News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.

Etymology

One theory claims that the English word "news" developed in the 14th century as a special use of the plural form of "new". In Middle English, the equivalent word was ''newes'', like the French ''nouvelles'' and the German ''neues''. Similar developments are found in the Slavic languages – the Czech and Slovak ''noviny'' (from ''nový'', "new"), the cognate Polish ''nowiny'' and Russian ''novosti'' – and in the Celtic languages: the Welsh ''newyddion'' (from ''newydd'') and the Cornish ''nowodhow'' (from ''nowydh'').

History

Before the invention of newspapers in the early 17th century, official government bulletins and edicts were circulated at times in some centralized empires.

The first documented use of an organized courier service for the diffusion of written documents is in Egypt, where Pharaohs used couriers for the diffusion of their decrees in the territory of the State (2400 BC). This practice almost certainly has roots in the much older practice of oral messaging and may have been built on a pre-existing infrastructure.

In Ancient Rome, ''Acta Diurna'', or government announcement bulletins, were made public by Julius Caesar. They were carved in metal or stone and posted in public places.

In China, early government-produced news sheets, called tipao, circulated among court officials during the late Han dynasty (second and third centuries AD). Between 713 and 734, the ''Kaiyuan Za Bao'' ("Bulletin of the Court") of the Chinese Tang Dynasty published government news; it was handwritten on silk and read by government officials. In 1582 there was the first reference to privately published newssheets in Beijing, during the late Ming Dynasty;

In Early modern Europe, increased cross-border interaction created a rising need for information which was met by concise handwritten newssheets. In 1556, the government of Venice first published the monthly ''Notizie scritte'', which cost one gazetta. These avvisi were handwritten newsletters and used to convey political, military, and economic news quickly and efficiently to Italian cities (1500–1700) — sharing some characteristics of newspapers though usually not considered true newspapers. Due to low literacy rates, news was at times disseminated by town criers.

Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien, from 1605, is recognized as the world's first newspaper.

The oldest news agency is the Agence France-Presse (AFP). It was founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent, Charles-Louis Havas as Agence Havas.

In modern times, printed news had to be phoned in to a newsroom or brought there by a reporter, where it was typed and either transmitted over wire services or edited and manually set in type along with other news stories for a specific edition. Today, the term "breaking news" has become trite as commercial broadcasting United States cable news services that are available 24-hours a day use live satellite technology to bring current events into consumers' homes as the event occurs. Events that used to take hours or days to become common knowledge in towns or in nations are fed instantaneously to consumers via radio, television, mobile phone, and the Internet.

Newspapers

Most large cities in the United States historically had morning and afternoon newspapers. As the media evolved and news outlets increased to the point of near over-saturation, most afternoon newspapers were shut down. Morning newspapers have been gradually losing circulation, according to reports advanced by the papers themselves. Commonly, news content should contain the "Five Ws" (who, what, when, where, why, and also how) of an event. There should be no questions remaining. Newspapers normally place hard news stories on the first pages, so the most important information is at the beginning. Busy readers can read as little or as much as they desire. Local stations and networks with a set format must take news stories and break them down into the most important aspects due to time constraints. Cable news channels such as BBC News, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN, are able to take advantage of a story, sacrificing other, decidedly less important stories, and giving as much detail about breaking news as possible.

News organizations are often expected to aim for objectivity; reporters claim to try to cover all sides of an issue without bias, as compared to commentators or analysts, who provide opinion or personal point-of-view. Several governments impose certain constraints or police news organizations against bias. In the United Kingdom, for example, limits are set by the government agency Ofcom, the Office of Communications. Both newspapers and broadcast news programs in the United States are generally expected to remain neutral and avoid bias except for clearly indicated editorial articles or segments. Many single-party governments have operated state-run news organizations, which may present the government's views.

