Round Table

The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of Arthur's fabulous retinue. The symbolism of the Round Table developed over time; by the close of the 12th century it had come to represent the chivalric order associated with Arthur's court, the Knights of the Round Table.

History

The Round Table first appears in Wace's Roman de Brut, a Norman language adaptation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae finished in 1155. Wace says Arthur created the Round Table to prevent quarrels among his barons, none of whom would accept a lower place than the others.Layamon added to the story when he adapted Wace's work into the Middle English Brut in the early 13th century, saying that the quarrel between Arthur's vassals led to violence at a Yuletide feast. In response a Cornish carpenter built an enormous but easily transportable Round Table to prevent further dispute. Wace claims he was not the source of the Round Table; both he and Layamon credited it instead to the Bretons. Some scholars have doubted this claim, while others believe it may be true. There is some similarity between the chroniclers' description of the Round Table and a custom recorded in Celtic stories, in which warriors sit in a circle around the king or lead warrior, in some cases feuding over the order of precedence as in Layamon. There is a possibility that Wace, contrary to his own claims, derived Arthur's round table not from any Breton source, but rather from medieval biographies of Charlemagne—notably Einhard's Vita Caroli and Notker the Stammerer's De Carolo Magno—in which the king is said to have possessed a round table decorated with a map of Rome.

Round Table (tournament)

A Round Table was a festive event during the Middle Ages that involved jousting, feasting, and dancing in imitation of King Arthur's legendary court. Named for Arthur's famed Round Table, the festivals generally involved jousts with blunted weapons, and often celebrated weddings or victories. In some cases participants dressed in the costume of such well-known knights as Lancelot, Tristan, and Palamedes. The first recorded instance of this activity was in 1223, when the Crusader lord of Beirut held one in Cyprus to celebrate the knighting of his eldest sons.

Round Tables in Germany, France and Iberia

Round Tables were an aristocratic activity throughout Europe from the 13th until the 15th centuries. They are recorded in France from 1235 to 1332. In Aragon they were held as early as 1269 in Valencia and as late as 1291 in Catalonia. According to Roger Sherman Loomis, "Popes and prelates thundered against these costly, dangerous, and sometimes licentious frivolities, and denied Christian burial to those who took part." Even the middle classes were caught up in this spectacle. In 1281, a burgher of Magdeburg announced a Round Table in that town. Another was set up by the burghers of Tournai in 1330. Rene d'Anjou went so far as to construct a castle for his 1446 Round Table.

Round table (discussion)

Round table is a form of academic discussion. Participants agree on a specific topic to discuss and debate. Each person is given equal right to participate, as illustrated by the idea of a circular layout referred to in the term round table.

Round-table discussions, together with houses of hospitality and agronomic universities, is one of the key elements of the Catholic Worker Movement, as formulated by Peter Maurin, one of the co-founders of the movement.

Round table discussions are also a common feature of political talk shows. Talk shows such as Washington Week and Meet the Press have roundtables of reporters or pundits. Most of these are done around a table in a studio, but occasionally they report in split-screen from remote locations. Some sports shows, such as ESPN's Around the Horn, employ the round table format.

See also

References

Round Table (disambiguation)

The Round Table is the legendary gathering place of King Arthur's knights in the Arthurian legend.

Round Table or roundtable may also refer to:

Famous gatherings around round tables

Winchester

Coordinates: 51°03′48″N 1°18′29″W / 51.0632°N 1.308°W / 51.0632; -1.308

Winchester is a city and the county town of Hampshire. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs National Park, along the course of the River Itchen. It is situated 61 miles (98 km) south-west of London and 13.6 miles (21.9 km) from Southampton, its closest city. At the time of the 2011 Census, Winchester had a population of 45,184. The wider City of Winchester district which includes towns such as Alresford and Bishop's Waltham has a population of 116,800

Winchester developed from the Roman town of Venta Belgarum, which in turn developed from an Iron Age oppidum. Winchester's major landmark is Winchester Cathedral, one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, with the distinction of having the longest nave and overall length of all Gothic cathedrals in Europe. The city is home to the University of Winchester and Winchester College, the oldest public school in the United Kingdom still to be using its original buildings.

Winchester, Massachusetts

Winchester is a small suburban town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, eight miles north of downtown Boston. It is an affluent bedroom community for professionals who work in the greater Boston area. The population was 21,374 at the 2010 United States Census.

History

The land on which Winchester now sits was purchased from Native Americans by representatives of the settlement of Charlestown in 1639, and the area was first settled by Europeans in 1640. In the early years of the settlement, the area was known informally as Waterfield, a reference to its many ponds and to the river which bisected the central village. In its second century, the area was referred to as Black Horse Village, after the busy tavern and hostelry in its center.

Until the middle of the 19th century, parts of Arlington, Medford, Cambridge, and Woburn comprised what is now Winchester. The movement toward incorporation of what, by this time, was called South Woburn was likely precipitated by the rise of the Whig Party in Massachusetts (History of Winchester, Massachusetts by H. S. Chapman and Bruce W. Stone, 1936, 1975).

HM Prison Winchester

HM Prison Winchester is a Category B men's prison, located in Winchester, Hampshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

History

There has probably been a prison in Winchester, mainly known as Winchester gaol, since the thirteenth century.

Winchester Prison was built to a Victorian radial design, with five 'spokes' radiating from a central hub. Four of these are used for prisoner accommodation and one for administration.

Between 1900 and 1963, 16 executions took place at the prison. The last was that of Dennis Whitty, convicted of capital murder at Cornwall Assizes, and hanged on 17 December 1963.

In 1995 serial killer Rosemary West, wife of Fred West, was held in Winchester on remand for the duration of her trial in Winchester Crown Court. Each day she was driven from her specially built unit within the male segregation block half a mile down the road to the court.

In December 2001, a convicted murderer escaped from Winchester Prison by scaling the wall. The prisoner went on the run after using a home-made handsaw to saw through the bars of his ground floor cell window. He then used a rope and grappling hook to scale the 30-feet wall of the prison. The prisoner was recaptured days later.