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EDWARD III'S ARTHURIAN ENTHUSIASMS REVISITED
secular princes among the Nine Worthies of medieval literature: Hector'
Alexander, Julius Caisit, an-tt"tt "nd
after Arthur's time' Charlemagne
and Godfrey de gou-ilG.'i"""iitg aside the three Jewish leaders who
make up the nine, Alexander is the one pre-Arthurian personage in the
sequence who is.ir;;f';; Geoffrey's'tioty' rn 1332' the'qucefs new
vear sift to tHting/fft;;;;u "*:l enamelled with the images of
iulius-Caesal tuOu, l'ii""iU""t, fti"gs Charlemagne and Arthur' Roland'
Oliver and Lancelot ffiiJil;: lgnr ""*tiest
lnown represe^ntation of
the Nine Worthies (#rati;;tlGtiion of them) in visual art'r3
The concept"fth"i'i;;w;;i;t isfirstfound in Jacques de Longuyon's
Les voeux du paon,*rio", "u"", 1310 for the court of Hainault. This tells
of the adventures of'e[**Otr on his *uy to Babylon' and is a kind of
interpolation in *r" u"ir" -niio"
d'Alexandre; in turn, Ie-tRestor du paon,
which may have b";;itt"; *itt in a few years of the Voeutc, intemrpts
the action of Les Voeux du paon to-nTuL further adventures on the
same journey; uno lJu'ii" io'rtaot"" z e Parfait du paon of 1340 takes up
the story where th;V;;nni'n"o'tn t'oneuvon rwote for the bishop of
Lidge, and Brisebare';;; t; Douai,on"ttie borders of Hainault' while
Jean de la Mote *r"t ?- ift"-.tun r of Cainautt.ls Just as Edward I had
a personal interest t" Ah;;ili"g"-nO' William I of Hainault seems to
have been * ef"*o-oi"l".ift"ri"rt] In 1319, Watriquet de Couvin wrote
of him, 'As long ut'il" "outi
iives' Alexander will not come to an end"
and after his death, i"un o. la Mote compared him at length to Alexan-
der.r6 So when the uutf'o' of f' rceforest teus us that the story he is about
totellwasfoundinEnglandbythecountofHainault,itisnosurprisethat what follows ut"??;ti'sing' exploits of Alexander the Great' and
that two of the treroe's ;i,h;;dare betis and Gadifer, who first appear
with Alexander in the Paon poems'- .
Hence this is "^;;ik-r* combines the histories of the hero with
whomthecountsofHainault*eremo'tussociated'Alexander'andofArthur, @ The union of Edward and Philippa is
reflected in the joining of these two epic cycles by the author's inven-
rbiqtq/I
Etu..tt lll./'4
{o r^rl^'orh
E&r^r''rl ttt
$'r, {+c{*"^|4t
c/{yo'd'f TNA E 361 rot. 34 m' I I J' Vale' Edward III 1nd Chivalry: Chivalric Society and its
i;;;;,,-iiin1350 (woodbridge' le82)' p' 4s'-
Jacques de Longuvon, t'iii'"'f*'i"i"'ito,3'.1' Graeme Ritchie' in The Buik of
Alexander,scottish r*t i*itt "ttiTttitt
r z' tz" zt ' zs (Edinbureh and London'
1921-9); J. Brisebane, tr ' ;;;;;i;"-pton' ed' E' oonitit'" Mooim Humanities Research
Association Texts and ui""'*'io*'r! (Lonoon' l9s0); Jean de la Mote' Le p-arfait du
paon, ed.R. J. Carey' st"iitJi" tnt notuntt I-unguuj"* and Literatures I l8 (Chapel
Hill. NC, 1972).'i, ilrrro, du Paon, ed' Donkin' P: 6: . -',-
Quoted in S. HuoL ro'iiitoniot Fictions in the Romwr de Perceforest Gallica I
(bambridge, 2007't' P' 2'l6
Atlhurian Literature 3o'indb 59
1doBr2013 .aooro I
' 'ir' ' J '- r'-
.:, . :. .
