Round Table was the table at which King Arthur, the legendary British ruler, sat with his knights. The term Round Table also refers to Arthur’s entire royal court. The Round Table inspired some of the greatest literature of the Middle Ages. The fullest English account of Arthur and his knights appears in Le Morte Darthur (about 1470), a group of romances collected and rewritten by Sir Thomas Malory. A romance, in medieval literature, was a long work of fiction that described the remarkable adventures of a hero. See also Merlin .
Origin.
The first mention of the Round Table occurs in Le Roman de Brut (1155), a verse history by the Norman poet Wace. This book tells how Arthur decided to seat his knights around a circular table to avoid quarrels over who should occupy the seats of honor. Since the knights were all “noble and equal,” no knight could boast of sitting higher than his peer.
About 1205, the English priest Layamon adapted Wace’s book into an English version called The Brut. In The Brut, bloody fighting broke out among Arthur’s knights over the choicest seats at a Christmas feast. To avoid such conflicts, Arthur had a Welsh carpenter build a wondrous round table. The table would seat 1,600 men and yet fold up so it could be carried on horseback. According to still another source, Merlin the magician had the table built for Uther, Arthur’s father. Uther apparently gave the table to King Leodegan. Later, Leodegan gave the table to Arthur after Arthur married Guenevere, Leodegan’s daughter.
Another tradition describes the Round Table as seating 12 and resembling the table at the Last Supper, with an empty place representing Judas’ seat. This seat was called the Siege Perilous, and was reserved for the knight so pure that he would someday find the Holy Grail, the cup or dish used by Jesus at the Last Supper. Any other knight who sat in the seat would die. One day, Sir Galahad’s name appeared on the seat. From then on, he occupied the Siege Perilous. He later was one of three knights who found the Holy Grail.
The knights of the Round Table.
In medieval literature, knights considered membership at the Round Table a great honor. Brave men came to Arthur’s court from many countries hoping to be chosen a member.
Many romances describe the career of various knights of the Round Table. Several tell of the adventures of Sir Tristram. These stories describe his skill as a hunter and harp player and his bravery in killing a dragon and a giant. The best-known tale concerns his love affair with Isolt, the wife of his uncle, King Mark.
Sir Gawain was another famous knight of the Round Table. The great English romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight describes Gawain’s bravery and sense of honor as he faces possible death from the gigantic Green Knight. Gawain also shows his moral purity by refusing to be seduced by the Green Knight’s beautiful but deceitful wife. Other Round Table heroes included Ban, Bedevere, Ector, Gareth, Kay, Lancelot, Launfal, Palomides, Sagramore, and Ywain.
The decline of the Round Table.
For several reasons, the fellowship of the Round Table declined and in time was destroyed. The greatest adventure of the Round Table was the search for the Holy Grail. However, only three knights–Bors, Galahad, and Perceval–were morally perfect and thus able to find the Grail. The fact that so many of Arthur’s knights proved themselves morally imperfect damaged the reputation of the Round Table. A scandal also developed over the love affair between Queen Guenevere and Sir Lancelot, perhaps the greatest of the Round Table knights. The scandal destroyed the bonds of respect and friendship that had united all the knights.
The villainous actions of Sir Modred, a knight who was either Arthur’s nephew or his son, led to the final destruction of the fellowship of the Round Table. Modred seized Arthur’s throne while the king was in France. Arthur quickly returned to Britain after learning of Modred’s treachery, and war broke out between the forces of the two men. Arthur killed Modred in battle but received wounds that led to his death. The brotherhood of the Round Table dissolved following the death of Arthur.