Even in those situations where objectivity is expected, it is difficult to achieve, and individual journalists may fall foul of their own personal bias, or succumb to commercial or political pressure. Similarly, the objectivity of news organizations owned by conglomerated corporations fairly may be questioned, in light of the natural incentive for such groups to report news in a manner intended to advance the conglomerate's financial interests. Individuals and organizations who are the subject of news reports may use news management techniques to try to make a favourable impression. Because each individual has a particular point of view, it is recognized that there can be no absolute objectivity in news reporting.

Newsworthiness

Newsworthiness is defined as a subject having sufficient relevance to the public or a special audience to warrant press attention or coverage.

In some countries and at some points in history, what news media and the public have considered "newsworthy" has met different definitions, such as the notion of news values. For example, mid-twentieth-century news reporting in the United States focused on political and local issues with important socio-economic impacts, such as the landing of a living person on the moon or the cold war. More recently, the focus similarly remains on political and local issues; however, the news mass media now comes under criticism for over-emphasis on "non-news" and "gossip" such as celebrities' personal social issues, local issues of little merit, as well as biased sensationalism of political topics such as terrorism and the economy. The dominance of celebrity and social news, the blurring of the boundary between news and reality shows and other popular culture, and the advent of citizen journalism may suggest that the nature of ‘news’ and news values are evolving and that traditional models of the news process are now only partially relevant. Newsworthiness does not only depend on the topic, but also the presentation of the topic and the selection of information from that topic. Daily trends update

New ecology of news

“Everything we thought we once knew about journalism needs to be rethought in the Digital Age”, professor of Sociology and Communication Michael Schudson points out. Today the work of journalism can be done from anywhere and done well. It requires no more than a reporter and a laptop. In that way, journalistic authority seems to have become more individual- and less institution-based. But does the individual reporter always have to be an actual journalist? Or can journalistic work be done from anywhere and by anyone? These are questions that refers to the core of journalistic practice and the definition of “news” itself. As Schudson has given emphasis to, the answer is not easily found; “the ground journalists walk upon is shaking, and the experience for both those who work in the field and those on the outside studying it is dizzying”.

Schudson has identified the following six specific areas where the ecology of news in his opinion has changed: 1. The line between the reader and writer has blurred 2. The distinction among tweet, blog post, newspaper story, magazine article, and book as blurred 3. The line between professionals and amateurs has blurred, and a variety of “pro-am” relationships has emerged 4. The boundaries delineating for-profit, public, and non-profit media have blurred, and the cooperation across these models of financing has developed 5. Within commercial news organizations, the line between the news room and the business office has blurred 6. The line between old media and new media has blurred, practically beyond recognition

These alterations inevitably has fundamental ramifications for the contemporary ecology of news. “The boundaries of journalism, which just a few years ago seemed relatively clear, and permanent, have become less distinct, and this blurring, while potentially the foundation of progress even as it is the source of risk, has given rise to a new set of journalistic principles and practices”, Schudson puts it. It is indeed complex, but it seems to be the future.

See also

References

Further reading

Stephens, Mitchell. "The History of News - 3rd Ed" Oxford University Press, New York, 2007.

External links

Category:Television terminology

af:Nuus ar:أخبار arc:ܛܐܒܐ roa-rup:Evenimente di tora zh-min-nan:Sin-bûn be:Навіны be-x-old:Навіны bg:Новини bn:সংবাদ ca:Notícia cv:Хыпарсем ceb:Balita cs:Zpravodajství cy:Newyddion de:Nachrichten es:Noticia eo:Novaĵo fa:اخبار fo:Núverandi hendingar fr:Actualité fy:Nijs ko:뉴스 ilo:Agdama a paspasamak id:Berita os:Ног хабæрттæ is:Frétt it:Notizia he:אקטואליה ka:ახალი ამბები sw:Habari lo:Current events la:Nuntius lv:Ziņas lb:Aktualitéit lt:Naujienos li:In 't nuujs hu:Hír mg:Current events mr:बातमी ms:Berita mn:Мэдээ na:Imwin nl:Nieuws ja:ニュース no:Nyhet nn:Nyhende oc:Actualitat or:ସମ୍ବାଦ om:News pap:Eventonan aktual pt:Jornalismo#Notícia ro:Știre ru:Новости scn:Nutizzi simple:News sk:Aktuality sr:Вест fi:Uutinen sv:Nyhet tl:Balita ta:செய்தி th:ข่าว tr:Haber uk:Новини ur:خبریں vi:Tin tức vo:Jenots nuik fiu-vro:Miä sünnüs wa:Wikinoveles yi:נייעס zh-yue:新聞 zh:新闻

