ROUND THE TABLE 

Extracts from

Vol. XXXIV No 4  Summer 2007

Editorial

For both technical and personal reasons this issue has been delayed, for which huge apologies. This issue finds us in the company of the Fisher King, on his boat (as Simon Rouse’s evocation of blue willow pattern china depicts) and also in other contexts - his castle, the church and even the pub. What does it all mean? Will you be any wiser by the end? And are these the right Grail questions to ask? As usual, in addition to the Rich Fisher, there are other strands running through this issue - we hope there is something or other for each of you. We try to please most of the people most of the time, if you feel we don’t get it right let us have your views, or better still your articles, reviews, comments, , pieces of local news or long-pondered query.

For future themes, fiction - both original and reviewed - is probably overdue and Guinevere, another theme from the early days, should help restore the visibility of the Dark Age female in an otherwise male-dominated landscape.

Pendragon Round Table 2007

Pendragon’s biennial get-together took place within the octave of St. John’s Eve ( as Malory might have put it) on the last day of June at Baskerville Hall, near Hay-on-Wye.

After the AGM at the round table in the conference room, we had an enlightening update, based on his DPhil research at the University of Wales, on the latest scholarly ideas on the Welsh Arthurian material from Scott Lloyd. Scott, co-author of Pendragon: the Origins of Arthur, has kindly promised a synopsis of this valuable research for a future issue of Pendragon.

Round-the-table discussion centered on, among other areas, the journal, the new website and the Society’s Golden Jubilee. The flavour of the lively contributions to the last topic is evoked by Dave Burnham’s article in this journal( if you enjoy this, you may also like C.S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength).

As part of the afternoon’s entertainment there was an Arthurian Picture Quiz ( devised by that same court jester extraordinaire Dave Burnham) where wit, erudition and cheek were the requisite skills for success. Other very pleasant distractions included chances to win original Arthurian art ( due to the kind generosity of our resident artists Ian Brown and Simon Rouse) and a good selection of Arthurian books and journals. 

Sadly, local based author Phil Rickman (who also writes as Tom Madley) was not able to be with us due to an impending deadline, his riveting novels touch  on many matters  both central and peripheral to Pendragonry. Happily, we were joined again at Hay by Alex Gibbon, author of the provocative The Mystery of Jack of Kent and the Fate of Owain Glyndŵr (Sutton 2005).

Our next Round Table, to be held in 2009, will be our Golden Jubilee, marking our 50th year in the Arthurian field; preparations are already in discussion for this event.

Media

T.V.

Ian Brown spotted a repeat of the “charming yet utterly unbelievable Midsomer Murders on ITV early in August. In an episode entitled The Fisher King the storyline involved “a completely unconvincing barrow (which was obviously a temporary structure covered in Astroturf) in which had been found a Celtic cup and lance head, and the murders and intrigue around that find. References to the Holy Grail and the Fisher King were made with regards to supposedly pagan rites at the Summer Solstice, to bring fertility back to the land and to hopefully save one character’s flagging marriage.” Ian kindly avoided giving away the whole whodunit, adding that “the programme was all harmless fun and, of course, decidedly far-fetched.”

FILM:

The Tiger’s Tale was the critic Philip French’s Film of the Week in early June. Directed by John Boorman. The Tale follows Excalibur (1981) and other films by the director in following recurrent themes and situations: “Quests, encounters by rivers, dreams, merging into reality, symbolic temptations, concepts of honour, man’s divorce from nature, the conflict between free will and destiny.” His “1965 debut, Catch Us If You Can”, was, French comments, “ a criticism of the hedonistic materialism of its time. It was a malaise haunting the land  in the same way as it tainted Malory’s Morte d’Arthur underlies almost everything he’s done,” including, it is implied, his latest film.

