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.

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."

[3] In 1507 and 1508 James IV of Scotland held a tournament of the Wild Knight and the Black Lady at Edinburgh that was said to "counterfeit the round table of King Arthur".

[4] In 1566, Mary, Queen of Scots gave a feast in Stirling Castle with 30 guests at an imagined replica of Arthur's table during the masque-themed celebrations of the baptism of the future James VI.