ruCHARD BARBER
*-rt**{fift4flff$iry;-"t","+l'ffi1*;ff['l*:iffi hf-ir,li.i*gr*r'':$iljj3ll;:?tff#"il i"''il'"n". into the
,r,.ir"""e'""-11fi :"",:r{rftililTff Xi'b:?15:"ili$:$.ji:i,ifiThe most *ognlt"ii" iodleian tt!:1.',,,u.inated
at. tournai' Tournairomances is now
1#;;;;*toin.1te other towns 'n'n" "o* coun-
*,$:.11f .ff. l'il*'"* t I ink s,to.tl:
J; J' ffi '
;ua*v the c itv w as
ffi '. ;J i'; b"tnu"'n Hainault' -1,^i' illiol;"
"; ;;l# I 3 3 0s' rhere
ii:e"*;T".t'",i;il:l,tltft f ffi ":l".HlJT,il:1i'"T"it'Jhas been *"1.11;i;*" *""r0 not have !::i::*'"i}":;;"" or Giues
ll*'+;*':llTt'";';;;toFrance'anl'5J:Tt""'il"'#ll;";;ottt''
iy;[W'*n:l:1,*]il,:[i*iJr"s"'H.':rrtsu:T,tl1:*ilphtilput::,:T;?'J-:-:lti,:Til""io,"u"urr_::T"tJi:ffi;;
:3}iliF'pi1#ilo";it*1eln"-":$i''ift ifitf ff*#SH:i?'i"uli * the. inventory "{ h1''9"i:
i;;;""r'uun""i''t'J'ili"1"'ro*'1f-i:5"tiil'Hftlli.l'"',,"r:** :,:i;;il;; al poun')'z' rhere can "' l.;;;;! etritippa st lt before her
f",'i*"tra 'ugg"'t that it Y": "1TL'?;t eoda in Hainar
to have had otre-r manuscripts T:*". been placed by tne beeinning of
;"tti;;;'" rhe commilsiol m1f^1ali il;;'r of t-hatlear' rhe worx
1338, as the scribe finished *"t*^11;;f":"0'"",if April 1.344'.unq t-I"l
"i-iir'**i"".ing the text was *l"t:.:i"";"";irrrrcn
are the book's -g]::: l:
tlr'*'.*ffr:tr#"*::jfr"rlt"l'k;#:'utff ';:';r;":';;This susPenstot
':" ';#'{;;::#'iiXw'}rrrrrw Facsimite of Ms Bodtev 264' intr' M' R'
", #rxili*r,rJ;s'.iTiTFilJ*
rd' Bodteian Library' MS Bodtev''''{
zo rhe Ramanc';?;,:i{lffii:;l;it oo"* Gift rrom Phlippa orHainault to Edward ln"
2r M. A. Mrchae| n rw,iii i's8sl, :sz_sg.
Burlinglon Magaztne t' : ^'-' ::'; ^"a
SO'n The Roman"iSfilito'aT ' PP' 2 and 5
tt
!,Ji-f;
[ ;:'Irt!t,
tt
\ nnnun- t-n"ra|ure 3o'irdb 60
16/08/2013 .*ooro I
EDWARD III'S ARTHURIAN ENTHUSIASMS REVISITED
of Alexander was being produced for- Philipoa' as Tournai was threatened
and then besieged by'Ef,*"";'O fris-affiiJin nprif and July 1340' and
hostilities only ended fiil4; tr"". "rr"r"llstroit'in
January 1343' so the
halt in production """::pdi'. f1""011to tft" p"rloO when Tournai's rela-
tionswithHainaultandEng|and.wereattheirlowestebb.FurtherTnore,the volume includes "ii
trr.* of the continuations of the Alexander story
which we have "fr""iy
i'ir"*J"i frt Voeux du paon, Le Restor du paon . (r^thua1tud
and Le parfait o, ol";j;ffiil;;io u" ttr" perfect predecessor to ' u. ,,ou.Aqperceforest.
