5th Post King Arthur and the 12 Knights of the Round Table

"STONED KING ARTHUR"

 

King Arthur was a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Romano-Celtic Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales cambriae, the Historia britonium, and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name also occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododin.

 The 12 Knights

Sir Lancelot/Launcelot du Lac-- Trusted knight of Arthur, had an affair with Arthur's wife Guinevere

Sir Galahad-- Son of Lancelot, a Grail knight

Sir Perceval/Percival- one of the Grail knights

Sir Kay- Arthur's foster brother, became Arthur's seneschal

Sir Gawain-- Arthur's nephew

Sir Gaheris- Arthur's nephew; brother of Gawain, Gareth, Agravaine, and half-brother to Mordred

Sir Gareth-- Arthur's nephew; brother of Gawain, Gaheris, Agravaine, and half-brother to Mordred

Sir Agravaine-- Arthur's nephew; brother of Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth, and half-brother to Mordred

Sir Bors-- cousin of Lancelot, one of the knights involved in the quest for the Holy Grail

Sir Tristan/Tristram-- nephew of King Mark of Cornwall

Sir Lamorak- son of King Pellinore

Sir Bedivere-- one of the first knights to join Arthur and the Round Table, he gave Excalibur back to the Lady of the Lake


These twelve were usually the most commonly named knights seated at the Round Table.   

The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian 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. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace , 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 the chivalric order associated with Arthur's court, the Knights of the Round Table.