The Knights of the Round Table Read online

  THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE

  DANIEL MERSEY

  ILLUSTRATED BY ALAN LATHWELL

  CONTENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  PROLOGUE: THE ORDER OF THE ROUND TABLE

  THE FIRST QUEST OF THE ROUND TABLE

  BALIN: THE KNIGHT WITH TWO SWORDS

  LANCELOT: THE KNIGHT OF THE CART

  LANCELOT AND THE FOUR QUEENS

  GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT

  GAWAIN AND THE LOATHLY LADY

  EREC AND ENIDE

  TRISTAN AND ISOLDE

  YVAIN: THE KNIGHT OF THE FOUNTAIN

  BEAUMAINS: THE KNIGHT OF THE KITCHEN

  EPILOGUE: THE FALL OF THE ROUND TABLE

  SELECTED READING & WATCHING

  INTRODUCTION

  In a magical, timeless land named Logres – now known as the British Isles – the brave Knights of the Round Table served Arthur, the great king of legend and folklore. Questing far and wide across the land, these armoured warriors upheld the king’s chivalric values, righted wrongs, and maintained law and order. Together these knights formed the Order of the Round Table: an elite band of warriors from Logres and overseas.

  The Round Table symbolized Arthur’s desire for equality and fairness: although the knights seated at the table were proud and privileged warriors serving a powerful king, there was no head or foot of the table and therefore it lacked hierarchy and symbolized something other than the feudal system of lords and vassals. The 12th century writer Robert Wace explained that Arthur used this table to placate the nobles who served him, as none would agree to sit at a humbler place than his peers. The number of knights seated at the Round Table varies according to storyteller; most often 150 or 300 seats were at the table, although Robert de Boron placed just 50 knights around it and Layamon claimed 1,600 (at what would presumably be the world’s largest piece of furniture). Arthur’s Round Table was located at his court and castle of Camelot. Its first written appearance in Arthurian legend was in Wace’s Roman de Brut (completed 1155), which was an adaptation of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s earlier Historia Regum Britanniae. Wace noted that the Round Table was not his own invention, but originated in an earlier tale from Brittany.

  Some of Arthur’s knights had weaknesses and on occasion they would fail dramatically, yet none lacked bravery. Many of the stories about Arthur’s knights highlight the perils of ill-chosen action as much as they celebrate good deeds, and as such they informed a real-life code of honour for medieval nobles and set the standards by which chivalry was to be judged.

  Although King Arthur was introduced as a key character in medieval literature by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the early 12th century, the most influential works about Arthur’s knights were written by Chrétien de Troyes later in the same century, and by Sir Thomas Malory in the 15th century. Many other deeds of the Round Table evolved across Europe and although the origins sit squarely in medieval England and France, adventures from other countries are interweaved and popular embellishments were made by 19thand 20th-century authors. My own retellings are inspired by sources as varied as modern films and Victorian children’s books in addition to the original medieval stories: every writer of Arthurian lore adds their own ornamentation. Inevitably the narrative in a book of this length cannot furnish each story in its entirety: a bibliography of scholarly and at times challenging works of medieval and later literature which tell the whole story may be found at the end of this book.

  Lancelot slays a dragon; many of Arthur’s knights fought and overcame such creatures including Yvain and Tristan. By Arthur Rackham from Alfred W Pollard’s The Romance of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (1910). (Alamy)

  The chapters in this book describe a diverse selection of the adventures of Arthur’s knights from his coronation, through his ascendancy, and up to the appearance of the Holy Grail. Many of the later deeds of the Knights of the Round Table are far darker and relate to the arduous quest for the Grail and the eventual downfall of Arthur. As a consequence, the Grail Quest’s most famous knights – including Galahad, Perceval, and Bors – are not principal characters in this book. Arthur’s rise to power and kingship, alongside his place in Celtic folklore and post-Roman British history are covered in my companion volume (Myths & Legends 4: King Arthur).