Tonlrr *:u'" ":-" : :^: ":;,^insr ro.
d $P Y- ^ tA,'Ti;il"iII is assumed to have,begn a great enthusiast ror ;tllTlfi .4 ;fi;/Arthurian, largely tt tt'" iottgtft
"f referenJes to him as the 'nev
and his foundation "i;R;;d iuur" il ll-,
"H;ever' whatjnterested et'""t +
him was the Arthur;'tffit*I"*"yt9 in the chronicles' not the heroes
of the Arrhurian ;;;;;.'iv["n *" tooi. "ut"rutly
at the evidence for
ownership and readershin 9f {rthurtf^:".1"*lJs at-Edward lll's court' it
is his mother Isabetta who is the most enttrriiutti" "ott""tor and reader of
such books. There f"il; "r1..".r "no r"r.ipr from the privy wardrobe
durins the keepershi;;iffi;"FE.i*t tiiz to l34l' including manv
loanslf books.2r Nine books *e'" i"ued iL tsaUetla on 5 March 1327;
of these, one is " "#;;i;h;;;"""
orp"tttnal' At her death in 1358'
Isabella possessed ;ff; ilF;*h "n
the deeds of Arthur' on Tristram
and Iseult, on p"."i-J'*Jcu*uin,."ld ;; itte Hoty Grail (mistranslated
as de sanguin, ngai"';;i"royuiutooii' G"uut" the clerk' unfamiliar
with the uoot, ,"i ii' ;itd;''-s ':oD:; sne also !.o11Y-"1o***
romances r.o. lor'n'ir';iF;";"*h31he was a captive in England in
1357. Thom", "f #;;ilo"tirf." of C,loucester, whose huge collection
of books is well d;;;;;il' po""""a"t*o io*un"es -of the history of
rroy, two of that ;;;;;;d;' lin"ruo;nsioor"v 291t di'"'"iiiX'f";} n ,'4<- '-* Ia Merlin, u t'on riot,'il;book .'9'f
fr' Tretys lf'king Artt
is a relativerv n,oilri ;i;;r, in his "oil"",io'n.
ti has been. argued that
John Flete's rio, *ii"r' n;';t " 'to"t
ofsq libri de romanc'iis' indicates
widespread ,"uoini'l? t-ilriil at ei*aJ;s court in his vouth and
in the "u.ly
ytut"?r nrt ttigt' io*"u"t' romanc'iis means a book in a
romance langt'uge,-fpi"uity-n"nch' as-well as what we would now call
a romancE, ""d
b;k#;;'Jo.. or*r. ,.r*inittg titles, this figure clearly
includes historiesil ;i#h; i,r;n"tr n"rrions oi Latin treatises and even
It
London, British Library, Additional 60584'{ol' 27v' ,
TNA Elol/393/4 fol. *, t"J"""iltitittt l-iU1V' 9,onon
Galba E XIV'
i ;"ffi il *:,1',:#;:B *j*:;;", #.,.l t ill' ffi \fi :f 4 5 0' (un pub
lished PhD dissertabon' u
6l
I o*rtan t*."re 3o-indb 61
16/0&2013 rO:Oe:rl I
zuCHARD BARBER
a oromance' Old Testament'26 The only book of romances actually iden-
tifiable as Arthurian i, tftt totun"" oi Perceval' It is suggested that the
160 'various books' in John Flete's accounts represent.".ttJit library'
but given that this "";;;;";ers nearly t*"nty v*rr, *itii+"o*iJi tr*-t '"'
6
p-ormt"4 This is "t
i;"ilntut u..u*uiutio" oi iiems which nT-*?::: e-nt*5w t .1 -,ffir;;.-fir" nunO, of iftl f.L"p"t of the great wardrobe' not an organrzed - - ' ' trllt! '
collection of any kind. Isabelia's interest in Arthurian romance may have & -
been purely p"..ona, uJn-f "f.ry1French
cultural background'
The second inlpo,tuni'list which could be evidence for Edward's
reading is a list of Uo&t *nltft upp"ntly belonged to him at his death'
which were in the care of John blcon, commisiioned to deal with his
personal properly'2? Td ii^stsihree Arthurian books' one of which is prob-
ably tsabellu'. .o*uo"" oi pe'ciuut' de-scribed as a romance of Perceval
;i C;;;; et"tn. it u tonlun"" of-King Arthur' which could be the
French pror" ,o*unJ" oititt J*tt' of Art-hur' but equally might be a
retelling of the frmoricaittoty of 44Y in French; and the third is 'a
book called c"tuuttr,, piit"Lryi trt" Grail book belonging^to'Isabella misti-
tled ,de sanguine ,uoii' . Of tire remaining nine, two definitely appear on
Isabella's list.While Arthurian stories and heroes were also very much putt
'ofEdward's cultural b;"i6;ft, they figure only occasionallv aftet he
became king. His d;;kt";iedge ofittem was almost certainly very
different. Arthur t "J *lV the fiindant king of the chivalric romances,
but, to a fourteenth;;";;; t""i"t' tltt greaLst 9f th: king-s of Britain'
Edward's image of Arthui was that creuted by Ge-otrrgV.of Monmouth
in the first part of the twelfth century a fiction cheerfully copied into