Name	Julius Sello Malema
Nickname	Juju
Birth date	March 03, 1981
Birth place	Seshego
Nationality	South African
Party	African National Congress
Office	President of the ANC Youth League
Term start	April 2008
Term end	Incumbent
Vicepresident	Andile Lungisa
Predecessor	Fikile Mbalula
Successor	}}

Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981, in Seshego) is a South African politician, and the president of the African National Congress Youth League. Malema occupies a notably controversial position in South African public and political life; having risen to prominence with his support for African National Congress president, and later President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma. He has been described by both Zuma and the Premier of Limpopo Province as the "future leader" of South Africa,. Less favourable portraits paint him as a "reckless populist" with the potential to destabilise South Africa and to spark racial conflict. He was convicted of hate speech in March 2010.

Early life and career

Malema, a Pedi, was born in Seshego. His mother was a domestic worker and a single parent. He joined the African National Congress's Masupatsela at the age of nine or ten whose main task was to illegally remove National Party posters.

Education

It took Malema four years to complete Grades 8 and 9 of secondary school. He passed Grade 12 at Mohlakaneng High School in Seshego, Limpopo, at the age of 21, after having been absent from school for five months in that same year. Malema's near-fail Grade 12 results were printed in a national newspaper in October 2008, eliciting ridicule. In 2010, Malema completed a two-year diploma in youth development through UNISA. He is currently enrolled for a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Political career

Early political career

Malema was elected a chairman of the Youth League branch in Seshego and the regional chairman in 1995. In 1997 he became the chairman of the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) for the Limpopo province, and was elected as the national president of that organisation in 2001. In 2002, Malema led a Cosas march by school pupils, through the streets of Johannesburg that was marred by incidents of violence and looting.

Election as leader of ANC Youth League

Malema was elected as the president of the ANC Youth League in April 2008.}}

In November 2010, the ANC Youth League released a statement expressing its concern about a spate of twitter accounts, a popular micro-blogging site, impersonating Malema and warning that the impersonators would feel the full force of the law. The twelve twitter accounts had been making numerous tweets mocking Malema's poor grammar, spelling, bizarre statements, and use of colloquial South African English in public statements. One account impersonating Malema named @TheJuliusMalema stated: "Don't you come heer to my internet with your white tendencies."

ANC Youth League had known about the accounts on twitter since February 2010 but had dismissed them as a "petty issue." The Youth League's response prompted an explosion of similar copy-cat accounts also impersonating Malema on twitter and a slew of critical remarks by members of the public with twitter accounts.

March 2010 hate speech conviction

On March 15, 2010 Malema was convicted of hate speech by the Equality Court , fined R50 000 and ordered to apologise unconditionally, following a 2009 incident when he told a group of Cape Town students, at a South African Students' Congress (SASCO) meeting that the woman who accused ANC president Jacob Zuma of rape had a "nice time" with him because in the morning she had "requested breakfast and taxi money" Following the conviction SASCO expressed "delight" at the ruling, and attacked Malema for the "gratuitous abuse" of the platform that SASCO granted him

"Shoot the boer" song

In March 2010, at a rally on a university campus Malema sang the lyrics "shoot the Boer" (''Dubul' ibhunu'') from the anti-apartheid song ''Ayasab' amagwala'' (the cowards are scared) ("Boer" is the Afrikaans word for "farmer", but is also used as a derogatory term for any white person). His singing was compared to similar chants by deceased Youth League leader Peter Mokaba in the early 1990s, to "kill the boer", which had previously been defined as hate speech by the South African Human Rights Commission.

