The Round Table: An Obsession with Honor and Revenge
by Emily Baldo
In “The Poisoned Apple” in Thomas Malory’s King Arthur and his Knights, themes of deception and trust are present, played against each other, but also present is a vehement need for revenge, whether it is aimed at the true wrongdoer or not. This is perhaps unsurprising, given how partial the Knights of the Round Table are to their honor and pride, but it prompts the question: how honorable is it to throw all else out the window except for one’s own honor? Is it really reasonable to place a reputation on a pedestal in such a way? Additionally— do the events of “The Poisoned Apple” really show honor on the knights’ part?
“The Poisoned Apple” follows Queen Guinevere in her determination to prove her care for all of the knights: “all was for to show outward that she had as great joy in all other knights of the Round Table as she had in Lancelot” (Malory 116). She sets out to host a dinner for the Round Table, at which a knight called Sir Pinel poisoned a few of the apples, intending to kill the knight Sir Gawain, who killed Sir Pinel’s brother. In an unfortunate turn of events, Sir Patrise ate a poison apple before Gawain could, and naturally blame was thrown at the queen.
It is slightly shocking that the knights who took vows of loyalty to King Arthur would not extend the courtesy of the benefit of the doubt to his wife and queen, who wept and swore that she had not organized this assassination. Instead, they maintain that she should be put to the death despite the belief they may be expected to have in her own honor, until it is proven otherwise. As more of the plot is revealed to the knights themselves, this disturbing fascination with revenge to salvage their honor becomes more apparent to the reader. Despite Guinevere telling the truth, over and over, the knights refuse to entertain the option that the crime came from within them— another surprise, as Gawain was supposed to be murdered for killing the brother of a fellow knight, and Lancelot essentially betrays his own vows to Arthur through his relationship with Guinevere that is common knowledge to the rest of the Table. I would argue that, although their blind loyalty to each other (this time) is somewhat admirable, the refusal to listen to the opposing side portrays a lack of rationality that one may consider necessary to possess as a dedicated servant to the king. The thought left with readers by the story, at least in my experience, is the principle that a willingness to admit uncertainty is more honorable than all else.
