The Knights of the Round Table
Who were the Knights of the Round Table? There were actually hundreds of Knights associated with the Round Table and King Arthur, but here we’ll take a look at the most often mentioned, well-known, or most associated with King Arthur and Arthurian Legend.
The individual Knights, mostly who were not based on historical figures, were pulled together from Scottish, French, Welsh, and English legends and lore. Some of them Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote about as early as 1136 AD in his History of the Kings of Britain, while others were popularized by Sir Thomas Mallory or even as late as Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the early 1800’s.
King Arthur
Sir Lancelot
Sir Gawain
Sir Galahad
Sir Geraint
Sir Gareth
Sir Gaheris
Sir Bedivere
Sir Ector
Sir Kay
Sir Bors de Ganis
Sir Lamorak
Sir Tristan
Sir Percival
Sir Agravain
Sir Dagonet
Legendary King Arthur the Knight
Tradition has it that after King Uther’s death there was no king ruling all of England. Merlin had placed a sword in a stone, saying that whoever drew it out would be king. Arthur did not know his true status but had grown up living with Sir Ector and Sir Kay, his son. The young Arthur pulled the sword from the stone and Merlin had him crowned the King of Britain. This led to a rebellion by eleven rulers which Arthur put down. He married Guinevere, whose father gave him the round table as a dowry.
Merlin had placed a sword in a stone, saying that whoever drew it out would be king. Arthur did not know his true status but had grown up living with Sir Ector and Sir Kay, his son.
In the war against the Romans, Arthur defeated Emperor Lucius and became emperor himself. The last battle of Arthur took place between He and the forces of his evil nephew, Mordred. Arthur delivered the fatal blow to Mordred in the battle, but in the process Arthur was struck a mortal blow, himself. It was then that he commanded Sir Bedivere to throw Excalibur back into the Lake.