The Round Table: An Annotated Bibliography
Alcock,
Leslie. Arthur's Britain: History and
Archaeology AD 367-634. New York: St. Martin's, 1971.
Briefly mentions the Round Table as a medieval invention rather than
historical fact. Provides examples of supposed Round Tables, specifically the
Round Table at Caerleon, which is actually a Roman amphitheater.
Archibald,
Elizabeth. "Malory's Ideal of Fellowship." The
Review of English Studies, n.s., 43
(1992): 311-28.
Describes how Malory's use of the phrases "fellowship" and
"fellowship of the Round Table" is qualitatively different from the French
use of the word "compaignie." Notes
that in Malory, knights identify themselves as fellows of the Round Table rather
than Arthur's house, thus emphasizing a unique aspect of Arthur's court
rather than his general court. Focuses on the idea that Malory's emphasis on
fellowship of the Round Table implies a sense of fraternity, brotherhood, and
loyalty superior to the idea of "compaignie" presented in French works.
Barb,
A. A. "Mesa Sacra: The Round Table and the Holy Grail." Journal of the Warburg and Courtald Institutes. 19 (1956): 40-67.
Barb outlines a theory that the grail, as a dish or plate (not a cup)
originates from early Christian semi-circular or circular altar slabs that also
featured lobe shapes around the edges. Describes
the idea that the stone altar table once housed at Glastonbury became altered in
literature and folklore until it was thought of as the table of the Last Supper
and that the altar at Glastonbury was the forerunner to the theme of Arthur's
Round Table. Asserts that both the
concepts of the Holy Grail and Arthur's Round Table stemmed from early stone
altar tables.
Bloch,
R. Howard. "Wasteland and Round Table: The Historical Significance of Myths of
Dearth and Plenty in Old French Romance." New
Literary History, 11 (1980): 255-76.
Pointing to works such as Robert de Boron and the author of the Queste
del Saint Graal, Bloch asserts that Arthur's Round Table is the polar
opposite of the Wasteland presented in many Arthurian works.
Bloch describes the cause of the Wasteland as wages of strife within the
country or region. The Round Table,
a symbol of sufficiency and abundance, represents the restoration of peace.
Also briefly discusses the idea found in the Queste,
that the Round Table is a signification of the world in that knights from all
chivalric countries join around it.
Cline,
Ruth Huff. "The Influence of Romances on Tournaments of the Middle Ages." Speculum,
20 (1945): 204-11.
Cline notes several ways in which Arthurian legend influenced tournaments
of the Middle Ages, including the idea of the Round Table.
The author refers to Round Tables as tournaments held in the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries which were more chivalric than tournaments in that they
included blunted weapons. Points to historic tournaments held by Roger Mortimer,
Ulrich von Liechtenstein, and a ban on round tables during a trip of Henry III
until his return to court.
Critchlow,
F.L., "Old French Literature." Modern
Language Notes, 16 (1901), 31.
Provides a summary of A.C.L. Brown's "The Round Table before Wace,"
which asserts that the Round Table is of Welsh origin.
Points to the quarrel occurring prior to the creation of the Round Table
in Layamon's Brut as evidence,
asserting that other such quarrels exist in Irish sagas including Mac Datho's Pig and The
Feast of Bricriu.
Ditmas,
E.M.R. "The Cult of Arthurian Relics." Folklore.
75 (1964): 19-33.
Discusses various Arthurian relics that most likely have no relation to
the historical Arthur but are relics of the fictitious hero such as Arthur's
sword and tomb. Describes the circular table top hanging in Winchester Castle
which has names of 25 of Arthur's knights on it and suggests the table was
most likely commissioned by Henry II or Edward I.
Ford,
David Nash. "The Round Table of King Arthur's Court." Britannia. 12 Dec. 2005 <http://www.britannia.com/history/arthur/rtable.html>.
Provides a general overview of the tradition, appearance and possible
origins of the Round Table. Also includes a list of Round Table sites, which
claim to be Arthur's Round Table including stone circles, an amphitheater, and
other sites at Mayburgh, Caerleon, Llanddona, Stirling, and Brecon.
Greco,
Gina L. "From the Last Supper to the Arthurian Feast: 'Translatio' and the
Round Table." Modern Philology, 96
(1998): 42-7.
Describes the table imagery used by Robert de Boron, and how that imagery
is the connecting item of his works while examining the translation of that
imagery in the Vulgate Cycle. The
author holds that Boron's Round Table was the last in a table trinity of round
tables beginning with the table of the Last Supper and Joseph's Grail table.
Kelly,
Susan. "A Note on Arthur's Round Table and the Welsh "Life of Saint
Carranog." Folklore, 87 (1976):
223-5.
Briefly explains the origin of the Round Table in literature.
Discusses Wace's description in Roman
de Brut and examines Wace's mention of the table of which the Bretons tell
many stories. Proposes that Wace is
referring to Welsh hagiographies specifically The Life of Saint Carranog, in which Arthur appropriates an altar
given to Carranog by Christ which Arthur eventually returns in the form of a
table. Offers this argument as a counter to the argument that the Round Table
concept did not stem from Welsh tradition because the Welsh did not dine at
tables.
Lacy,
Norris J. et al., eds. The New Arthurian
Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1991.
Provides entries on both the Arthurian Round Table as well as Round Table
tournaments held in imitation of Arthur. Outlines
history of the Round Table as it is mentioned in literature asserting that Wace
was the first to mention it in 1155, followed by Layaman in which, Arthur makes
the table himself or obtains it from a carpenter respectively.
Also describes the later tradition in which Merlin creates the table in
Robert de Boron's Merlin, in likeness of the table of the Last Supper.
Layamon's Brut: A History of the Britons.
