Where was the Round Table, where Arthur's Knights met as equals?
As a symbol of equality, the Round Table was reputed to have no head, and no foot; therefore no Knight was lifted one above another. Considering the time of Arthur, this table would have flouted conventional medieval rules of hierarchy. Traditionally we would see at any table, be it dinner or meeting, the most important and honored guest, usually the King or Lord of the Castle, seated up front, and then according to rank, all members and guests are seated accordingly down the row. Those of highest rank were near the front, and those of the lowest would be seated at the back. The Round Table of Arthurian legend has been portrayed in movies as a meeting place for Arthur and his Knights, in plays as sturdy wooden platforms, and even displayed as a wall hanging in Winchester Castle. The legend further states that the Table was a gift from Gwenevere's father upon her marriage. A sort of dowry. Ordinarily, a dowry would consist of wealth or land, not a piece of furniture. There are two places that claim to have the round table, Winchester Castle and Edinburgh.
•Winchester Castle
Beginning at Winchester Castle, we now know that the mighty table, hanging on the aged stone walls and painted in the Welsh tradition of the red and white rose of the Tudors, the great “Round Table” that laid claim to ownership by Arthur was built in the 14th century, nearly a thousand years after Arthur would have lived. So this Round Table is ruled out as belonging to the real King Arthur.
•The King's Knot at Stirling Castle
The next cadidate we have makes a little more sense. There is a beautiful park near Stirling Castle and Bannockburn in Scotland that the poet John Barbour wrote of,
“An besouth the Castill went they thone,
Rychte by the Round Tabill away...”
He is speaking of what is commonly known as the Kings Knot near Edinburgh. It is just under a mountain known as “Arthur's Seat”, and near what was then known as Camelon (more commonly today as Camelot) in the early middle ages.
It just so happens that a battle leader, or Pendragon, by the name of Arthur McAeden died fighting the Picts at that time. Chances are, this is the Round Table of legend. It truly would have been a place of meeting for Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, and they surely would have maintained equal status on the field of battle. So maybe the tales are not far off from the truth. Whether this piece of land happened to be the wedding present from the father of the bride, to his son in law is unknown, but it would have made a fine gift.
Where was the Round Table, where Arthur's Knights met as equals?
As a symbol of equality, the Round Table was reputed to have no head, and no foot; therefore no Knight was lifted one above another. Considering the time of Arthur, this table would have flouted conventional medieval rules of hierarchy. Traditionally we would see at any table, be it dinner or meeting, the most important and honored guest, usually the King or Lord of the Castle, seated up front, and then according to rank, all members and guests are seated accordingly down the row. Those of highest rank were near the front, and those of the lowest would be seated at the back. The Round Table of Arthurian legend has been portrayed in movies as a meeting place for Arthur and his Knights, in plays as sturdy wooden platforms, and even displayed as a wall hanging in Winchester Castle.
The legend further states that the Table was a gift from Gwenevere's father upon her marriage. A sort of dowry. Ordinarily, a dowry would consist of wealth or land, not a piece of furniture. There are two places that claim to have the round table, Winchester Castle and Edinburgh.
•Winchester Castle
Beginning at Winchester Castle, we now know that the mighty table, hanging on the aged stone walls and painted in the Welsh tradition of the red and white rose of the Tudors, the great “Round Table” that laid claim to ownership by Arthur was built in the 14th century, nearly a thousand years after Arthur would have lived. So this Round Table is ruled out as belonging to the real King Arthur.
•The King's Knot at Stirling Castle
The next cadidate we have makes a little more sense. There is a beautiful park near Stirling Castle and Bannockburn in Scotland that the poet John Barbour wrote of,
“An besouth the Castill went they thone,
Rychte by the Round Tabill away...”
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The copyright of the article King Arthur of Britain or Scots? in Medieval History is owned by Anastacia Prisbrey. Permission to republish King Arthur of Britain or Scots? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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