  The Knights of the Round Table have evolved into an integral part of Western culture, remaining popular in fields so diverse as stories for children, as the setting for television series and movies, and as a building block of modern fantasy roleplaying and computer games. The legend of Arthur and his knights lives on and reinvents itself for new audiences time and time again.

  AN ARTHURIAN LITERARY TIMELINE

  Stories of the Knights of the Round Table were told first by English and French writers between the 12th and 15th centuries; even today, most books of Arthurian fiction draw inspiration from these and are little changed from the originals. Below is a list of some of the most influential works of Arthurian legend dating back to the 12th century AD.

  1130s

  Geoffrey of Monmouth: Historia Regum Britanniae

  1150s

  Robert Wace: Roman de Brut

  Geoffrey of Monmouth: Vita Merlini

  1160s

  Chrétien de Troyes: Érec et Énide

  1170s

  Chrétien de Troyes: Yvain: Le Chevalier au Lion

  Chrétien de Troyes: Le Chevalier de la Charrette

  Chrétien de Troyes: Cligés

  Marie de France: Lanval

  1180s

  Chrétien de Troyes: Perceval: Le Conte du Graal

  Renaut de Beaujeu: Le Bel Inconnu Hartmann von Aue: Erek

  1190s

  Layamon: Brut

  Ulrich von Zatzikhoven: Lanzelet

  Béroul: Tristran

  1200s

  Hartmann von Aue: Iwein

  Robert de Boron: Perceval

  Robert de Boron: Merlin Wolfram von Eschenbach: Parzifal

  1210s

  Lancelot du Lac Queste del Saint Graal

  1220s

  Estoire de Merlin Estoire del Saint Graal

  1230s

  Mort Artu Suite du Merlin

  1240s

  Le Roman de Tristan de Léonis

  1380s

  Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

  1390s

  Alliterative Morte Arthure The Awntyrs of Arthure

  1400s

  The Avowing of King Arthur

  1450s

  The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Lady Ragnell Gest of Sir Gawain

  1470s

  Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte Darthur

  1480s

  Print edition of Le Morte Darthur

  1590s

  Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queen

  1690s

  John Dryden: King Arthur The British Worthy

  1800s

  Walter Scott: Sir Tristrem

  1830s

  Alfred Tennyson: The Lady of Shalott

  1850s

  Alfred Tennyson: Idylls of the King

  Matthew Arnold: Tristram and Iseult

  1860s

  Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

  1880s

  Richard Wagner: Parsifal

  Mark Twain: A Connecticut Yankee in the Court of King Arthur

  Sidney Lanier: The Boy’s King Arthur

  1900s

  Howard Pyle: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights

  PROLOGUE: THE ORDER OF THE ROUND TABLE

  In the old days of Logres, those days of knights and dragons, the Britons fought between themselves in a bloody civil war. The many and petty kings of the island each desired the title of Pendragon: the High King.

  A noble named Uth
er eventually hacked a clear path to become Pendragon with the help of the powerful wizard Merlin; after Uther’s death a boy named Arthur was revealed as his secret son, the boy proving his right to rule by pulling a magical sword from a stone. King Arthur fought many battles to secure his throne, gathering a growing band of loyal knights to fight alongside him. When the wars were won, Arthur proved to be an honourable and fair ruler and yet more knights and kings flocked to his castle of Camelot to serve him.

  When Arthur married his graceful queen Guinevere, the wedding present from her father King Leodegrance was the Round Table. This oaken slab symbolized the democracy that Arthur staunchly upheld: no knight would sit at the head of this table – not even the king himself – and every seat was of equal worth.

  Around this table at the royal court of Camelot, Arthur gathered his most loyal and skilful warriors; at this emblematic table, alongside Guinevere and Merlin, Arthur acted in the best interests of his people and his realm, seeking advice and receiving support from those seated with him. These knights became members of Arthur’s Order of the Round Table, dedicated to upholding his laws and acting with honour and chivalry above all other desires.

  Arthur urged his warriors to venture out on quests to right wrongs, defeat fantastical monsters, and defend the kingdom… armed with shield and lance, war-horse and armour, they became known as The Knights of the Round Table.

