5) Why is it important that the table is round?
6) Describe the "Seige Perilous"
2007-04-02 12:06:25 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I don;t know the second answer but the first one is this-the table beign round puts NOone at the head of it, they are ALL equal including the king.
edit-
"In Arthurian legend, the Siege Perilous (commonly known as "The Perilous Seat") was a specially reserved seat at the Round Table which was kept vacant by Merlin for the knight who was destined to quest for and return with the Holy Grail."
2007-04-02 12:10:13 · answer #1 · answered by Betsy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. The Tradition: King Arthur's famous Round Table was first mentioned in about 1155, in Wace's "Roman de Brut," a rewrite of the first popular Arthurian novel, Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain". Wace explains that the King installed the the table in order to prevent quarrels over seating precedence, as a circular table had no head. Later writers add that there had actually been brawls at Court over the matter."
2. Notable amongst the seats around the table was the 'Siege Perilous,' placed there by Merlin as an aspiration for those who would be the most pure of knights.
In Arthurian legend, the Siege Perilous (commonly known as "The Perilous Seat") was a specially reserved seat at the Round Table which was kept vacant by Merlin for the knight who was destined to quest for and return with the Holy Grail. Depending on the version either Perceval or Sir Galahad were the purest, and most honorable of all the knights of the round table and they alone were destined to find the Grail. The Siege Perilous was so strictly reserved that it was fatal to anyone else who sat in it. One theory mentioned in the tale of King Arthur, is that Merlin one day accidentally sat in the seat and was killed.
After being knighted by his father Sir Lancelot, Galahad was led to his seat in Camelot on Whitsunday, 454 years after the death of Jesus."
There's a picture at link 2, but really it was just another seat at the Round Table as far as appeaerance went.
2007-04-02 19:14:12 · answer #2 · answered by johnslat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Siege perilous is the vacant seat at the Round Table, reserved by Merlin for the knight who would go on the quest for and find the Holy Grail. In some versions it is Perceval - in others it is Galahad.
2007-04-02 19:13:14 · answer #3 · answered by Uncle John 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The table is round so that there is no "head" of the table - all places and therefore all who sit at it are equals.
The Siege P erilous was the seat strictly reserved for the knight who would find the Holy Grail. It was said that if the wrong knight sat in it they would die.
2007-04-02 19:12:15 · answer #4 · answered by Barry S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The table is round to signify that everyone seated there is equal. There is no "head of the table," so noone is any more important than anyone else at the table.
Can't help with the 'siege', sorry.
2007-04-02 19:10:57 · answer #5 · answered by runslikeawelshman 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont kno anything about the "seige perlious" but i do kno that the table was round so that everyone was equal. a round table has no beginning and no end, therefore no-one can claim power over the others by sitting at the head of the table. its all about unity.
2007-04-02 19:10:18 · answer #6 · answered by Orion 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
round table signified strength and loyalty sort of similar to a ring -a circle of trust. symbology has always played an important part in history
2007-04-02 19:10:30 · answer #7 · answered by molly 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