makith mencion sir La Cote Male Tayle revenged the deth of hys fadir" After liberating prisoners from the tower of Sir Plenoryus and his three brothers, the victors divide the lands of the conquered and take them in service, and Malory summarizes the returns to Arthur of LCMT, Lancelot, Plenoryus, Kay, Brandiles No--"This occurs in no other version of the story of La Cote, but the pattern of the denouement is a familiar one..." (EV 1468).  Typically for a "No" passage, it ends a narrative segment, or in this case, several interlaced segments.
493 7 201r/493 "And as the Freynshe booke makith mension at the first tyme that ever sir Kayhidins saw La Beall Isode he was so enamered uppon hir that for very pure love he myght never withdraw hit" Trystram and La Beall Isode are reunited after Trystram saves Arthur from the sorceress, Aunowre; "And at the last as ye shall hyre or the booke be ended sir Keyhydyns dyed for the love of Isode" Check Prose Tristan!  Probably it's there but the continuation of Keyhaydins' death is never told, only referred to (698)
533 17 219r/533 "And so as the Freynshe booke sayeth they com home all fyve well beatyn" Trystram is victorious over Palomydes and Gaherys at the Castle of Maidens tournement and takes refuge with an old knight whose five sons are referred to here.. No--"The reference to the Freynshe booke, false like most such references, concerns the incorrect prophecy that all the sons of Darras will come home beaten" (1477)
540 23 222v/540 "And as the Freynshe booke sayth there cam fourty knyghtes to sir Darras that were of hys owne kynne and they wolde have slayne sir Trystram and hys felowis but sir Darras wolde nat [suffre that] but [kepte] them in preson and met and drynke they had" Trystram is imprisoned by a knight whose sons he killed at the Castle of Maidens tournament.  Malory then adds his meditation on sickness while in prison: "the grettist payne a presoner may have." Check Prose Tristan!  Probably it's a summary of events.  EV notes W has it wrong (1478 re: 26, "put them in preson").
555 1 227v "But as the Freynshe booke seyde quene Morgan loved sir Launcelot beste and ever she desired hym and he wolde never love her nor do nothing at her rekeyste and therefore she hylde many knyghtes toydir to have taken hym by strengthe" To insult Arthur's court, Morgan gives Trystram the shield with a knight standing with his feet on a king's and queen's head.  Malory says Morgan "demed that sir Launcelot loved quene Gwenyver paramour and she hym agayne" because he does not love Morgan. Check Prose Tristan!  Possibly but the comments about Morgan's love for Lancelot and suspicions about his affair with the queen harken back to the "Lancelot" segment Malory constructed from Prose Lancelot materials.
791 5 322r As the booke of Frenshe makyth mencion afore the tyme that sir Galahad was begotyn or borne there cam in an ermyte unto kynge Arthure uppon a Whitsonday as the knyghtes sate at the Table Rounde" Malory's transition from the failed judicial combat between Trystram and Palomydes, and Lancelot's command to his kin not to harm Trystram, to Galahad's engendering upon Elaine Check but probably it's a translation of the French
1069 10 417v "But as the Freynshe booke seyth the kynge wold nat suffir sir Gawayne to go frome hym for never had sir Gawayne the bettir and sir Launcelot were in the fylde" In the midst of the Winchester joust, Malory breaks in to explain why Gawayne wasn't on the field, and adds "and many tymes was sir Gawayne rebuked so whan sir Launcelot was in the fylde in ony justis dysgysed" Yes--but Malory drops Gaheriet and changes Arthur's motivation to protecting Gayane from defeat from the French text in which the king fears "a fight or bad feelings [would] spring up between them" if one were injured.
1073 2 420r "And there sir Launcelot with hys swerde smote downe and pulled downe as the Freynsh booke seyth mo than thirty knyghtes and the moste party were of the Table Rounde" Lancelot continues to defeat Round-Table knights wearing Elayne's sleeve No--Malory emphasizes that Lancelot is fighting Arthur's knights
1082 30 424r "So thys maydyn Elayne never wente frome sir Launcelot but wacched hym day andnyght and dud such attendaunce to hym that the Freynshe booke seyth there was never womandyd never more kyndlyer for man" Elayne le Blanke tends Lancelot's wounds and prepares to die for love Yes--"Thus the girl loved sir Lancelot as much as was humanly possible."
1112 6 433r "And as the Freynshe booke sayth sir Launcelot mervayled whan he behylde sir Gareth do such dedis what knyght he myght be and sir Lavayne smote and pulled downe mo than twenty knyghtes and yet for all thys sir Launcelot knew nat sir Gareth" In the Great Tournement, Gareth joins Launcelot anonymously "to beare you felyshyp for the olde love ye have shewed unto me" and fights so well Launcelot thinks he might be Trystram or Lamorak if either one "had been on lyve" No--There is no "Freynshe booke" for this forecast of Lancelot's inability to recognize Gareth in battle and Gareth's likeness to two great knights undone by betrayal, and it recalls Launcelot's identification and sparing of Ector and Lyonell (1072)
1123 23 437r "For as the Freynshe booke seyth sir Pelleas gaff such buffettis there that none armoure myght holde hym" With Braundiles, Persaunte, and Ironsyde, Pelleas reluctantly surrenders to Mellyagaunt's men who are kidnapping Guenyvere after having disabled the other six guards.  No--Pelleas does not appear in the French text, and Malory also introduces Persaunte and Ironsyde, who became Gareth's vassals in the "Gareth" segment.  Vinaver speculates on order of composition (1607, liv-lv).  Malory repeats their praise, 437v/1124-5.