  THE FIRST QUEST OF THE ROUND TABLE

  The marriage of King Arthur Pendragon and Guinevere was a grand spectacle attended by the great and good of all Logres. Arthur’s knights were in high spirits as the king knighted more young warriors on his wedding day: among them were Arthur’s nephew Gawain and Tor, the son of Arthur’s ally King Pellinor. The people of Camelot were equally joyous, wonder spreading at the beauty and grace that was Guinevere. Even Merlin, sorcerer to the king, was in fair mood as he revealed the wedding gift from Guinevere’s father: a huge oaken round table around which Arthur could seat his knights and set them off to adventure. It stood in the Great Hall at Camelot, sunlight gleaming from the polished surface, empty seats waiting to be filled by Arthur’s followers.

  The wedding feast was splendid: imported wines and exotic fruits, game from the forests surrounding Camelot, and a lake’s worth of fish were laid out for all to share. As the guests took their places, Arthur announced that someone must tell a tale of wonder before the feast commenced. Merlin told the king to wait but a short while for his request to be fulfilled.

  From outside came sounds of commotion and into the hall crashed a white hart, racing a jaw’s-length ahead of a white hound and 60 black hounds. The hart circled the hall several times, sending fine wine and food tumbling from the tables onto the flagstones; everywhere the hart dodged the hounds followed, snapping as they went. Bitten by the white hound and desperate to pull free, the hart leaped fully over the head of a seated knight named Abelleus, disappearing from the feast almost as quickly as it had arrived. As the white hound made to follow, Abelleus swept it up into his arms and ran from the hall carrying the barking bundle with him, the black hounds following behind.

  As the wedding guests picked themselves up, and removed food from their clothing and hair, a lady rode into the hall shouting at Arthur. Halting before him, she exclaimed that the white hound was hers, and begged Arthur to send a knight to fetch it back. As she spoke, yet another rider appeared amid the chaos of the upturned feast, a fully armoured knight unknown at Camelot. He seized the bridle of the mounted lady’s horse, and swept away with her.

  Arthur’s laughter broke the silence; his tale of wonder had begun. Merlin rebuked him for taking these events too lightly… for this, the sorcerer foresaw, was the first quest of the Round Table and to fail would bring dishonour to the king. These words spurred Arthur into action. He called upon Gawain to bring back the white hart, Tor to fetch the white hound, and King Pellinor to return with the kidnapped lady. These three knights donned their armour, armed themselves, and rode from Camelot in pursuit of adventure.

  Gawain rode with his brother Gaheris, who acted as his squire; with them ran a pack of hounds intent on picking up the hart’s trail. This they did and Gawain and Gaheris set off into the forest beyond Camelot in pursuit of their quarry. For a full day they gave chase, and with the hart in sight they followed into the courtyard of a castle standing in a boggy forest clearing. The hart was cornered and Gawain’s hounds brought it down, killing it before he could call them off.

  As Gawain stooped to cut the hart’s head off to prove to Arthur that he had pursued and found it, a challenge rang out across the courtyard. The lord of the castle was running towards him, huge sword in hand and bristling with fury. Shouting at Gawain that the hart was his, he cut down the hunting dogs as they stood over its white carcass. Gawain was furious to see his hounds slain, and he set about the lord with his sword.

  The two warriors’ blades clashed and echoed around the courtyard, and sparks flew as metal ground against metal. Gaheris ran to aid his brother but before he could land a blow, Gawain had knocked the sword from his enemy’s hand and, forgetting his knightly vows in his anger, raised his blade high to deliver a killing stroke. Another voice cried out: this time, it was the lady of the castle begging for Gawain’s mercy. She ran across the courtyard trying to protect her fallen lover from the intruders. Too late, Gawain realized what was happening but could not stop the deathblow from falling: the lady was between his blade and his target, and her head rolled from her shoulders. The lord begged Gawain to kill him also for he loved his lady and now had no reason to live.

