"It was almost from it's beginning, an emblem of death and suffering; a legendary place, where the very stones were considered 'deathlike'. It became associated with hell, and it's smell permeated the streets and houses beside it." (qtd. in London-In-Sight-Blog) And yet it was from this very place that one of the most legendary pieces of literature was birthed, 'Le Morte d' Authur'. This place was known as the Newgate Prison of London inside of which Sir Thomas Malory spent much of his life writing 'Le Morte d' Authur' as a prisoner. Once a knight himself, the characters in Malory's novel displayed many characteristics of the noble class in which he use to be a part. Malory was born into a turbulent time period in the fifteenth century. Disorder and civil strife was rampant mainly due to the Wars of the Roses. Though, not much is known of Malory's early years as a young man it appeared he was becoming a respectable landowner and a chivalrous individual helping his neighbors whenever a need arose."By 1441 Malory had become a knight, and his life so far suggested a degree of political and social ambition." (Patrick Taylor) Lamentably around 1450 Malory turned towards a life of crime stealing cattle, robbing an abbey, attempting to murder the Duke of Buckingham, as well as the ravishing of a married woman."Malory's middle years showed the depressing picture of an old fighter turned gangster" (Bradbrook 74). For most of the 1450s Malory was imprisoned for his crimes. But was he so different from the knights he wrote of in his Arthurian Legend? Sir Lancelot is one of the most well known of the mythical knights of the round table. His tales of chivalry and adventure are timeless. Ultimately, his honor was tarnished because of his affair with Queen Guinevere.Granted, Sir Lancelot's unchivalrous act was arguably less of a trespassing than that of Malory's various crimes; you can still see a parallel in the fact that both were men of good sta