Malema's singing of the song led to a barrage of complaints against him, both to the police, and to the commission.

The ANC said "We wouldn't appreciate any statements against any member of our society, including whites... they are also South Africans", however, it "had not taken a decision in the matter".

The Southern Gauteng High Court ruled on 26 March 2010 that Malema's song (which he had continued singing at public gatherings ) was "unconstitutional and unlawful", and that any person singing it could face charges of incitement to murder, stating that the song called for the killing of the "farmer/white man", however, the ANC defended the song. The ANC announced it would appeal the ruling. The Northern Gauteng High Court, on 1 April 2010 then granted an interdict preventing Malema from publicly uttering the words of this or any other song which could be considered to be instigating violence, distrust and/or hatred between black and white citizens in the Republic of South Africa" until the matter was heard by the Equality Court, to which the case was referred by the presiding judge.

In the aftermath of Eugène Terre'Blanche's April 2010 murder, senior leaders of the ANC temporarily banned the singing of the song, amid concerns that struggle songs were being used to "scapegoat" the ANC and to further racial hatred, and because of concerns that ANC leaders who continued singing the songs may have been in contempt of the court orders banning the singing of the song.

President Jacob Zuma, at a 10 April 2010 news conference said Malema was "totally out of order" for ignoring ANC instructions to obey the court order banning the singing the song. Zuma emphasised the constitutional role of the judiciary and the rule of law, and also said that the role of the judiciary "as the final arbiter in disputes" had to be respected, and that defiance of the proper procedures in place to challenge judicial rulings, made a "mockery of the judicial system" and "should not be tolerated".

In April 2011 Afriforum brought a case of hate speech against Malema in regard to the song but several notable ANC figures such as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and secretary-general Gwede Mantashe threw their weight behind him in the court battle. Aggressive and patronizing questioning of black witnesses by lawyers for the Afrikaner groups bringing the suit reportedly allowed Malema to portray himself a victim of Afrikaner persecution.

Opinions on Asians

Malema made various statements about Chinese South Africans at a South African Union of Jewish Students dinner during April 2011. He joked about Chinese investors who "bring nothing to the country" and criticised Chinese investment in South Africa, questioning South African involvement with the trading bloc of Brazil, Russia India and China, BRIC.

Opinions on the economy

Malema has opined on Jacob Zuma's understanding of the economy, saying that it amounted to "put a bread on the table (sic), we don't want sophistication".

Nationalisation and land redistribution

Malema became a vocal advocate of nationalising South African mines. Although the ANC, including Mining Minister Susan Shabangu, and president Jacob Zuma made it clear that this was not ANC policy, Malema continued to advocate this position. Malema's opinions on nationalisation are not shared by South Africa's large National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which stated that it is against the nationalisation of South Africa's mines . At a public meeting at the University of Western Cape, Malema asked: "Why should we pay for our land?". He then advocated the return of land without compensation and the removal of the "willing buyer, willing seller" principle. At a June 16 Youth Day celebration, Malema accused whites of "stealing land" and again advocated for the redistribution of land without compensation.

Disciplinary review by ANC

On Aug 30, 2011 Malema was subjected to a disciplinary hearing by the ANC, widely interpreted as an attempt by the Zuma leadership to oust him from power. Malema's supporters held a rally in the center of Johannesburg that turned into a violent confrontation such as the country had not seen since the end of the days of the struggle. Some of the protesters held placards with slogans like "South Africa for blacks only", that caused many disapproving reactions from the black community.