  In John Boorman’s brooding film Excalibur (1981), the newly crowned Arthur (Nigel Terry) and Lancelot (Nicholas Clay) duel, leading to the Lady of the Lake gifting Arthur his magical sword Excalibur. Medieval legend ascribed this duel to Pellinor and Arthur. (Alamy)

  Gaheris restrained his brother and reminded him that a knight must be merciful. Gawain sheathed his sword and sent the injured lord, Ablamor of the Marsh, to tell Arthur of his defeat by the knight who quested after the white hart. This he did.

  With the castle to themselves, Gawain and Gaheris rested after their arduous day. As they sat, four knights appeared and accused Gawain of shaming all warriors of knighthood, suddenly attacking both brothers. Exhausted and unprepared, Gawain and Gaheris were knocked to the ground and one of the knights shot an arrow into Gawain’s arm. Were it not for the timely arrival of four fair ladies, the knights would have slain Arthur’s knights, but the ladies begged for mercy and persuaded Gawain and Gaheris to yield as prisoners.

  As one of the ladies tended to Gawain’s injured arm, she asked his name. He explained that he was a nephew of Arthur’s and was undertaking a quest for the great king. When the lady realized his bond to Arthur, she angrily told him that slaying a lady was a foul deed, made worse because Gawain served an honourable king. She instructed him to return to his king and be judged.

  The four knights stood aside as their prisoners slowly rode from the castle, Gaheris carrying the head of the hart to show to Arthur. Around Gawain’s neck hung the head of the lady of the castle, and her body lay across his saddle. This sorry procession returned to Camelot.

  When Tor rode from Camelot in pursuit of the white hound, he headed in a different direction to Gawain. Riding hard, he soon came upon a dwarf standing on the pathway. Tor did not slow his horse, such was his concern with his quest, until the dwarf cracked a heavy wooden club across the nose of Tor’s horse. It reared up, almost throwing Tor from his saddle.

  The dwarf gestured towards a nearby pavilion, by which a rogue knight waited on a charger. Tor explained that he had not the time to accept any challenge other than returning with the white hound for Arthur. The dwarf shrugged and gestured once again, calmly highlighting to Tor that the knight was now bearing down upon him at full speed, lance levelled.

  MERLIN

  Merlin was the greatest sorcerer or wise man that Logres ever knew. Introduced to the Arthurian cycle by Geoffrey of Monmouth in hi
s Historia Regum Britanniae, the king and his wizard quickly became inseparable in British legend. By Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, Merlin helps Arthur’s father Uther to seduce Arthur’s mother Igraine, arranges for the future king’s fostering with the good knight Ector, and sets in action the vignette of the Sword in the Stone where Arthur takes the crown. Once Arthur is ensconced as Pendragon, Merlin flits in and out of the adventures and is eventually imprisoned by Vivien (the Lady of the Lake).

  In some versions, Merlin himself creates the Round Table and makes the names of knights magically appear on the seats. His character has been linked to one or more pseudo-historical northern British bards in the post-Roman period, but the medieval Merlin is better recognized as the blueprint for many wizards in more modern literature.

  King Arthur and Palamedes joust, from the 15th-century Roman du Saint Graal. Palamedes replaced Pellinor in later legend as the hunter of the Questing Beast. (Alamy)

  The duel was short but brutal. Lances split on shields, sword blades rung together, and in a few moments, the bellicose knight lay on the ground surrendering his weapon to Tor. As he did so, a second felonious knight rushed at Tor. Tor parried the first attack on his shield and before his new assailant could recover, smote his helmet with an almighty blow that rendered him senseless but living. This second knight also surrendered. Tor triumphantly commanded both knights to journey to Camelot and report to Arthur that they were prisoners of the knight who quested after the white hound. The knights, Felot of Langduk and Petipace of Winchelsea, did as they were told and served Arthur loyally from that day on despite their previous misdeeds.

  The dwarf stepped up as Tor remounted his horse, telling the knight that he knew of his quest and could take him to the hound. His payment, he said, would be to become the knight’s servant rather than continuing in the service of such rogues. Tor agreed and the dwarf led on.