Places & Events

COURT CIRCULAR

In Cheshire the Frogg Manor Hotel (which sounds like an establishment in The Wind in the Willows) offers "a treehouse with glamour" named after Arthur's queen. From £260 a night, including chocolates, champagne and a continental breakfast, The Lady Guinevere Suite offers a lavishly royal experience; plus "outside you can lie in a hammock and soak up the view". And Presumably your Lancelot can climb up for a midnight tryst.

Ring 01829 782629 if you're feeling romantic or log on to www.froggmanorhotel.com

EVENTS

The Tintagel Visitor Centre usually plays host to at least one historical re-enactment every year, and 2007 was no exception. The Battle of Camlann (traditionally Arthur's last battle) took place over three days in early August, with battling, archery and falconry displays, competitions and the usual panoply of stalls and attractions. For further information on such events call 01761 471730 or visit http://www.tintagelshow.com/

One of the National Trust's special offers is a reduced‑price entry to The Arthurian Centre at Slaughterbridge in Cornwall: on production of page 7 of The National Trust Magazine summer 2007 issue you would be entitled to 50% off, until May 2008. You are invited to "discover King Arthur's famous stone, at the site of his last battle," as well as seeing the Arcadian garden, dating from 1730. Contact the Centre on 01840 212450 or visit www.arthur-online.co.uk

Books

1.  Edward III's Round Table at Windsor : the House of the Round Table and the Windsor festival of 1344 .  Julian Munby, Richard Barber and Richard Brown,

The Boydell Press 2007 £35.00/$65.00 Arthurian Studies vol 68  HB 978‑1‑84383‑313 0   282pp illus

Historical re‑enactments have always been popular, especially in the late 20th century, from the Society for Creative Anachronism in America, through English Civil War society The Sealed Knot and Dark Age re‑enactment group Britannia in more recent years, to the 50Oth anniversary of the last great tournament in Wales (which was celebrated at Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire in May 2007). Sir Rhys ap Thomas, a supporter of Henry Tudor, marked his admission to the Order of the Carter with what became known as the Great Carew Tournament in 1507, and appropriately enough his family's poet Rhys Nanmor, compared Carew Castle to King Arthur's palace.

But the enthusiasm for historical re-enactment goes back much further back than this, as a new book based on detailed documentary analysis and recent archaeological excavation shows. This fascinating study of a fantastical building takes a suitably multidisciplinary approach, with its contributors including both the head of Buildings Archaeology and a Senior Project Manager at Oxford Archaeology, plus two experienced historians with overlapping expertise on the Middle Ages, Windsor Castle and the Arthurian legends. That building was the House of the Round Table at Windsor, built and then abandoned in the mide-14th century for plausible reasons explored fully and very clearly in the text. This short-­lived yet extraordinary structure, 200 feet across, was intended to inaugurate a Round Table Order, with tournaments recreating imagined Arthurian ideals in a fusion of literary, political, architectural and social engineering. Sadly this never-completed British Colosseum was effectively forgotten after the victory of Crecy, and the mammoth Round Table Order it was meant to celebrate was jettisoned in favour of a slim‑downed Order of the Garter (151‑2).

Supplemented with documentary appendices and splendid illustrations, this in-depth study explores the historical background to a modern archaeological discovery, detailing its analogues and inspirations, ultimately revealing that role­ playing games are nothing new; it can't be praised enough. 

2. Lloyd Alexander:  The death of Lloyd Alexander in May this year at the age of 83 was recently announced; the Philadelphia‑born author was best‑known for his Chronicles of Prydain series, children's novels which are rooted in Welsh traditions, as exemplified by the Mabinogion. The first, The Book of Three, was published in 1966, and was followed by The Black Cauldron (also the title of the 1985 Disney cartoon of the first two books), The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer (Taran is the principal character in the Chronicles, beginning as an assistant pig‑keeper) and The High King. Alexander found Wales, where he was briefly stationed during the Second World War, a magical place: "The beauty of this ancient, rough‑hewn country fascinated me. To my eyes it was still a realm of bards and heroes; the Companions of Arthur might have galloped from the mountains with no surprise to me. I seemed to recognize faces from all the hero tales of my childhood. Not until years later did I realize I had glimpsed another enchanted kingdom."