Trans. Donald G. Bzdyl. Binghamton: Medieval & Renaissance Texts &
Studies, 1989.
Layaman describes the manner in which Arthur received the table and its
uses. After a brawl caused by pride between Arthur's knights occurred, a
workman in Cornwall made Arthur the Round able to sit sixteen hundred men in an
effort to foster equality among the knights. Layaman also describes the table as
easily portable.
Le
Saux, Francoise H.M. L�amon's Brut
The Poem and Its Sources. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1989.
Provides brief chapters about the various origins of L�mon's Brut.
The chapter on Welsh sources quotes an argument by Gerard J. Visser that
asserts that the tale of the founding of the Round Table to which L�mon refers
is undoubtedly Welsh because of the "rough-and-tumble" way in which is
written, specifically the detail of the brawl between the knights.
Loomis,
Laura Hibbard, "Arthur's Round Table." PMLA,
41 (1926): 771-84.
Compares conceptualizations of the table used at the Last Supper with conceptualizations of Arthur's Round Table. The author asserts that the idea of the Round Table most likely came from the round table of the Last Supper. Supports this argument with the fact that in several descriptions of the Round Table (such as Wace and Geoffrey) Arthur's twelve peers of France were present, just as the 12 apostles ate the Last Supper with Christ.
Loomis,
Laura Hibbard, "The Round Table Again." Modern
Language Notes, 44 (1929): 511-19.
Asserts that the round table of the Last Supper was the primary influence
for the creation of the Arthurian Round Table.
Points to the journeys of Bretons to Jerusalem and Rome where they could
have seen Christ's round table. Examines
descriptions by two Frenchmen, Bernard de Wise (ca. 870) and Arculf (ca 670), of
the round tables at Gethsemane and Mount Olivet. The author also discredits the
argument that the idea of the Round Table stemmed from Celtic tradition because
the idea of a communal table did not exist in Celtic culture. However, the
author asserts that the idea of Arthur's twelve knights most likely stems from
Celtic/pre-Christian groups of twelve.
Loomis,
Roger Sherman. "Edward I., Arthurian Enthusiast." Speculum, 28 (1953): 114-27.
Examines Edward I.'s affinity for Arthurian legend, including Round
Table tournaments. Explains that
Edward attended Mortimer's Round Table and additionally held at least three
Round Table tournaments of his own. Also
discusses the possibility that Edward held such Round Tables in an effort to
associate his family with Arthur, as he claimed to be Arthur's descendant.
Loomis,
Roger Sherman. "Notes on Lazamon." The
Review of English Studies, 10 (1934): 78-84.
Asserts that Layamon's sources were not Welsh.
Points to arguments that the Welsh did not eat at tables during
Layamon's time, thus the concept of the Round Table could not have originated
in Wales. Also points to the
explicit source mentioned in Wace for the tradition of the table, the Bretons.
Argues that the Bretons knew of the Celtic custom of the circular seating when
dining with a leader and combined the custom with the image of large French
banqueting tables, thus combining Celtic tradition with French Chivalry.
Mott,
Lewis F. "The Round Table." PMLA,
20 (1905): 231-64.
Briefly describes two uses of the term Round Table, a brotherhood of
knights and the actual table itself. Focuses mainly on the third meaning of the
term, a courtly festival on a feast day held by Arthur.
In regard to the literal meaning of the Round Table as the table of the
Knights, the author focuses on the descriptions by Wace and Layamon.
Notes literary history of how and why the table was created.
Also touches on the table as the last in a group of tables symbolizing
the Trinity. Looks to the Celtic
tendency of circular edifices as a means to connect the tradition of the Round
Table with Celtic culture such as mounds and stone monument circles as well as
Irish and Welsh homes.
"Orders
of Chivalry." The Metropolitan Museum of
Art Bulletin, n.s., 32 (1973-1974): 102-104.
Briefly discusses armor of secular chivalric orders starting in the 14th
century. Notes the belief of many
individuals at the time that the first of such orders was King Arthur's Round
Table. Asserts that King Edward III
created the Order of the Garter in 1348 in an effort to reinstate the glory of
Camelot.
Wace and Layamon.
Trans. Eugene Mason. London: Dent, 1986.
Provides
primary source translations of Brut by
both Wace and Layamon. In Wace's
version of the story, readers are not told that Arthur made the Round Table. Wace
attributes tales of the table to the Bretons.
In Wace, the Round Table is also seen as a symbol for equality in
fellowship.
Walters,
Lori J. "Reconfiguring Wace's Round Table: Walewwin and the Rise of the
National Vernaculars." Arthuriana.
15 (2005): 39-58.
Discusses origins of Middle Dutch character Walwein in Wace's Roman
de Brut and contains a small section about the history of the Round Table.
Describes Beate Schmolke-Hasselmann's article about Wace using Geoffrey
of Monmouth as a source for his Roman de Brut and adding the element of the
Round Table to the story. Asserts
that Wace's Round Table concerns elements of kingship and writing about
kinship.
Williams, Mary. "King Arthur in
History and Legend." Folklore, 73
(1962): 73-88.
Examines the history of Arthur using historical documents as well as various versions of Arthurian legend. Contains a small, informative section describing early accounts of the Round Table and possible origins of the concept of the Round Table. Notes that Wace was the first to include the idea of the Round Table made to preserve equality among the knights and was seen as an institution not furniture. Includes Layaman's depiction as a portable table seating 1600 men which Williams likens to Morgan la fee's tent. Asserts that the Round Table is of Celtic origin based off of Posidonius's writings, which describe Gauls sitting in a ring. Also notes the idea that Round Tables were tournaments recorded between 1223-1345 in an effort to return to the chivalry and glamour of King Arthur's court.