sober histories by ;;";i"b.t during- ih" int"*"ning period' and very
rarely questioned d &;;;h"lars- iheclosest literary representation of
Edward,s image "f
Ad;; irlru*rtn" alliterative Morte Arthure, written
inthelatefourteenthcenturywhenmemoriesofhisvictoriesandofthebloody slauglrter J'c;;;rre still fresh. tt echoes episodes from his
wars, but is by no 'iuiJ
u ro^an d clef, where Arthur's campaigns are
modelledonn,owards_orindeedonanyoneelse's;itsrealvalueisinthevery different viewliilre nature of warfrom that found inthe Lancelot'
Grail andtt" ,otnuri""-r-;"il on it. War is bloodthirsty, and a means to
26
27
Dictiorury of Medieval Latinfrom British Sources' ed' D' R' Howlett (Oxfor4 1975-)'
ll';tH#rt]?iing Rict*o ll's Books Revisited"-?he Library 3l' 5th sedes (1976)'
p. 23?; the list is printed *t;*;Git:'n s*av of Books Privirclv owned in England
i'r?$--t"1,?,f;,,J;,irli'n * a version or chr.tien de rroves' percevat.- in which the two
heioes figure with almost equal prominence'
62
I mnutian Uiterature 3o.indb 62
'l€i/082013 rO:Oe:U I
EDWARD III'S ARTHURIAN ENTHUSIASMS REVISITED'
political ambitions which hardly figure in the world of chivalry' Edward
would also have been aware at second hand of the Arthurian romances'
and of the great Arthurian characters such as Lancelot and Guenevere,
perhaps through hearing the stories read or told; this aspect ofthe Arthu-
iian story however, was something for a disguise at a toumament or apassing ieference in one of his ludi at court, not for the serious matter ofthe king's royal imagery.
Edw-ard's hrst yei.s *"re spent under the tutelage (and strict political
control) of his mother and her paramour, Roger Mortimer, after his father
was deposed in 1327. Mortimer, whose stronghold was at Wigmore on th€
Welsh -border,
emphasized his links with the Arthurian world in his tour-
naments there, hoiding a round table in the autumn of 1328 after his crea-
tion as earl of March. It seems that at the festivities associated with this
toumament Edward adopted a surprising Arthurian persona. Previously
unnoticed entries in the wardrobe accounts for 1328-9 record payments
for tunics for the king and twelve knights, and half-tunics for fourteen
accompanying squire{ for'making a game which is called- the game ofthe company ofCraddok'. There are three such entries, one in the section
following tire issue of summer liveries for 1328, another following the
issue of winter liveries in the same year, and a third with no real evidence
as to date.ze Previously unnoticed entries in the wardrobe accounts for1328-9 record payments for tunics for the king and twelve knights, and
half-tunics for'fourteen accompanying squires, for the 'ludus de soci-
etate de Craddok', the game of the company of Craddock. This must be
related to the topic of Le lai du cort manlel,3o an early thirteenth-century
French poem *hich te s the story of a cloak, sent to Arthur's court by
TNA E 361/3. rots I l-12. accounts ofThomas de Useflete, 2 Edward TII (1328-9)l
rot ll, m 2[included in summer livery] for the king and his 12 knights'ad unum ludum fac'quivocatur ludus de soc'Craddok', fbr red cloth 'arren' '. 46 ells, and for half-tunics for
14 valets, servants to the knights at the said 'ludo'. 23 ells ofcoloured cloth'
rot ll, m ld[after entry fo. wintcr livery] lo the king, for half-tunics for 14 valets' servants in the;ludo d€ socictate Craddoki, one striped piec€ ofcloth, according to the letter sent by
the king to the treasu.er and barons of the Exchequer entered in the comunalia of the
fourth ygarr*12,m2- to William de London, for lining 13 hrnics for thc king and l2 knights ofthe 'society
of Craddok'.Mantel et cor: deux lais du Xll" siicle, ed. P Bennett' Textes littdraircs 16 (Exet€(
|971): see also, Frenc h Arthurian Literature V: The Lay ofMantel, ed GlynS Bwgess
and ieslie C. Brook,Arthurian Archives l8 (Cambridge, 2013)
Tf"c Z.rY,n1 r.. f<'
ly t!*z* at'ctrtv'
63f|'<'ra.tartl.Jl..vj -nf.aOr'!