External links

Max du Preez: The man is a bully

Third Degree special on Malema

Julius Malema - An unlikely leader

References

Category:People from Limpopo Category:Northern Sotho people Category:Members of the African National Congress Category:1981 births Category:Living people

af:Julius Malema de:Julius Malema fr:Julius Malema nl:Julius Malema no:Julius Malema fi:Julius Malema sv:Julius Malema

name	Jim Lehrer
birthname	James Charles Lehrer
birth date	May 19, 1934
birth place	Wichita, Kansas, USA
education	Victoria College (Texas)University of Missouri
occupation	Journalist, news anchor, author
spouse	Kate Lehrer (1960-present)
credits	''The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer''''The Dallas Morning News''''The Dallas Times Herald'' }}

James Charles "Jim" Lehrer (; born May 19, 1934) is an American journalist and the executive editor and former news anchor for ''PBS NewsHour'' on PBS, known for his role as a frequent debate moderator during elections. Lehrer is an author of non-fiction and fiction, drawing from his experiences and interests in history and politics.

Early years

Lehrer was born in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Lois Catherine (née Chapman), a bank clerk, and Harry Frederick Lehrer, a bus station manager. He attended middle school in Beaumont, Texas and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he was one of the three sports editors at the ''Jefferson Declaration''. He also graduated from Victoria College in Texas and the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. Lehrer joined the United States Marine Corps and attributes his service and travels with helping him to look past himself and feel a connection to the world that he would not have otherwise experienced.

Career

Lehrer began his career in journalism at ''The Dallas Morning News'' and the ''Dallas Times-Herald'', where he covered the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. From 1970 to 1973, Lehrer anchored the local single-story news show, ''Newsroom'' on KERA-TV, the local Public Broadcasting affiliate station in Dallas. Lehrer began working with PBS network in 1973, and in 1975 developed and co-anchored ''The MacNeil/Lehrer Report'' with Robert MacNeil. The news show was later renamed ''The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour'', and after MacNeil's departure in 1995 was named ''The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer'' and finally ''PBS NewsHour'' in 2009.

Nicknamed the "Dean of Moderators" by CNN's Bernard Shaw, Lehrer has moderated eleven presidential candidate debates, with the most recent being the presidential debate between senators Barack Obama and John McCain on September 26, 2008.

Lehrer underwent a heart valve surgery in April 2008, and, while he recuperated, Ray Suarez anchored in his stead until his return on June 28, 2008.

On May 12, 2011, Lehrer announced he would be stepping down as anchor of ''PBS NewsHour'' on June 6, 2011, but would continue to moderate the Friday news analysis segments, and would continue to be involved with the show's production company, MacNeil/Lehrer Productions.

Personal life

Lehrer is a bus enthusiast. His father was a bus driver and also briefly operated a bus company. As a college student in the 1950s, he worked as a Trailways ticket agent in Victoria, Texas. He is a supporter of the Pacific Bus Museum in Williams, California and the Museum of Bus Transportation in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He is a collector of bus memorabilia, including depot signs, driver caps, and antique toy buses.

Lehrer is married to the novelist Kate Lehrer. They have three daughters and six grandchildren.

Honors and awards

American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow (1991)

University of Missouri School of Journalism's Medal of Honor

William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit

George Foster Peabody Award

Fred Friendly First Amendment Award,

Emmy Award

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle (1999)

Television Hall of Fame (1999)

National Humanities Medal (1999)

Bibliography

Novels (One-Eyed Mack Series)

Novels (Charlie Henderson Series)

Novels (Standalone) ;Memoirs ; Screenplays

''White Widow'' screenplay is currently being written by Luke Wilson

''Viva Max!'' (1970) writing credit with Elliott Baker

; Plays

''The Will and Bart Show''

''Church Key Charlie Blue''

''Chili Queen''

References

Further reading

''Art at Our Doorstep: San Antonio Writers and Artists'' featuring Jim Lehrer. Edited by Nan Cuba and Riley Robinson (Trinity University Press, 2008).