1130 1 440r "Than as the Freynsh booke saythe sir Launcelot was called many dayes aftyr le shyvalere de charyotte and so he ded many dedys and grete adventures" After Mellyagaunte has surrendered at Lancelot's mere appearance in his castle's courtyard, the queen makes peace with him and is pleased to see Lancelot. No--this transitional device works like those on 180, 286, and 476 which end narrative sub-segments whereas for the French text the ensuing duel with Mellyagaunte is part of Chrétien's Chevalier and an interlacement in the Prose Lancelot.
1145 1 444v "Than as the Freynshe boke makith mencion there was a good knyght in the londe of Hungre whos name was sir Urre and he was an adventurys knyght and in all placis where he myght here ony adventures dedis and of worshyp there wold he be" After Lancelot has defeated Mellyagaunte in judicial duel over the bloody sheets in the queen's bed, the "Freynshe boke" turns another sort of test of Lancelot's "condiciouns." No--there is no French source for this segment, though it has been thought similar to a brief episode in the Prose Lancelot (1611).  It resembles Lancelot's killing of Carados and rescue of Gawayne just before a "Freynshe booke" comment (419).
1145 28 445r "For as the Freynshe boke saythe she lad hym so seven yere thorow all londis crystened and never cowde fynde no knyght that myght ease her sunne" Urre's mother, aided by his sister and a page, carry him to seek a cure for his poisoned wounds. No--but it does faintly resemble Trystram's situation after being wounded by Marhalt, and only Isode could cure him.  In Malory, the test may involve the loving "trouthe" of Lancelot's goodness as "the beste knyght of teh worlde" (1045).
1148 29 446v "For the Freynshe booke sayth that sir Severause had never corayge nor grete luste to do batayle ayenste no man but if hit we[re] gyauntis and ayenste dragons and wylde bestis" The "chyff lady of the Lady off the Lake" has made Launcelot and Sererause swear never to fight each other. No--EV: "Neither the name of Sererause le Brewse nor the episode to which M here refers as being related to the French book has so far been traced to any French romance, and the whole paragraph may well be M's own invention" (1612).
1154 3 449r "For as the Freynshe booke sayth because of dispyte that knyghtes and ladyes called hym the knyght that rode in the Charyot lyke as he were juged to the jybett therefore in the despite of all them that named hym so he was caryed in a charyotte a xii monethe" Lancelot has healed Sir Urre and Lavayne wed Urre's sister, but "sir Aggravayne sir Gawaynes brother" plots to shame Gwenyver and Launcelot. No, because there is no French source.  Malory leaves Lancelot's worship-winning victories and turns to the "Poisoned Apple" segment in which the ill-will which causes the queen's danger comes from within the court, specifically from Gawayne's brothers.
1154 10 449r "And as the Freynshe booke sayth he ded that xii moneth more than forty batayles" A continuation of Malory's ending of the worship-building actions of the previous narrative segment and the start of the next, including the explicit which refers twice to "the morte Arthur" and names himself in French. No.  Malory's shift to French in his explicit can be seen, in this light, to claim full 'Freynshe booke" authority for what he is about to narrate: "par le shyvalere sir Thomas Malleorre knyght Jesu ayede ly pur voutre bone mercy Amen."
1163 20 450v "For as the Freynshe booke seyth the kynge was full lothe that such a noyse shulde be uppon sir Launcelot and his quene for the kynge had a demyng of hit but he wold nat here thereoff" Aggravayne has just told Arthur "sir Launcelot holdith youre quene and hath done longe" and calls upon him in the "syster sunnes" relationship to avenge this slight, but Arthur is reluctant to have any openly challenge them with "noyse." No.  Vinaver: "Neither the French romance nor the English poem has anything corresponding to this paragraph" (1629).  The French Artu eagerly urges Agravain to avenge the insult, and the English Arthure laments that such a good knight would be a traitor.
1165 10 451v "For as the Freynshhe booke seyth the quene and sir Launcelot were togydirs and whether they were abed other at oteh rmaner of disportis me lyst nat thereof make no mencion for love that tyme was nat as love ys nowadayes" As Gawayne's brothers close in on the queen's chamber, Malory prepares to describe the attack on the door by denying knowledge of what the lovers were doing inside it. No.  Vinaver: "M follows neither Le Morte Arthur . . . nor the French," both of which place the couple in bed, "both of which might, in [Malory's] view, convey the wrong idea of how lovers were expected to behave in Arthur's time" (1630).
