| The Round Table | |
|---|---|
| Arthurian legend element | |
 A 1470 reproduction ofÉvrard d'Espinques's illumination of theProseLancelot, showingKing Arthur presiding at the Round Table with hisKnights | |
| First appearance |
|
| Created by | Wace |
| Genre | Chivalric romance |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Legendary table |
| Owners | King Arthur |
| Function | The meeting of Arthur's court, known as theKnights of the Round Table |
TheRound Table (Welsh:y Ford Gron;Cornish:an Moos Krenn;Breton:an Daol Grenn;Latin:Mensa Rotunda) isKing Arthur's famedtable in theArthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike conventional rectangular tables where participants order themselves according to rank. The table was first described in 1155 byWace, who relied on previous depictions of Arthur's fabulous retinue. The symbolism of the Round Table developed over time; by the close of the 12th century, it had come to represent thechivalric order associated with Arthur's court, theKnights of the Round Table.
Though the Round Table is not mentioned in the earliest accounts, tales ofKing Arthur having a marvellous court made up of many prominent warriors are ancient.Geoffrey of Monmouth, in hisHistoria Regum Britanniae (composed c. 1136) says that, after establishing peace throughoutBritain, Arthur "increased his personal entourage by inviting very distinguished men from far-distant kingdoms to join it."[1] The code ofchivalry so important in later medieval romance figures in it as well, as Geoffrey says Arthur established "such a code of courtliness in his household that he inspired peoples living far away to imitate him."[1]
Arthur's court was well known toWelsh storytellers; in the romanceCulhwch and Olwen, the protagonistCulhwch invokes the names of 225 individuals affiliated with Arthur.[2] The fame of Arthur's entourage became so prominent in Welsh tradition that in the later additions to theWelsh Triads, the formula tying named individuals to "Arthur's Court" in the triad titles began to supersede the older "Island of Britain" formula.[3] Though the code of chivalry crucial to later continental romances dealing with the Round Table is mostly absent from the Welsh material, some passages ofCulhwch and Olwen seem to reference it. For instance, Arthur explains the ethos of his court, saying "[w]e are nobles as long as we are sought out: the greater the bounty we may give, the greater our nobility, fame and honour."[4]
Though no Round Table appears in the early Welsh texts, Arthur is associated with various items of household furniture. The earliest of these is SaintCarannog's mystical floatingaltar in that saint's 12th-centuryVita. In the story Arthur has found the altar and tries unsuccessfully to use it as a table; he returns it to Carannog in exchange for the saint ridding the land of a meddlesome dragon.[5] Elements of Arthur's household figure into local topographical folklore throughout Britain as early as the early 12th century, with various landmarks being named "Arthur's Seat", "Arthur's Oven", and "Arthur's Bed-chamber".[6]
Ahenge atEamont Bridge nearPenrith,Cumbria, is known as "King Arthur's Round Table".[7] The still-visible Roman amphitheatre atCaerleon has been associated with the Round Table,[8] and it has been suggested as a possible source for the legend.[9] Following archaeological discoveries at the Roman ruins inChester, some writers suggested that theChester Roman Amphitheatre was the true prototype of the Round Table;[10] however, theEnglish Heritage Commission, acting as consultants to aHistory Channel documentary in which the claim was made, stated that there was no archaeological basis to the story.[11]
The Round Table first appeared inWace'sRoman de Brut, aNorman language adaptation of Geoffrey'sHistoria finished in 1155. Wace says Arthur created the Round Table to prevent quarrels among his barons, none of whom would accept a lower place than the others.[12]Layamon added to the story when he adapted Wace's work into theMiddle EnglishBrut in the early 13th century, saying that the quarrel between Arthur's vassals led to violence at aYuletide feast. In response, aCornish carpenter built an enormous but easily transportable Round Table to prevent further dispute.[12] Wace claims he was not the source of the Round Table; both he and Layamon credited it instead to theBretons. Some scholars have doubted this claim, while others believe it may be true.[12] There is some similarity between the chroniclers' description of the Round Table and a custom recorded in Celtic stories, in which warriors sit in a circle around the king or lead warrior, in some cases feuding over the order of precedence as in Layamon.[12] There is a possibility that Wace, contrary to his own claims, derived Arthur's round table not from any Breton source, but rather from medieval biographies ofCharlemagne—notablyEinhard'sVita Caroli andNotker the Stammerer'sDe Carolo Magno—in which the king is said to have possessed a round table decorated with a map of Rome.[13]
