Le Morte d'Arthur
You may click on the thumbnail images to view them full screen
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte d'Arthur Ed. John Matthews. Ill. Anna-Marie Ferguson. London: Cassell, 2000.
The first complete edition of Malory's Morte to be illustrated by a woman was published in 2000. The illustrator was Canadian artist Anna-Marie Ferguson. In her watercolors and black and white drawings, Ferguson includes some scenes not often illustrated, like the crucial healing of Sir Urry, as well as a number of expected scenes, like Arthur's receiving of Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake and Elaine in the barge. But many of her images combine to offer a reading of the text by making her audience aware of the many roles women play in this romance. She depicts victimized or mistreated women—like Elaine of Astolat, Elaine of Corbenic being rescued by Lancelot, Brangwaine bound in the forest, and Percivale's sister dying after having been bled—and also women of power, like Nimue beguiling Merlin, Morgan le Fay, and the four queens (one of whom is Morgan) who capture Lancelot. In addition, Ferguson portrays other women significant in the story, such as the three ladies who lead Gawaine, Uwaine, and Marhaus on their quests, Isoud's mother discovering the notch in Tristram's sword, and the damsel who arms herself and gives Sir Alisander a buffet to wake him from his stupor and prevent him from being shamed. Ferguson often captures the drama of Malory's narratives, as in her depiction of the scene in which Guinevere is accused of treachery when a knight dies from a poisoned apple at a feast she hosted.