N I G H T B R I N G E R . S E
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ROUND
- Round Mountain
Site of a hermitage near Leverzep Castle.
- Round Pine
A tree in Orkney where, in the time of Joseph of Arimathea, King Orcant tested knights who wanted to champion him against a murder charge brought by King Marahant of Ireland. By defeating King Orcant himself, Peter, a follower of Joseph of Arimathea, won the right to fight the combat.
- Round Table
Tavola Ritonda
Our first extant knowledge of this table appears to come from Wace's "Roman De Brut". Chrétien mentions the table at least, but seemingly as an already established tradition.
Turning to Malory and his immediate sources, we find that Uther Pendragon gives this table to King Leodegrance, who in turn gave it, with 100 knights, to Arthur on the occasion of Arthur's marriage to Guenevere.
The full complement of the Round Table was 150 knights, but presumably this included the Siege Perilous, wherein only Galahad could sit, so that the Table was completely filled only once, briefly.
For practical purposes, the full complement would have been 149. Malory remarks in his colophon that "when they were whole together there was ever an hundred and forty", possibly always allowing a few seats for worthy newcomers. At least one modern romancer has considered that Merlin and Queen Guenevere were also allowed to sit in council at the Round Table: conceivably there were 140 seats for knights, with an extra ten for King, Queen, and non-knightly counselors.
The Table itself seems to have been nonmagical, although it had symbolical significance. According to the Vulgate there were three great tables: the one at which Christ and His apostles ate the Last Supper, the one at which Joseph of Arimathea and his disciples sat when they came to Britain, and the Round Table. The roundness of the Table symbolizes the world. As is fitting to complete this symbol, the Knights of the Round Table come from all parts of Christendom and heathendom. Even baptism may not have been a prerequisite of membership; Sir Palomides seems to have been a companion of the Round Table before his baptism.
See also
Sieges
- Round Table, Knights of the
Listed companions of this famous table. [More]
- Round Tables
Festive events involving jousting and dancing in imitation of Arthur and his knights. The first known Round Table took place in Cyprus in 1223, to celebrate a knighting, and such pageants remained popular throughout much of Europe during the remainder of the Middle Ages.
In many cases, the participating knights assumed the names and arms of Arthur's knights, and René d'Anjou even built an "Arthurian" castle for a Round Table he held in 1446.
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