Caxton's Morte Darthur: The Printing Process and the Authenticity of the Text

Revisiting the fundamental texts of Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur, the Winchester manuscript and William Caxton’s printed edition, and investigating what happened in Caxton’s workshop are the best ways of discovering what Malory intended to write. This study investigates the irregular use of paraphs and the missing chapter-divisions in Caxton’s Morte, and reveals frequent alterations to it in order to fit his text on the page. It identifies the points at which alterations are most likely to have been made, and suggests that Caxton may have consulted the Winchester manuscript while he was preparing his edition, regularly with regard to textual divisions.