The Round Table takes on new dimensions in the romances of the late 12th and early 13th century, where it becomes a symbol of the famed order of chivalry which flourishes under Arthur. InRobert de Boron'sMerlin, written around 1200, the magicianMerlin creates the Round Table in imitation of the table of theLast Supper and ofJoseph of Arimathea'sGrail Table. Made of silver, the Grail Table was used by the followers of Arimathea after he created it as directed by a vision of Christ,[14] and was taken by him toAvalon (later identified withGlastonbury Tor, but this connection was not mentioned by Robert[15]). This version of the Round Table, here made for Arthur's fatherUther Pendragon rather than Arthur himself, has twelve seats and one empty place to mark the betrayal ofJudas; this seat, must remain empty until the coming of the knight who will achieve the Grail. The DidotPerceval, a prose continuation of Robert's work, takes up the story as the knightPerceval sits in the seat and initiates the Grail quest.[12]
The prose cycles of the 13th century, theLancelot-Grail (Vulgate) Cycle and thePost-Vulgate Cycle, further adapt the chivalric attributes of the Round Table but make it and its fellowship much larger, with many more seats and usually dozens of members at any given time. Here it is the perfect knightGalahad, rather than Percival, who assumes the empty seat, now called theSiege Perilous. Galahad's arrival marks the start of the Grail quest as well as the end of the Arthurian era.[12] In these works the Round Table is kept by KingLeodegrance ofCameliard after Uther's death; Arthur inherits it when he marries Leodegrance's daughterGuinevere. Other versions treat the Round Table differently, for instance Arthurian works from Italy likeLa Tavola Ritonda (The Round Table) often distinguish between the knights of the "Old Table" of Uther's time and those of Arthur's "New Table".[16] In the Post-Vulgate, the Table is eventually destroyed byKing Mark during his invasion ofLogres after the deaths of Arthur and almost all of the Knights, many of whom in fact had killed each other, especially in internal conflicts at the end of the cycle.
During theMiddle Ages, festivals calledRound Tables were celebrated throughout Europe in imitation of Arthur's court. These events featuredjousting, dancing, andfeasting, and in some cases attending knights assumed the identities of Arthur's entourage.[17]
The Winchester Round Table is a large tabletop hanging inWinchester Castle and bearing the names of various knights of Arthur's court, was probably created for a Round Table tournament.[18] The table is 5.5 metres (18 ft) in diameter and weighs 1.2 tonnes (2,600 lb).[19] The current paintwork is late; it was done by order of KingHenry VIII of England. The table itself is considerably older;dendrochronology calculates the date of construction to 1250–1280—during the reign ofEdward I of England—using timbers that were felled over a period of years.[20] Edward was an Arthurian enthusiast who attended at least five Round Tables and hosted one himself in 1299, which may have been the occasion for the creation of the Winchester Round Table.[18]Martin Biddle, from an examination of Edward's financial accounts, links it instead with a tournament King Edward held near Winchester on 20 April 1290, to mark the betrothal of one of his daughters.[21]
On 22 January 1344, after a tournament atWindsor Castle, KingEdward III of England (r. 1327–1377) swore an oath to restore the Order of the Round Table to the same as that of King Arthur. Receiving agreement from the earls and knights present, Edward announced that the order's first meeting would take place duringPentecost. The plan never came to fruition, but the newOrder of the Garter carried connotations from this legend by the circular shape of the garter.[22] Edward's wartime experiences during theCrécy campaign (1346–1347) seem to have been a determining factor in his abandonment of the Round Table project. It has been argued that the total warfare tactics employed by the English atCrécy in 1346 were contrary to Arthurian chivalric ideals and made Arthur a problematic paradigm for Edward, especially at the time of the institution of the Garter.[23] There are no formal references to King Arthur and the Round Table in the surviving early 15th-century copies of the Statutes of the Garter. However, the Garter Feast of 1358 did involve a Round Table game in an overlap between the projected Round Table fellowship and the actualized Order of the Garter.[24]
The claims...have no basis whatever in the archaeological evidence