nr( .{.lr.t Q ; tb t'-}'}t"r, r[r- brrarr,L fj(tsx &l'P
@a*fgt}lr, 5- +va,4<tfi ('6/A Lcrt'/roc rovSl),
\r sr,*l rle w tp,'.et)c' , Y-V$ + t^tYt'ft
Arrhudan Lne€tu,e 30 hdb * *ir*rt ;A - q.^..{^ l'r \ rrp 4,P 16'etzo13 1co!5:ta I
arus qArrb Vt<ltt "t t,-,'1' t'1 futr" + fu'ttuUe^ '
RICHARD BARBER
cizing his mother's behaviour. A final irony ofthe whole episode is that
Isabella was of course a great enthusiast for Arthurian romances.
The versions in the Scolacronicd and the short metrical chronicle,
even allowing for the relative freedom with which both the authors treat
their material, are unlikely to have a common origin, though there is a
possible point of contact through William Montagu. Sir Thomas Gray
was in Montagu's retinue in the 1330s, and Montagu was the leader ofthe coup which made the Nottingham caves famous. Whether-this is the
case or nol the two versions reveal a historical arena in which the story ofCradoc and his mantle was well known, in contrast to its relative obscu-
rity in the Arthurian romances. This is important because it ry 3qr,FEdward's knowledge of the romance material could derive from these
supposedly historical texts. There are other similar accounts of the early
hiitbry of Britain which remain unpublished, and which may well reveal
furthei examples of the insertion of romance material into the pseudo-
history of Arthur.aoThis combination of romance and history was reflected in popular
beliefs. The author of tie short metrical chronicle attached great impor-
tance to Glastonbury and more generally to the burial places of kings'
His poem reads almost like a list ofsecular shrines, with Cradoc's mantle
as a kind of secular relic. A century and a half later this idea was echoed
by Caxton, who lists 'Cradok's mantle' as one of the Arthurian exhibits
to be seen at Dover Castle.ar It is tempting to spin a tenuous connection
between the Wigmore toumament of 1328 and Caxton's report: William
Clinton, later e;l of Huntingdon, was a close associate of Edward's and
almost certainly at Wigmore on this occasion. Two years later he became
warden ofDovir Castle; did one ofthe squires' half-tunics end up there as
a memento of a splendid court festival?az What is certain in all this is that
when Edward formed 'the company of Craddock' in 1328, Craddock's
mantle was a local story on the Welsh border and current at the period ofthe Wigmore toumament.
Soe R. H. Fletcher, The Athurian Material in the Cfuonicles, Harvard Studies and
Notes in Philology and Literature X (Boston' 1906), pp 169-92' which. lists Latin
prose chronicles with an Arthurian soclion. and indicat€s rvh€re rmusual gpisodes hav€
been add€d.
@in a similarly speculative vcin, it is also possible that Edward\ fellowship was a'fan
club' for a irinstrel named Craddock A William Craddock, who was a crowder or
player of the Wetsh harp or cnt,r. was paid for pedorming before the king in-|3 l2lll:le. C. Butto"L-Daui. s. Register of Rcyol and Boronial Domestic Minstrels l)72 1327
(Woodbridge, 1986). p. 34. Thersis also a'Craddoc, fellow of William Fox' singer'in
