Everyone has heard of The Knights of the Round Table, but not very many people know a whole lot about these honorable knights of King Arthur. Whether one has just heard one of these famous knight’s story, or all of them, there is still so much more you could learn. Maybe one wonders how they got started. Maybe one asks who were the members and why their part of the story was so important. Heck, maybe one even ask about the battles they fought through and how the end of them came about.
Whether it is any of those three things, or it is anything else, you will probably learn more about them every time you come across a different article or story about these knights of chivalry. There are many, many stories about how many knights this round table had, but most of the stories consist of about 150 knights. Out of these 150 knights, there are thirteen main knights that are a major part to the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the round table. These thirteen knights consist of Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, Sir Geraint, Sir Gareth.
Sir Gaheris, Sir Bedivere, Sir Galahad, Sir Kay, Sir Bors De Ganis, Sir Lamorak, Sir Tristan, Sir Percivale, and non other than the King himself, King Arthur. Knight Arthur’s story began when King Pendragon, due to his love for the Queen of Cornwall, asked a wizard by the name of Merlin to cast a spell on him to disguise him ask the King of Cornwall. This deal was made but for return, Merlin would raise King Arthur to be the most noble of knights and make for the best king possible. But there had seemed only to be one way to determine who would take place as king after Pendragon passed.
Merlin casted a spell on a sword that was laced into a pedestal, only the true king will be able to pull this sword out. Many knights from far and wide would travel to the land of camelot to try to withdraw the sword from its home. One day a young knight with great skills step up to the pedestal and pulled the sword out with ease. This man is later known as the king of Camelot himself, King Arthur. King Arthur was mostly known for his great abilities as a knight and even an excellent general. (KingArthur) King Arthur ended up getting married to Guinevere, whose father granted Arthur with the Round Table that the knights would end up using as a meeting place.
When this table was given to King Arthur, it already had 100 knights with it. This means that King Arthur got to choose 50 more knights that he thought would fill these seats. King Arthur would pick only the most honorable knights in the land to join him and the 100 men. He would have these men chosen by his right hand man, Merlin, which was told to choose only the knight that showed the most chivalrous. (Owen JarusLiveScience) This table was set so that the knights would be able to meet, rant, and discuss many things such as quest and battles that may take place.
Out of these 150 knight, twelve of these knights did major things that effect the kingdom and King Arthur himself. The first knight that King Arthur picked was Sir Lancelot, Son of King Ban of Benwick and Queen Elaine. Sir Lancelot was a very honorable knight and would do anything to help or serve other. Not only was Sir Lancelot noble, he was also known as, if not the greatest, one of the greatest knights that King Arthur had served under him. Sir Lancelot ended up getting wed to Elaine of Astolat. The nephew of the King himself was placed as one of the Knights of the Round Table.
Sir Gawain was the hero of the Sir Gawain in the Green Knight. Sir Gawain didn’t feel like he belonged at the table and felt he was only there due to being related to the king. (Pearl Poet) Sir Gawain gained his loyalty after he went through the test with the green knight and returned alive. Everything was going well for until he heard about the death of his brother by the hands of Lancelot. This death was accidental but Gawain held a grudge for getting revenge for his brothers death, calling Lancelot his rival. This was a lifelong grudge, but at Gawain’s death bed, Gawain forgave Lancelot for the death of his brother.
Sir Geraint is the eldest son of King Erbin of Dumnonia. After the death of Sir Geraint beloved wife, he spent much time at the round table and around King Arthur. Sir Geraint help Sir Yniol out which led to him marrying Yniol’s daughter, Lady Enid. Sir Geraint and Lady Enid lived a long happy marriage together until Geraint died by Arthur’s side at the battle against the Saxons(King Arthur). Sir Gawain had two brothers, with his youngest being Sir Gareth. Sir Gareth was one of the knights that, at some points, would act less than chivalrous and avoid other knights of the table.
Sir Gawain was accidentally murdered by Lancelot which led to the hate for Lancelot by Gawain. The second brother of Sir Gawain, Sir Gaheris who married Lynette before he became a knight. The day Gaheris married Lynette, Gareth married Lynette’s sister. Gaheris was one of the knights who were in the rescue of Queen Guinevere, where his brother Gareth died by the hands of Lancelot. Bedivere was one of the Knights of the Round Table that supported King Arthur from the very beginning of his reign. Being one of King Arthur’s supporters, he was one of the first to join the Knights of the Round Table.
Sir Bedivere helped Arthur defeat a giant on the Mont St. Michel. Through all of this, Bedivere sticked with Arthur until Arthur’s death where he asked Bedivere to return Excalibur to the lake. Known as the “Perfect Knight” Sir Galahad was the first knight to see excalibur at the lake. Galahad was the son of Lancelot and Elaine. Sir Galahad was known as the perfect knight for how perfectly mannered he was and honorable to anyone he met, whether it be a friend or foe. Due to his honor for King Arthur, he was one of the three knights chosen for the quest for the Holy Grail.
Through this journey, Galahad saw death’s of his close comrades and even saw the Holy Grail himself. After he experienced all of this, Galahad requested his own death. Foster step brother of Arthur, Son of Eator, Sir Kay was not only a tall knight but was the foremost warrior at King Arthur’s court. Even thought Kay was cruel and powerful, he was one of King Arthur’s most faithful knights. (KingArthur). Sir Kay did end up getting married and having children, but soon afterwards died to Gwyddawg, who Arthur ended up killing in revenge for his foster brother.
A chaste knight, who was the only one to survive the quest for the holy grail. Sir Bors De Ganis. Ganis was a fantastic knight under King Arthur but ended up getting taken over by a magic ring. King Brandegoris’ daughter fell for him and thought she needed to have him. So by the power of love, and a magic ring) Bors fell in love with her. With Lancelot being the cousin of Bors, Bors was most loyal to Lancelot even in the battle against Arthur. After Lancelot died, Bors returned to Arthur’s court where he ended up dying to the crusaders. King Arthurs) Son of Pellinore, Sir Lamorak was labelled one of the strongest in the Knights of the Round Table.
As a young man, Lamorak got his degree in jousting which led to him being such a strong knight. There are many tales about Lamorak fighting 30 different knights by himself, and succeeding. Lamorak was one of the three knights that was noted for his deeds. Lamorak died to the hands of another knight of the round table, Gawaine, because of Lamorak and Gawain’s mother’s love for each other. Sir Tristan, nephew of King Mark of Cornwall, only was a temporary knight of the round table due to his services of his uncle.
Tristan and his uncle’s wife, Iseult, fell madly in love with each other and would try anything to be together. Mark was angered by this and banned Tristan from the lands. Tristan and Iseult fled the kingdom and lived with one another for the rest of their lives. Raised by his mother, Percivale was led to King Arthur in search for the knight who insulted Guinevere. After he joined the Knights of the Round Table, he was asked to go on the Grail quest. Percivale was one of the purest knights of the round table and ended up becoming the holder of the grail.
Everything was pure due to all that the Knights of the Round Table did for Camelot, but things were about to change. A civil war ended up breaking out in Camelot, which will end up being known as the last battle of Camelot. (Caerleon) During this long battle, King Arthur was wounded brutally, which will be the end of King Arthur. Right before the end of King Arthur’s life, King Arthur asked Bedivere to return the legendary sword Excalibur to the lake, which will mark the end of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
