Visit Winchester to find the spirit of King Arthur

The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is one of the most enduring myths in British history.

As is with the best stories, we never quite know the truth, clouded in uncertainty, endless possibilities, semblances of truth interjected with layer upon layer of embellishment, like Chinese whispers.

Fascinatingly, what we do know about him comes directly from the many medieval histories and romances that celebrated his life. We get snippets of his life from a multitude of sources like the writings of Gildas to the Annales Cambrriae to early poetry like Y Gododdin.

Put together and re-imagined, a great man emerges, courageous, popular, a symbol of Great Britain. Arthur is, mythological or not, an important part of British heritage.

Quests for the holy grail, the magic of Merlin, the merry band of consummate knights like Lancelot and Sir Galahad, Guinevere, the mystery of the Lady of the Lake and of course, the grand Excalibur sword, the life and times of Arthur were memorable.

With this in mind, if you’re spending time in holiday cottages in Winchester, see if you can come to some conclusions about the truth of Arthur by visiting the Great Hall and seeing in person The Round Table from where Arthur and his knights had a good gossip about the many adventures they had been on.

Okay, so the table is not from the late 5th and early 6th century, more like the 13th, believed to have been made at the command of Edward lll, who, with a soft spot for nostalgia, considered bringing back a round table to discuss many important things with his senior men.

We imagine they deliberated over what time they were going hunting, considering the pros and cons of going to war, what new taxes they could introduce sneakily, how much meat they were going to eat at another riotous banquet, and the weather, because, after a while, everyone gets back to talking about the weather.

“It’s a nice day for shooting a bow and arrow, Arthur.”

“It is a fine day for such a thing squire.”

“Ah, Arthur, it is raining, alas we cannot go to war.”

“Seriously squire, do you not realise I can see that for myself… you’re fired.”

Nevertheless, the round table, which incidentally hangs on the wall at the back of the Great Hall, is a fine thing indeed, and, given that it has come to be known as “Arthur’s table”, like Uri Gellar urging us all to bend spoons and making that happen, if we believe it is the table, then it does in fact become the table.

Savvy?

The table is a hefty weight, nearly 1.25 tons, made from English oak, three inches thick and 18 feet in diameter. The names of all the knights appear around the margins of the table, whilst in the centre, around a rose, there is an inscription that reads: “this is the rownde table of kyng Arthur w(ith) xxiiii of his namyde knyattes”.

That’s the literal inscription by the way, not poor spelling.

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