Knights of the Round Table

The Knights of the Round Table are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the French-language Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are a chivalric order dedicated to ensuring the peace of Arthur's kingdom following an early warring period, entrusted in later years to undergo a mystical quest for the Holy Grail. The Round Table at which they meet is a symbol of the equality of its members, who range from sovereign royals to minor nobles.
The various Round Table stories present an assortment of knights from all over Great Britain and abroad, some of whom are even from outside of Europe. Their ranks often include Arthur's close and distant relatives, such as Agravain, Gaheris and Yvain, as well as his reconciled former enemies, like Galehaut, Pellinore and Lot. Several of the most notable Knights of the Round Table, among them Bedivere, Gawain and Kay, are based on older characters from a host of great warriors associated with Arthur in the early Welsh tales. Some, such as Lancelot, Perceval and Tristan, feature in the roles of a protagonist or eponymous hero in various works of chivalric romance. Other well-known members of the Round Table include the holy knight Galahad, replacing Perceval as the main Grail Knight in the later stories, and Arthur's traitorous son and nemesis Mordred.
The first written record of the Knights of the Round Table is found in the Roman de Brut, written by the Norman author Wace in 1155. At the end of the 12th century, works of chivalric romance by Chrétien de Troyes had a major influence on the spread of the Arthurian legend while introducing many of the later popular Round Table heroes to French and international audiences. In the 13th-century Arthurian prose cycles, including their seminal compilation Le Morte d'Arthur, the Round Table eventually splits up into groups of warring factions following the revelation of Lancelot's adultery with King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere. In the same tradition, Guinevere is featured with her own personal order of young knights, known as the Queen's Knights. Some texts also tell of one or two other minor tables, intended for the lesser knights of Arthur, and of the precedent Knights of the Old Table, once led by Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon. A story introduced by Robert de Boron around 1200 focuses on the much earlier members of the 'Grail Table'—followers of ancient Christian Joseph of Arimathea, who centuries later would serve as the template for Uther's and Arthur's orders following Merlin's creation of the Round Table.

Numbers of members

The number of the Knights of the Round Table and their names vary greatly between the versions published by different writers. The figure may range from a dozen to as many as potentially 1,600, the latter claimed by Layamon in his Brut. Most commonly, however, there are between about 100 and 300 seats at the table, often with one seat permanently empty. The number of three hundred was also chosen by King Edward III of England when he decided to create his own real-life Order of the Round Table at Windsor Castle in 1344.
In many chivalric romances there are over 100 members of Arthur's Round Table, as with either 140 or 150 according to Thomas Malory's popular Le Morte d'Arthur, and about 140 according to Erec by Hartmann von Aue. Some sources offer much smaller numbers, such as 13 in the Didot Perceval and 60 in the count by Jean d'Outremeuse in his Ly Myreur des Histors. Others yet give higher numbers, as with 250 in the Prose Merlin, and 366 in both Li Chevaliers as Deus Espees and Perlesvaus.
Chrétien de Troyes suggested around 500 knights in his early romance Erec and Enide. In the same work, Chrétien catalogued many of Arthur's top knights in a series of long hierarchical lists of names. These rankings are different in each of the surviving manuscripts, none of which is believed to be the author's original version.
While not mentioning the Round Table as such, one of the late Welsh Triads lists 24 extraordinary knights permanently living in Arthur's court, mixing romance characters with several Arthur's warriors from a largely lost Welsh tradition considered to originate in old Celtic folklore. Companions of Arthur numbering 24 also appear in the Welsh tale of Peredur son of Efrawg.