1306. D. 53.
*e-wl
68
fr', 1u.-"'.-', N,,l^t, L^ li(-e e*d D'-cr'^-
QA, p)',.ft<-ra (w-Jtts^j<, 2oO)
'i' tss
Anhunan LiieiEnJre 3o.indb 6ar6m2o13 10:ocl5
|
EDWARD III'S ARTHURIAN ENTHUSIASMS REVISITED
After this, the Arthur of the romances disappears from Edward's life,as far as we can tell from surviving records. In 1331, Edward wore a suit
of armour decorated with 'a castle with the flags of the arms of Lancelot
issuing from it' at a tournament at Havering in Essex.a3 This is the only
Arthuiian entry in the records of Edward's entertainments which relates to
the romances. However, much has been made of the apparently Arthuriancharacter adopted by Edward at Dunstable in 1334, where he jousted in
the arms of ,Monsieur Lyonnel'.aa In 1338, Edward named his third son,
born in Antwerp, 'Lionel'. The name was obviously of special impor-
tance to him, but the reasons for it are not quite what one might expect.
On the assumption that it must be an Arthurian reference, scholars have
pointed to Lionel, the younger brother of Lancelot in the Lancelot-Grailiycle, a secondary figure who largely appears in relation- to_ Lancelot.
Lionel's chief advinture in the romances is the long search for his brother
after Lancelot has gone mad because of Guenevere's reproaches over his
involuntary affair with Elaine. Furthermore, he appears as a violent and
intemperaie character. At the beginning of Lancelot, he is portrayed as a
boy with a stormy and unbiddable temperament, and Galehaut nicknames
him .Unbridled Heart'.a5 Much later in the story, Galehaut remembers
this when Lionel flatly refuses to obey him. Like Galehaut, Lionel acts
as go-between for Lancelot and Guenevere. arranging their trysts. In the
Griil quest, he is similarly portrayed as impetuous and uncontrolled: he
murdeis a hermit who tries to prevent him from killing his brother Bors,
and is only saved from fratricide by divine intervention. He is an unlikelyfigure for the king to choose to impersonate.
The name of 'monsieur Lyonell' appears next to that of WilliamMontagu, his closest friend, in the roll of arms for the Dunstable tourna-
ment. Edward's most recent biographer has very plausibly suggested that
Lionel is a nickname. It is hard to find examples of the use of the name
before 1330 0utside the romances, and its derivation seems to be from
leoncellus, 'little lion'. Furthermore, the shield that he used at Dunstable
is that of the earls of chester, so it looks as if he is harking back to his
apprentice days as a knight, when he would have jousted in these arms.46
43
44
TNA E l0rl385l7 m.2.C. E. Long, .Roll of the Arms of the Knights at the Toumament at Dunstable, in 7 Edw.
lll', Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica IV (1837)' p. 393.
Lancelot-Grait: the old French Arthwian vulgate and Post-lulgate in Transla-
tion, general editor N. J. Lacy, l0 vols. (Cambridge, 2010); Lancelot part l, ll:108;Lancelot part 3, 86:215.I am grateful to Thomas wooffrck, Garter King at Arms, for pointing this out. The
.nt yit under 'Argent a canton gules' in Diclionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordi-
nary, ed. T. Woodiock J. Grant and I. Graharn (London, 1996), II, 223'T]rle source is
the Domville Roll at the college of Arms, dated by Anthony wagner to c.1470.
,1
69
I Arihurian Uterature So.indb 69 1dO8l2O13 r0:06:rS I
RICHARD BARBER
He may have acquired the nickname while he was with Isabella in France,
in 1326; three years later, at a tournament at Wigmore, Roger Mortimer,the queen's paramour and regent with her of England, gave Edward a cup
decorated with the arms of Lionel. In 1333, an embroidery with these
arrns was prepared for the king, and for the Dunstable tournament of1334, four entire suits of armour with the arms of Lionel were made forthe king by Peter de Bruges.a7 At the tournament at Dunstable to celebrate
Lionel's betrothal to the countess of Ulster in 1342, he again used the
arms of Lionel on his armour.a8A further link behveen the arms of Chester and Lionel is more complex.
