Knights of the Round Table
Preserved but no longer current.
According to Malory (Morte d' Arthur, III, i, ii) there were 150 knights who had "sieges" at the table. King Leodegraunce brought 100 when, at the weddmg of his daughter Guinever, he gave the table to King Arthur; Merlin filled up twenty- eight of the vacant seats, and the king elected Gawaine and Tor; the remaining twenty were left for those who might prove worthy.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Knights of the Round Table” mean?
According to Malory (Morte d' Arthur, III, i, ii) there were 150 knights who had "sieges" at the table. King Leodegraunce brought 100 when, at the weddmg of his daughter Guinever, he gave the table to King Arthur; Merlin filled up twenty- eight of the vacant seats, and the king elected Gawaine and Tor; the remaining twenty were left for those who might prove worthy.
Is “Knights of the Round Table” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.