Realms of the Round Table by John Matthews

Book Review

Pauline Morgan

The concept of the coffee-table book is a conceit aimed at promoting conversation. Today, the term often refers to a beautifully produced book that invites the observer to leaf through the pages and admire the contents. This volume is a coffee-table book.

            Realms of the Round Table is the second and companion volume to The Great Book of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. The first volume concentrates mostly on the familiar stories as collected by Sir Thomas Malory in Le Morte D’Arthur. This second volume is the result of exhaustive research into the stories surrounding King Arthur from other parts of Europe. Although Arthur is styled as the King of All Britain, stories were told in many European countries, and John Matthews has scoured mediaeval to find them, many of which have not been previously printed in English. The text of this book is profusely punctuated by exquisite black and white drawings by Canadian John Howe, as well as a few full-colour plates. This volume is worth the price just for these, which are a showcase for Howe’s work.

            The stories have a number of themes that are common to many of them. Fully armoured knights ride out in search of adventures, which often involves coming to the aid of a damsel in distress. There are fights which either end up with the opponent dead, or if just defeated, made to go the Camelot and pledge fealty to King Arthur. Magic may be involved, as Arthur’s world lies on the edge of the Fae Realms, and there is traffic between the two worlds. Castles appear all over the place, probably more stone-built structures than actually existed in the period when the stories were written down (12^th to 13^th centuries). It perhaps should be remembered that these stories were probably originally told in inns and manor houses by travelling entertainers, the listeners wanting tales of heroes living very different lives from them.

            A number of the stories concern characters that will be familiar to those who follow Arthurian legend, though how they managed to fit all the adventures into one lifetime is miraculous. Sir Gawain is a regular participant. In ‘The Perilous Cemetery’ Sir Gawain defeats a demon in a battle to rescue a damsel who is held prisoner by the demon. This is only one of the fights he has to win in order to rescue another damsel. This story is French in origin, as is ‘The Tale of Hunbaut’. This shows a different side of Gawain, who comes across as impulsive and thuggish, while Sir Hunbaut, his companion in this tale, is the more compassionate and chivalrous. Gawain shows his tendency for bed-hopping.

            Sir Lancelot. Sir Gawain and the White-foot Stag puts Gawain in a better light. Lancelot obtains the stag’s white foot for Blanche, who had agreed to marry whoever gave it to her. Lancelot is attacked, injured, and the foot is stolen from him. It is Gawain who gives him aid and seeks revenge on his behalf, but declines to marry Blanche. Some women, though, have fallen in love with Gawain without meeting him. In ‘The Avenging of Raguidal’ Gawain is lured to a castle by a Lady who has fallen in love with him without their ever having met. She has conceived the idea that Gawain will come to avenge a fellow knight, and magic is used to ensure he is the one selected for the task. ‘The Marvels of Rigomer’ sees Gawain going to Ireland. This time it is to rescue Lancelot, who has been captured and trapped in an enchanted castle. He has to break other enchantments in ‘The Turk and Sir Gawain’ when the Turk challenges him to face the King of Man.

There are other stories of Gawain in this volume, but he is not the only knight that ventures out to fight. Arthur himself has not totally given up adventuring. In ‘King Arthur and King Cornwall’ Arthur hears a rumour that there is a Round Table bigger than the one at Camelot. He rides with several knights, including Gawain, and eventually finds a castle containing magical objects and a demon which is only defeated by a relic held by one of the knights. Gawain does not come across with gallantry in this story as he gets drunk and boasts about abducting the most beautiful woman in the castle. ‘In King Arthur and Gorlagon’ Guinevere accuses Arthur of knowing nothing about women’s nature. On his travels to try to find out, Arthur is told the story of an unfaithful wife who turns her husband into a wolf.

Magical objects appear in many stories, and there are hints that the fae are involved with some of the adventures the knights experience. In ‘The Boy and the Mantle’ a youth brings a cloak to Camelot with the story that it will only fit a woman who is faithful to her husband. All the ladies of the court tried it, and the only one who it fit was the wife of Sir Caradoc. In ‘Sir Garel and the Terrible Head’ the head in question is on a shield. When anyone looks on it, they fall dead and are eaten by a monster. Garel slays the monster when the Dwarf King Albwin dons a cloak of invisibility and steals the shield.

There are a total of thirty stories in this volume, but because they all have a similar style, this is a book that is best dipped into rather than read all at once. The research, hunting out the stories and their translations, is meticulous, and the book comes supplied with references. It illustrates well that people have always wanted a means of escape from their usual lives, and these were the fantasies of the Middle Ages.