1177 34 457v "And so in thys russhyng and hurlynge as sir Launcelot thrange here and there hit mysfortuned hym to sle sir Gaherys and sir Gareth the noble knyght for they were unarmed and unawares as the Freynshe booke sayth"  In the melee surrounding the queen's execution pyre, Lancelot kills two more of Gawayne's brothers.  This deed will trigger Gawayne's descent into feud-logic. No.  Vinaver: "None of the names occurs either in the French or in Le Morte Arthur" (1634).  The French Lancelot kills the fully-armed Agravain and Guerrhes, whom he identifies, and he is only unaware of having killed Gaheriet, but Gaheriet was armed.
1178 13 458r "And so he rode hys way wyth the quene as the Freynshe booke seyth unto Joyous Garde and there he kepte her as a noble knyght shulde and many grete lordis and many good knyghtes were sente hym and many full noble knyghtes drew unto hym" Having defeated the execution guard, killing Gareth and Gaherys among them, Lancelot and Gwenyvere escape. No.  Malory adds the generally judgment of the nobles to create an inscribed audience which mainly sides with Lancelot.
1190 17 461v "But the Freynshe booke seyth kynge Arthur wolde have takyn hys quene agayne and to have bene accorded with sir Launcelot but sir Gawayne wolde nat suffir hym by no maner of meane" Gawayne has just heard Lancelot's protestation of grief and has taken umbrage at Lancelot's reminder that Gawayne slew Lamerok "be forecaste of treson" (1190). No.  The English Morte says both Arthure and Gawayne desired vengeance (also see Vinaver 1636).
1194 15 463v "Wherefore the Pope called unto hym a noble clerke that at that tyme was there presente the Freynshe boke seyth hit was the bysshop of Rochester and the Pope Gaff [hym bulles] undir leade..." The Pope hears of the war and for Arthur's goodness and Lancelot's prowess he orders Lancelot to return the queen and Arthur to "accorde with sir Launcelot." Yes, but it's "Rochester" only in the Stanzaic Le Morte Arthur, whereas the French MSS Vinaver located all say "Rove(n)cestre" (1638).
1196 21 465r "And ryght so as ye have herde as the Freynshe booke makyth mencion he rode with the quene frome Joyus Garde to Carlehyll and so sir Launcelot rode thorowoute Carlehyll and so into the castell that all men myght behole hem and there was many a wepyng ien" Lancelot, obeying the Pope's order, rides ceremoniously with Gwynevere to Arthur's court. No.  Vinaver says this about the previous 9 lines: "Apart from the remark already quoted ('chevax touz couverz de soie') the Mort Artu gives no description of the procession, and there is every reason to attribute these lines to M's own invention" (1638).
1217 13 473r "whan sir Launcelot felte hys myght evermore encrese sir Launcelot wondred and drad hym sore to be shamed for as the Freynshe booke seyth he wende whan he felte sir Gawaynes double hys strengthe that he had bene a fyende and none earthely man" In the first duel with Gawayne, Lancelot nearly succumbs to Gawayne's "solar" powers of strength. Yes, but Malory converts Lancelot's speech to summary of his thought: il dist a soi meďsmes: <<Par foi, ge ne creroie mie que cist hom ne fust deables ou fantosmes.>>” (1645)
1220 11 474v "And ever sir Gawayne enforced hymselff wyth all hys myght and power to destroy sir Launcelot for as the Freynshe booke saythe ever as sir Gawaynes myght encreased ryght so encreced hys wynde and hys evyll wyll" Lancelot's second duel with Gawayne repeats the "solar" power motif, but this time Lancelot merely husbands his strength until afer noon. No.  Malory here has switch from the French to the Middle English source, and it contains no second reference to Gawayne's powers.  He also injects a second speculation, his own, that Gawayne's "evyll wyll" directly correlates with that strength.
1231 7 477r "And thean he toke hys penne and wrote thus as the Freynshe booke makith mencion" Gawayne writes to Lancelot, confessing "I woll that all the worlde wyte that I sir Gawayne knyght of the Table Rounde soughte my dethe and nat throrow thy deservynge but myne owne sekynge" No.  Malory again uses the "Freynshe booke"'s authority to warrant an important judgment upon the duel's outcome and Lancelot's cause by ending the feud before Gawayne's death. 
1256 38 missing "This remembred of their kyndenes and myn unkyndenes sanke so to myn herte that I myght not susteyne myself so the Freynshe book maketh mencyon" Lancelot defends himself against a hermit's charge that he will offend God with his sorrow by explaining his response to seeing the bodies of Arthur and Gwenyvere. No.  Malory adds the death of Gwenyvere from the French source to the circumstances of the English source and invents a full confession of Lancelot's "defaute and . . . orgule and . . . pryde" as the cause of their deaths.
1260 7 missing/1260 "For the Freynshe booke maketh mencyon and is auctorysed that syr Bors syr Ector syr Blamour and syr Bleoberis wente into the holy lande thereas Jesu Cryst was quycke and deed" Malory introduces and rejects what "somme Englysshe bookes maken mencyon that they wente never oute of Englond after the deth of syr Launcelot" as "but favour of makers." No.  The "Freynshe booke"'s authority here collides head-to-head with the English Arthurian tradition, and with the French, to introduce Malory's own sense of a just reward to Lancelot's vassals for their faithful service.