Partial lists

Select members

Some of the more notable knights include the following:

Name	Alternative names	Introduction	Other medieval works	Notes
Accolon		Post-Vulgate Cycle, c. 13th century	Le Morte d'Arthur	Loved by Morgan le Fay, accidentally killed in a duel with King Arthur.
Aglovale	Agloval, etc.		The Life of Sir Aglovale de Galis	King Pellinore's eldest son.
Agravain	Agravaine, etc.		Lancelot-Grail, Le Morte d'Arthur	Second son of King Lot and Arthur's sister Morgause.
Arthur		Y Gododdin, c. 6th century	Many	High King of Britain, ruler of Logres and lord of Camelot.
Bagdemagus	Bademagu, etc.		Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, 1170s	Meleagant's father and ruler of Gorre.
Bedivere	Bedevere	Pa Gur yv y Porthaur, c. 10th century	Vita Cadoc, Culhwch and Olwen, Stanzas of the Graves, Welsh Triads, Historia Regum Britanniae, Le Morte d'Arthur, numerous others	Returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake; brother to Lucan.
Bors the Younger				Son of Bors the Elder, father of Elyan the White; Arthur's successor in some versions.
Brunor	Breunor le Noir, La Cote Mal Taillée			Knight who wears his murdered father's coat; brother of Dinadan and Daniel.
Cador			Historia Regum Britanniae, The Dream of Rhonabwy	Raised Guinevere as her ward, father to Constantine; described in some works as Arthur's cousin.
Calogrenant	Colgrevance, etc.	Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, 1170s	Le Morte d'Arthur	Cousin to Sir Yvain.
Caradoc			Perceval, the Story of the Grail, the Mabinogion	Rebelled against Arthur when he first became king, but later supported him. Sometimes two characters: Caradoc the Elder and Caradoc the Younger.
Claudin			Lancelot-Grail, Le Morte d'Arthur	Virtuous son of the villain king Claudas.
Constantine		Historia Regum Britanniae, c. 1136	Le Morte d'Arthur	Arthur's cousin and successor to his throne; Cador's son.
Dagonet				Arthur's court jester.
Daniel von Blumenthal		Daniel von Blumenthal, 1220		Knight found in an early German offshoot of Arthurian legend.
Dinadan		Prose Tristan, 1230s	Le Morte d'Arthur	Son of Sir Brunor the Senior.
Ector	Hector, etc.	Lancelot-Grail, early 13th century	Le Morte d'Arthur	Raises Arthur according to Merlin's command; father to Kay.
Elyan the White				Son of Bors
Erec		Unclear; first literary appearance as Erec in Erec and Enide, c. 1170	See Geraint and Enid	Son of King Lac.
Esclabor				Exiled Saracen king; father of Palamedes, [\|Safir], and Segwarides.
Feirefiz		Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, early 13th century		Half-brother to Percival; Arthur's nephew.
Gaheris			Le Morte d'Arthur	Son of King Lot and Morgause, brother to Gawain, Agravaine, and Gareth, and half-brother to Mordred.
Galahad	Galahad, etc.	Lancelot-Grail, early 13th century	Post-Vulgate Cycle, Le Morte d'Arthur	Bastard son of Sir Lancelot and Elaine of Corbenic; the main achiever of the Holy Grail.
Galehault	Galehot, etc.	Lancelot-Grail, early 13th century		A half-giant foreign king, a former enemy of Arthur who becomes close to Lancelot.
Galeschin	Galeshin, etc.	The Vulgate Cycle		Son of Elaine of Garlot and King Nentres; nephew of Arthur.
Gareth	Beaumains		Le Morte d'Arthur, Idylls of the King	Also a son of King Lot and Morgause; in love with Lyonesse.
Gawain	Gawaine, Gauvaine, etc.	Culhwch and Olwen, c. 11th century	Conte du Graal, Lancelot-Grail cycle, Prose Tristan,''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Le Morte d'Arthur and many short Middle English romances	Another son of King Lot and Morgause; father of Gingalain.
Geraint			Geraint and Enid	Enid's lover.
Gingalain	Wigalois, etc. Also Fair Unknown		Le Bel Inconnu	Gawain's son.