External links

Biography on ''PBS NewsHour''

1998 UW Commencement Speech

''Write TV'' Public Television Interview with Jim Lehrer

Archive of American Television interview

A conversation with Jim Lehrer, on ''The Media Report'', 10 May 2007

Jim Lehrer discusses his novel, ''The Phony Marine'' (video)

Category:American broadcast news analysts Category:American television news anchors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:PBS people Category:People from Beaumont, Texas Category:People from Dallas, Texas Category:People from Wichita, Kansas Category:United States Marine Corps officers Category:University of Missouri alumni Category:1934 births Category:Living people Category:National Humanities Medal recipients

de:Jim Lehrer fa:جیم لهرر fr:Jim Lehrer

Name	Round Table
Source	Arthurian legend
First	Roman de Brut
Creator	Wace
Type	Fictional table
Genre	Fantasy
Owner	King Arthur

The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of Arthur's fabulous retinue. The symbolism of the Round Table developed over time; by the close of the 12th century it had come to represent the chivalric order associated with Arthur's court, the Knights of the Round Table.

History

The Round Table first appears in Wace's ''Roman de Brut'', a Norman language adaptation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' finished in 1155. Wace says Arthur created the Round Table to prevent quarrels among his barons, none of whom would accept a lower place than the others. Layamon added to the story when he adapted Wace's work into the Middle English ''Brut'' in the early 13th century, saying that the quarrel between Arthur's vassals led to violence at a Yuletide feast. In response a Cornish carpenter built an enormous but easily transportable Round Table to prevent further dispute. Wace claims he was not the source of the Round Table; both he and Layamon credit it instead to the Bretons. Some scholars have doubted this claim, while others believe it may be true. There is some similarity between the chroniclers' description of the Round Table and a custom recorded in Celtic stories, in which warriors sit in a circle around the king or lead warrior, in some cases feuding over the order of precedence as in Layamon. There is a possibility that Wace, contrary to his own claims, derived Arthur's round table not from any Breton source, but rather from medieval biographies of Charlemagne - notably Einhard's ''Vita Caroli'' and Notker the Stammerer's ''De Carolo Magno'' - in which the king is said to have possessed a round table decorated with a map of Rome.

Though the Round Table itself is not mentioned until Wace the concept of Arthur having a marvelous court made up of many prominent warriors is much older. Geoffrey of Monmouth says that after establishing peace throughout Britain Arthur "increased his personal entourage by inviting very distinguished men from far-distant kingdoms to join it." The code of chivalry so important in later romance figures in as well, as Geoffrey says Arthur established "such a code of courtliness in his household that he inspired peoples living far away to imitate him." Long before Geoffrey, Arthur's court was well known to Welsh storytellers; in the romance ''Culhwch and Olwen'', written around 1100, the protagonist Culhwch invokes the names of 225 individuals affiliated with Arthur. In fact, the fame of Arthur's entourage became so prominent in Welsh tradition that in the later additions to the Welsh Triads, the formula "Arthur's Court" in the titles of the triads began to supersede the older "Island of Britain" formula. Though the code of chivalry crucial to later continental romances dealing with the Round Table is mostly absent from the earlier Welsh material, some passages of ''Culhwch and Olwen'' seem to prefigure it, for instance when Arthur explains the ethos of his court, saying "[w]e are nobles as long as we are sought out: the greater the bounty we may give, the greater our nobility, fame and honour."

Though no Round Table appears in the early Welsh texts, Arthur is associated with various items of household furniture. The earliest of these is Saint Carannog's mystical floating altar in that saint's 12th century ''Vita''; in the story Arthur has found the altar and attempts unsuccessfully to use it for a table, and returns it to Carannog in exchange for the saint ridding the land of a meddlesome dragon. Arthur's household furniture figures into local topographical folklore throughout Britain as early as the early 12th century, with various landmarks being named "Arthur's Seat", "Arthur's Oven," and "Arthur's Bed-chamber." A henge at Eamont Bridge near Penrith, Cumbria is known as "King Arthur's Round Table". The still-visible Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon has been associated with the Round Table and has been suggested as a possible source for the legend.

In 2010, following archaeological discoveries at the Roman ruins in Chester, some writers suggested that the Chester Roman Amphitheatre was the true prototype of the Round Table but English Heritage, acting as consultants to a History Channel documentary in which the claim was made, declared that there was no archaeological basis to the story.