This is Edward's eagle badge. The problem is that it is an old regal and
imperial badge, but Edward's grant of his eagle badge to Sir WilliamMontagu in 1335 'out of affection'- Montagu was his closest friend
- implies that it was very much his personal badge.ae The arms 'Sablean eigle displayed or' also belonged to the earls of Chester.5o Montagure-granted iito Lionel in 1339, so that both the 'arms of Lionel' and thisbadge lead us back to the earls of Chester.st Since the Prince of Wales
was earl of Chester from 1333 onwards, both the disguised arms and the
grant of the badge are most probably a reference back to Edward II['syouth and his personal heraldry before he became king. what is clear
hom this is that 'Lionel'was a persona pat Edward used in a chivalriccontext, a memento of his youthful prowess, probably for the durationof his serious career as a participant in tournaments. After 1348, there is
little sign that he took part in such affairs; instead, he presided over them
as ceremonial occasions.It is at the Windsor tournament of 1344 that Edward's most dramatic
invocation of the Arthurian legend occurs. The toumament itself was on
a very gland scale, and was mounted with an eye to the maximum effect
on public opinion. Invitations were carried by heralds to European courts,
and- a largeiontingent of London's leading citizens was present. The kinghimself made exceptional efforts to retrieve his great crown and second
crown, which he had pawned in Germany five years earlier when he was
bankrupted by his great alliance against France; he was only able to get
his second ".o*n
bick in time for the feast, but nonetheless rewarded his
agents handsomely for their efforts. At the end of the tournament the king
41
48
49
50
5l
TNA E 361.3, rot. 24 m.ld.TNA E 361.2, m.l3r, quoted in Yale, Edward III and Chivalry' p. 143'
Calendar ofCharter Rolls, 1327-41 (London, l9l2), p.348.Dictionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordinary, II, 140. The source is the Cheshire
section of Sii George Calveley's Book, dated to c. 1350-1400, of which several copies
from 1580 onwards survive.Calendar ofPatent Rolls, 1i3&-40 (London, 1898)' p. 393.
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RICHARD BARBER
are otherwise unknown in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the only
logical conclusion is that Edward III's building and Perceforesl must be
linked. The probability - though this cannot be proved - would seem
to me that Pirceforest was written after the Round Table building came
into existence. The next question, once that between Perceforest and the
Round Table building of t 3++ is established, is why the shield of Lyonnel
du Glat is given such prominence. I would like to suggest that this is acomplimeni to Edward, in his persona as Lionel, echoing his youthful
achiivements in the tournament field. This is less a case of Arthurianenthusiasm on Edward's part than an example of an Arthurian author's
enthusiasm for Edward's chivalric reputation.We cannot date the fourteenth-century original of Perceforesl exactly
as a result of these discoveries, but the most likely point in Edward's
reign is certainly the decade from 1340 to 1350. A date before 1344 must
urJrrl" that the Round Table was built in imitation of the description
in Perceforesl, which, given what we know of Edward's interest in the
,orn*"Jr, seems highly unlikely. A date after 1344 would assume, much
more plausibly, that the description of the round table in the romance was
based on Edward's building. The latest date for the fourteenth-century
version of Perceforest would be around 1370, since the House of the
Round Table was demolished during william of wykeham's remodel-
ling of the upper ward in 135741, and its dimensions would have been
forlotten soon afterwards. There are no further allusions to it in the chron-
iclJs of the period after its inauguration < Ur^< +4 Edward's use of the Round Table springs from a different tradition to
that of the romances for which he is generally supposed to have been an
enthusiast. Like his grandfather, he regarded Arthur as one of his great
forebears, a historicaifigure who could be invoked when need be. Edward
I had gone to Glaston6ury and had ordered a new tomb to be created
for Arthur; Edward III and Philippa visited Glastonbury shortly after he
came to power in the autumn of t330. He did no! as his grandfather had
done, invoke Arthur as a precedent for his overlordship of Scotland; but
then he had the Scottish liing in captivity for much of his reign, and the
quarrel with Scotland took second place to his claim to France after 1337 -
*et when he wanted to create a powerful impression on his assembled
court and to fire his nobles and knights with enthusiasm, he turned to the
Arthurian legend, and tried to create the most imposing building in his
kingdom to back up his aspiration to revive the Round Table, 'just as it*aJin Arthur's time'. It is a reminder that the Arthur of the chronicles
was probably a more powerful image for Edward and his lords than the
Arthur of romance.
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