Gornemant	Gurnemanz, etc.	Perceval, the Story of the Grail	Parzival	Mentor of Perceval.
Griflet	Girflet, etc. Jaufre		Jaufré	A cousin to Lucan and Bedivere.
Hector de Maris	Ector		Quest du Saint Graal	Half-brother of Lancelot, son of King Ban; Bors and Lionel are his cousins.
Hoel			The Dream of Rhonabwy, Geraint and Enid	Son of King Budic of Brittany; father to St. Tudwal.
Kay		Pa Gur yv y porthaur? 10th century	Many	Ector's son, foster brother to Arthur.
Lamorak	Lamorat	Prose Tristan, c. 1235	Lancelot-Grail Cycle	Son of King Pellinore, brother to Tor, Aglovale, Percival, and Dindrane; lover of Morgause.
Lancelot	Lancelot du Lac, Lancelot of the Lake, Launcelot	Erec and Enide, c. 1170	Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, Lancelot-Grail, many others	Son of King Ban from France. Lancelot, the most prominent knight of the Round Table, as well as the most powerful knight, is infamous for his affair with Queen Guinevere. He is the father of Galahad, the most prominent Knight of the Round Table in later romances.
Lanval	Launfal, etc.	Marie de France's Lanval, late 12th century	Sir Landevale, Sir Launfal, Sir Lambewell	Enemy of Guinevere.
Leodegrance				Guinevere's father, King of Cameliard, and the holder of the Round Table during the period between the death of Uther and the reign of Arthur.
Lionel			Lancelot-Grail, early 13th century	Son of King Bors of Gaunnes and brother of Bors the Younger.
Lucan	The Butler		Le Morte d'Arthur	Servant to King Arthur; Bedivere's brother, Griflet's cousin.
Maleagant	Meliagrant, etc. Perhaps Melwas	Unclear, a similar character named "Melwas" appears in the 12th century Life of Gildas	Lancelot-Grail, Post-Vulgate Cycle, Le Morte d'Arthur	Abductor of Guinevere.
Mordred	Modred	Annales Cambriae, c. 970	Many	In the Round Table stories, Arthur's illegitimate son through Morgause.
Morholt	Marhaus, etc.	Tristan poems of Béroul and Thomas of Britain, 12th century	Tristan poems of Eilhart von Oberge, Gottfried von Strassburg, Prose Tristan, Post-Vulgate Cycle, Le Morte d'Arthur	Irish knight, rival of Tristan and uncle of Iseult.
Morien	Moriaen	Dutch romance Morien, 13th century		Half-Moorish son of Aglovale.
Palamedes		Prose Tristan, 13th century		Saracen, Son of King Esclabor, brother of Safir and Segwarides.
Pelleas	Pellias	Post-Vulgate Cycle, 1230s	Le Morte d'Arthur	In love with Ettarre, later lover of Nimue.
Pellinore			Lancelot-Grail, Post-Vulgate Cycle	King of Listenoise and friend to Arthur.
Perceval	Percival, Parzifal, Parzival	As Percival, Erec and Enide, c. 1170	Perceval, the Story of the Grail, Lancelot-Grail, many	Achiever of the Holy Grail; King Pellinore's son in some tales.
Safir			Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Prose Tristan	Son to King Esclabor; brother of Segwarides and Palamedes.
Sagramore	Sagramor, etc.		Lancelot-Grail, Post-Vulgate Cycle, Prose Tristan, Le Morte d'Arthur	Ubiquitous Knight of the Round Table; various stories and origins are given for him.
Segwarides			Le Morte d'Arthur, Prose Tristan	Son of Esclabor; brother of Safir and Palamedes.
Tor			Le Morte d'Arthur	Son of King Ars, adopted by Pellinore.
Tristan	Tristran, Tristram, etc.	Beroul's Roman de Tristan	The two Folies Tristans, Marie de France's Chevrefeuil, Eilhart von Oberge, Gottfried von Strassburg, Prose Tristan, Post-Vulgate Cycle, Le Morte d'Arthur	King Mark's son or relative, Iseult's lover.
Urien	Urien, etc.	Historical figure	Welsh Triads	King of Rheged, father of Yvain and husband of Morgan le Fay.
Yvain	Ywain, Uwain, etc.	Based on the historical figure Owain mab Urien	Historia Brittonum, Yvain, the Knight of the Lion''	King Urien's son.
Yvain the Bastard	Ywain the Adventurous			Urien's illegitimate son.