Later development

The Round Table takes on new dimensions in the romances of the late 12th and early 13th century, where it becomes a symbol of the famed order of chivalry which flourishes under Arthur. In Robert de Boron's ''Merlin'', written around the 1190s, the wizard Merlin creates the Round Table in imitation of the table of the Last Supper and of Joseph of Arimathea's Holy Grail table. This table, here made for Arthur's father Uther Pendragon rather than Arthur himself, has twelve seats and one empty place to mark the betrayal of Judas. This seat must remain empty until the coming of the knight who will achieve the Grail. The Didot ''Perceval'', a prose continuation of Robert's work, takes up the story, and the knight Percival sits in the seat and initiates the Grail quest.

The prose cycles of the 13th century, the Lancelot-Grail cycle and the Post-Vulgate Cycle, further adapt the chivalric attributes of the Round Table. Here it is the perfect knight Galahad, rather than Percival, who assumes the empty seat, now called the Siege Perilous. Galahad's arrival marks the start of the Grail quest as well as the end of the Arthurian era. In these works the Round Table is kept by King Leodegrance of Cameliard after Uther's death; Arthur inherits it when he marries Leodegrance's daughter Guinevere. Other versions treat the Round Table differently, for instance Italian Arthurian works often distinguish between the "Old Table" of Uther's time and Arthur's "New Table."

Round Table tournaments

During the Middle Ages festivals called Round Tables were celebrated throughout Europe in imitation of Arthur's court. These events featured jousting, dancing, and feasting, and in some cases attending knights assumed the identities of Arthur's knights. The earliest of these was held in Cyprus in 1223 to celebrate a knighting. Round Tables were popular in various European countries through the rest of the Middle Ages and were at times very elaborate; René of Anjou even erected an Arthurian castle for his 1446 Round Table.

The artifact known as the "Winchester Round Table," a large tabletop hanging in Winchester Castle bearing the names of various knights of Arthur's court, was probably created for a Round Table tournament. The current paintwork is late; it was done by order of Henry VIII of England for Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's 1522 state visit, and depicts Henry himself sitting in Arthur's seat above a Tudor rose. The table itself is considerably older; dendrochronology calculates the date of construction to 1250–1280—during the reign of Edward I—using timber from store felled over a period of years. Edward was an Arthurian enthusiast who attended at least five Round Tables and hosted one himself in 1299, which may have been the occasion for the creation of the Winchester Round Table. Martin Biddle, from an examination of Edward's financial accounts, links it instead with a tournament Edward held near Winchester on April 20, 1290, to mark the betrothal of one of his daughters.

Notes

References

Bromwich, Rachel (2006). ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain''. University Of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-1386-8.

Geoffrey of Monmouth; Thorpe, Lewis (1988). ''The History of the Kings of Britain''. New York: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044170-0.

Lacy, Norris J. (Ed.) (1991). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia''. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8240-4377-4.

Loomis, Roger S. (1959). "Arthurian Influence on Sport and Spectacle."

''Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages''. Oxford.

Padel, O. J. (2000). ''Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature''. University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-7689-1.

Rouse, Robert; and Cory Rushton (2005). ''The Medieval Quest for Arthur''. Tempus, Stroud. ISBN 0-7524-3343-1.

External links

Timeless Myths - Knights of the Round Table

The 14th Century Round Table in Winchester, Hampshire. UK

Category:Arthurian legend Category:Tables (furniture)

ar:طاولة مستديرة br:An Daol Grenn bg:Кръгла маса ca:Taula Rodona cs:Kulatý stůl cy:Y Ford Gron da:Runde bord de:Runder Tisch el:Στρογγυλή Τράπεζα es:Mesa Redonda eo:Ronda Tablo eu:Mahai Borobila fr:Table ronde ko:원탁 io:Ronda tablo it:Tavola Rotonda hu:Kerekasztal nl:Ronde Tafel ja:円卓 no:Det runde bord pl:Rycerze Okrągłego Stołu ru:Круглый стол simple:Round Table sv:Runda bordet uk:Круглий стіл zh:圆桌骑士