Blog Categories

Legendary Furniture: A Brief History of King Arthur and The Knights of The Round Table

 The Amish woodworkers create solid wood round tables that would be the envy of any medieval knight. The history of the origins of the legendary Round Table of King Arthur lore varies between sources. These variants with the Arthurian legend describe the Round Table as not just a piece of furniture but a place for men to resolve problems on an equal platform and even indirectly link it with the quest for the Holy Grail.

While early history of the British Kings leave out heroes Lancelot and Perceval, it also did not include Camelot, the Holy Grail, and more importantly, no Round Table. It was circa 1155 that the Round Table appeared in the stories of King Arthur. However, even then, the Anglo-Norman author from Jersey, named Wace wrote a different version of what we know as the Round Table.

Since being a knight was expensive, with armor , horses and training, most knight were of noble birth such as kings and princes, dukes, counts (or earls) and barons. It was customary that whoever sat at the head of table, usually had precedence over the others. The knights would sometimes cause a fight because they envied who was at the seat at the head of table.

Ever the diplomat, King Arthur ordered his table constructed in a round shape, thus removing the opportunity for anyone to assume precedence over others. These were the knights that became known as the “Knights of the Round Table”. Sworn to protect the king these were legendary heroes, celebrated for their strength, courage, and for their skill in combat.

French writer Chretien de Troyes was the first to write about the Grail but the Round Table was not coupled with tales of the Grail until the Crusades. Legend tells that the Round Table could seat 150 knights. Each seat had the name of a knight magically written on the back in letters of gold. One seat remained unoccupied until the Grail knight appeared. The Archbishop of Canterbury would bless each member who sat around the Round Table.

The diplomacy of the Round Table was as much a symbol of Arthur’s kingdom as his sword Excalibur, Camelot, Queen Guinevere and Lancelot. You too can create legends in your own time with an Amish solid wood round table of your own. Oak, cherry, hickory and walnut in custom stains and protected with ARESISTOVAR, a finish that may be better than Merlin’s magic!

Tags: amish tables amish round tables, cherry table, hickory table, history of the round table, oak tables, round table, walnut table

This entry was posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 2:27 pm and is filed under Amish Furniture, Custom Dining Room Tables, Dining Room Furniture, History of Furniture Making, Kitchens, Solid Wood Furniture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.