The Arthurian Legend

The Arthurian knights, who sat with King Arthur around a circular table, became a fellowship between knights. Some of them are famous as heroes and champions of just cause; however, jealousy, envy and hatred existed within the fellowship. There were enemies within the Round Table as well as those who were not member of the fellowship. The knights were usually of noble birth: they were usually kings and princes, dukes, counts or earls and barons. They formed the strong point of the army. When the knights attend a festival or council at the king's main hall, those who sat at the head of table, usually had precedence over others. These knights would feel envy or jealousy to those of higher ranking. To resolve these problems, Arthur resorted to having his table constructed in a rounded shape. The ingenuity of this design, make all the knights equal, regardless if he was a king or a lower cast baron. No one would have precedence over others. The knights in Arthur's company became known as the Knights of the Round Table. These knights were heroes, renowned for their strength and courage, and for their skill in combat and warfare. So the Round Table actually began as a more of a tradition. With the quest for the holy Grail romance becoming more firmly rooted in the Arthurian legend, the Round Table became directly linked with the Grail. The table did not become just furniture to seat Arthur's knights, nor was it to solve a problem of precedence between knights. When  king  Uther died, the Round Table was passed on to King Leodegan of Camelide, one of his allies and the father of Guinevere. When Arthur married Guinevere, Leodegan gave the Round Table to Arthur as a wedding gift, along with one hundred knights of Leodegan. The Round Table could seat 150 knights, it was Merlin who help Arthur to chose the last fifty knights. Each seat had the name of knight magically written on the back of the seat, in letters of gold. One seat, however, remained unoccupied until the Grail knight  and the best knight would be seated  there; this seat was known as the Siege Perilou s. Arthurian legend (in the 13th-14th century), there was only one seat left vacate, that was the seat that no other knights could sit upon: the "Siege Perilous". Only one of the seats was left vacat. The Siege Perilous was reserved for the true Grail knight, and would remain unoccupied until the Grail hero appeared. Anyone who sat on it would be killed.  The Round Table was very much the symbol of Arthur's power as was his sword Excalibur and his castle abode Camelot.  The true Grail hero must be knight with the purest heart, who was not only chaste, but also a virgin without sins. That knight was Galahad, the son of Lancelot, the only knight allowed understanding of the mystery of the Holy Grail. The Fellowship of the Round Table was very much like the knightly orders of the medieval world. The military orders had begun during the First Crusade. They were intended to care for the sick pilgrims and the wounded knights whom fought the Muslims. The first two orders were established on the Holy Land.  Other orders were established, sometimes by rulers. In Germany, the best known order was Teutonic Order (1189-1525).    Arthur had never established  rules and heraldic designs upon his knights. Each wore knight wore what armor or shield they choose. Some knights wore design upon their shields  where they could be recognized. Often a knight would wear one of the colors, the most common being white, black, red, green and blue. Perceval was usually seen as the Red Knight, because the untrained youth had killed a Red Knight that had spilled wine on Queen Guinevere. The great hero Lancelot wore any armor and shield he was given, due to the fact that he like to travel incognito, so no one would recognize him. Especially when he was on an adventure or participating in the tournament. Lancelot started out being knighted as a White Knight, where the Lady of the Lake provided his armor and weapon, but he changed his armor many times, so he was also the Red Knight, Green Knight and then Black Knight. Shields sometimes had portraylas of animals, sometimes of the crown or sword. Other times, the shield had only one colour or sometimes they had a stripe or two. Arthur carried a shield with image of the Virgin Mary into battle.  The table was more than a dowry of Guinevere. In a way, Guinevere symbolized the kingdom of Logres (Britain). Arthur, who was Logres king, was not only wedded to Guinevere; he became wedded to the land. This link between the rulers who were wedded the land was common themes. The results of the Quest, when the Grail vanished from the world, it also meant the withdrawal of God's grace from Logres. Though the enchantment on Logres was broken and the Maimed King healed, the salvation did not come to the Brotherhood of the Round Table. Instead they were punished for their failings and their sins. One of the most notable deteriorating part of the Round Table was that Lancelot the greatest knight in the world, was in love with Queen Guinevere. Lancelot and Guinevere had committed adultry, tainting the honour of the Round Table. Arthur's war against Lancelot had split the Round Table into two factions, and left him weakened when Mordred betrayed him. Another failing was Mordred, who also belonged to the Round Table, and was born as the result of incest, between Arthur and his half-sister Morgawse. Mordred would allow his own lust for power and his father's wife Guinevere, to seize the kingdom during Arthur's absen Their sins would bring about the downfall of the Round Table and end the imperfect dreams of Arthur and Merlin.

In the end, the final betrayal was adultery committed by one of its members, Lancelot, with Arthur's queen, and the betrayal of  Mordred Arthur’s son born of adultery on his part; that finally brought the downfall of Arthur's kingdom