According to Wikipedia, in describing the influences on his writing, Alexander once said, "Shakespeare, Dickens, Mark Twain and so many others were my dearest friends and greatest teachers. I loved all the world's mythologies: King Arthur was one of my heroes." His Prydain books deservedly remain available in paperback editions. He successfully wrote other fantasy series for young readers, all generally characterised using "settings from the past as a way of exploring contemporary struggles". Alexander himself declared that “an openness to compassion, love and mercy is as essential to us here and now as it is to any inhabitant of an imaginary kingdom".

3. John and Caitlin Matthews' books. Several  have entered a "recessive shadow" (including the forthcoming Folio Society title King Arthur) they report; the latter has been delayed and will not be arriving until Spring 2008. You need to join the Folio Society in order to receive your own copy by writing to The Folio Society Ltd, 44 Eagle Street, London WC1R 4FS, or see www.foliosoc.co.uk.  Arthur Of Albion is John's book of stories "for all ages" based on the older Celtic world of the Dark Ages. The text is illustrated by Russian artist Pavel Tartanikov: the artwork is now completely finished but the publisher wants to bring it out for the Christmas market, which means that it will be now be published in September 2008. John is just about to sign the contract to produce what will, he hopes, be a series of Arthurian graphic novels. Provisionally entitled The Chronicles of Arthur, these will be illustrated by well-known graphic artist Mike Collins, who has illustrated Dr. Who, Green Lantern and many others. "John and Mike have been talking about this for 10 years, so they are both delighted to be finally getting under way" according to a recent issue of Hallowquest Newsletter. The first volume will appear sometime in 2008/9.

Letter

‘I have been a member for a few years now and am so impressed with the diversity of interests and the level of erudition of the contributing members. The journal is fascinating and never fails to provoke thought and curiosity. I wish I were closer than the "other side of the Pond so that I could attend the AGM but perhaps one day...

I am including a poem I wrote, inspired by a small article in Pendragon about Mike Baillie's theory of the Dark Ages being caused by a cometary near-miss. While it may be suspect and improbable, it was intriguing to me and I spent many happy hours reading more about it on the Web ‑ as I am chiefly interested in the historical Arthur (yes, I remain a believer, Dumville notwithstanding) and Dark Age Britain. This is an elegy for the Arthur of my childhood, strongly influenced by Rosemary Sutcliff's wonderful Sword at Sunset (still my favorite of all "versions"). I wouldn't want readers' disagreement with Baillie to obscure the point of the poem. It was by no means intended as an endorsement or exploration of his theory. For me, it was an interesting, idea, which became an extremely useful and engaging poetic device for an elegy’.                                                  Jane Perr, via e-mail

(Jane’s sensitive poem appears in the journal ; Rosemary Sutcliff was a supportive member of Pendragon in the early formative years of the Society.)

Article 

What did Arthur Drink?

“What did Arthur and his knights actually drink? What drinks were available in silver pitchers placed at intervals on the Round Table or poured delicately into golden goblets by lissom though demure samite-clad noblewomen?” In his article Dave Burnham sets out to answer this question, thoroughly researching many aspects of the subject. His conclusions could be of considerable interest to those wishing to organise a medieval banquet, wedding feast of similar event. It must have been a challenging task, visiting and consulting experts in this field and sampling all their suggested liquors and we must thank Dave for undertaking this challenging task on our behalf.

Next Issue

This will be a double issue, to catch up with our normal schedule. Promised items will include news of a Serpent or Dragon in Herefordshire and of the giant boar Twrch Trwyth in the USA!

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We plan to expand the scope and content of this website considerably in the near future, to include articles from past and present journals. Please visit us again regularly.