Exactly how much of this Malory personally had before him we cannot of course say: but of any working up of the whole that would have spared him trouble, and robbed him of credit, we do not know.

In fact the favourite term "compiler" gives up the only dangerous point.

Now in what way did Malory _compile_?
In the way in which the ordinary compiler proceeds he most emphatically does not.

He cuts down the preliminaries mercilessly: but they can be perfectly well spared.

He misses almost all the wars with the Saxons, which are the most tedious parts of the originals.