Knights of the Round Table

Knights of the Round Table

Knights of the Round Table
The famous story of Knights of the Round Table is well known. King Arthur is the figure at the heart of the Arthurian legends but the Knights of the Round Table play an important part in the story and legend of King Arthur. The Arthurian legend revolves around the Code of Chivalry followed by King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The basis for the code of Chivalry followed by King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table were Honour, Honesty, Valour and Loyalty. Knights of the Round Table were ' Brothers in Arms'. The legends of Medieval England emerged and were fuelled by the writings of various authors including Geoffrey of Monmouth whose book called the Historia Regum Britanniae - the History of the King's of Britain detailed the British Kings of the Dark Ages and gave rise to the Arthurian legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

King Arthur
The Legend of King Arthur
The Real King Arthur

Knights of the Round Table - the concept of Equality
The significance of the Round Table was that no one person, not even King Arthur, would be able to sit at the head of such a table. A round table enforced the concept of equality amongst the Knights of the Round Table. The legend states that King Arthur ordered the Round Table to be built in order to resolve a conflict among his knights concerning who should have precedence. The Round Table was therefore built to ensure that all the Knights of the Round Table were deemed equal and every one of the seats at the Round Table were all seen as highly favoured places.

Knights of the Round Table - the Round table at Winchester
A large round wooden table in the Great Hall at Winchester is reputed to be King Arthur's Round Table. The Round Table is made of 121 separate pieces of oak and measures 18 feet across. The round table is nearly 3 inches thick and weighs nearly 1.25 tons. Scientific studies have also revealed that a painting of a King was added to the round table c1522. The King depicted on the Round Table bears a striking resemblance to the Tudor King Henry VIII. It is interesting to note that the Tudors claimed lineage to King Arthur as additional justification for their reign and their claims to both the Welsh and English thrones.

King Arthur and the Names of Knights of the Round Table
The Round table at Winchester provides the Names of Knights of the Round Table. The Names of Knights of the Round Table are as follows:

• King Arthur
• Sir Galahad - This knight was the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot
• Sir Launcelot Deulake ( Sir Lancelot du Lac who fell in love with Queen Guinevere )
• Sir Gawain - This knight was famed for fighting the Green Knight
• Sir Percivale - This knight was famed for fighting the Red Knight
• Sir Lionel - This knight was brother of Sir Bors and cousin to Sir Lancelot
• Sir Tristram de Lyones - This knight was the son of King Meliodas & Queen Isabelle of Lyonesse - second greatest of the Knights of the Round Table
• Sir Gareth - Sir Kay was the mentor of this young knight
• Sir Bedivere - a giant of a Knight
• Sir Bleoberis - This knight was This knight was an arrogant Knight who later became a hermit
• Sir Brunor le Noir -  aka La Cote Male Taile because he arrived in Camelot wearing an ill-fitting coat which had belonged to his dead father
• Sir Lucan - This knight was a most loyal and trusted of the Knights of the Round Table
• Sir Palomides - who was a Saracen knight
• Sir Lamorak - This knight was This knight was the third greatest of the Knights of the Round Table
• Sir Bors de Ganis - This knight was brother of Sir Lionel and cousin to Sir Lancelot
• Sir Safir - This knight was a Christian Knight of Saracen descent
• Sir Pelleas - This knight was of low birth but one of the bravest of the Knights of the Round Table
• Sir Kay - King Arthur's foster-brother
• Sir Ector de Maris - This knight was the Ladies man of the Knights of the Round Table
• Sir Dagonet - The jester of King Arthur
• Sir Tegyr - This knight was the cup-bearer of King Arthur
• Sir Lybyus Dysconyus ( Sir Guinglain was Sir Gawain's eldest son also known as Le Bel Desconneu - the Fair Unknown )
• Sir Alymere - This knight was totally loyal to King Arthur
• Sir Mordred - This knight was the treacherous Sir Mordred the son of King Arthur)

The Names of Knights of the Round Table are displayed on the Round table at Winchester.

Chivalry
Code of Chivalry
Courtly Love

Knights of the Round Table
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