On a recent trip to Winchester, we visited the ‘Great Hall’ – all that remains of Winchester Castle and home to King Arthur’s famous ‘Round Table’.
The table was built by King Edward I in the 1200’s. Edward, a massive fan of the Arthurian legends had a plain wooden table built for him and his knights to play at being legends (some would say he already was). The brightly painted table we see today was the product of the lovely, huggable and caring King Henry VIII – on his orders Edward’s table was painted and hung on the wall of the great hall.
But take a look at this photo for a while and consider something that probably 99% of the thousands of visitors each year don’t notice, but occurred to me as soon as I saw it (maybe I’m just more cynical?)
Yes, the table is very impressive, but the whole purpose of the round table in the legends of King Arthur was that, by being circular, no man could sit at it’s head and therefore all men were equal. This is one of the key messages in the legends! But, even though Henry was supposed to be a fan of Arthur and should have known better, by hanging the table vertically and having a whacking great painting of himself placed at the top (or the head) of it, he’s placing himself above everyone else, and that’s is exactly opposite of everything the table stands for!
Personally, I’d like to see the table taken down and stripped back to how it was during Edward’s reign, but it’ll never happen – and it probably doesn’t matter to most people – but to me it’s yet another reason why I’m not a fan of the Tudors.
Farewell my Friends!
I had Tony Robinson doing a piece to camera on Time Team in my head as I read your post.
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lol! Very good! And thank you – that’s quite a compliment!
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Good point! It would be nice to see it restored. One can dream, I suppose.
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It’s a shame but I think it’s unlikely, as it’ll be destroying the Tudor painting – English Heritage would have a heart attack!!!
Don’t get me wrong, the great hall is amazing and it is a very impressive table – it just didn’t sit well with me.
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Hahaha… do they have a suggestion box? Perhaps you could drop them a little note. Seriously though, when a place or an item has such a long history, you have to stop and ask – which period are we to most honor? And I understand that no one is going to destroy a masterpiece to uncover the original but it’s still frustrating.
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Lol!!!! I’d love to see their reaction to a note like that!
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Arthur’s sense of pride wouldn’t let him have an equal slice of the pie!
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Arthur’s would have been okay I suspect, Henry’s – not a chance! 😀
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That is interesting to see that he did that- good point here – and love the photo
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Thanks! 😀
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Still what a great thing to see and visit. I like your photos — esp the ‘for scale’ one, its a massive table!
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Oh I agree, it Is an impressive table and the great hall is stunning – I loved the place. I just don’t agree with what Henry did.
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Oh and Thanks! i’m glad you liked the photos!
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It is a good point and makes it looks as if Henry is claiming the credit. I think he would have been more of an ” All men are equal but some or more equal than others.” kind of guy.
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Lol! I think you are definitely right!
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I can see your point here about restoring it. It’s an interesting “problem” here in this country. I know you mentioned in a comment on a recent post of mine about York Minster and one of the things we found of interest on the tour was a “restoration” during the Victorian Era that included the addition of the Virgin bottle feeding Jesus. So, when the next restoration is due, is that kept or taken away? fascinating conundrum.
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Oh I agree it is a strange issue for any restoration – which bit of history is important and what isn’t? So many of our buildings have been chopped and changed and modified over the years. Kenilworth Castle for example had about five phases of majour building. If you where to restore it, which phase do you take it back to – Tudor, King John? Remove the stone castle and re-build the wooden motte? It must be a hard call to make.
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Exactly, but so much fun to think about. In the US we tend to just knock it all down, which is just a shame I think.
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That is a shame indeed!
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All fragile egos, no matter how big they seem, will claim legitimacy though others. Henry was good at that 😉
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He was indeed! 😀
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🙂
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Nobody could be more cynical than me, but your observation never even dawned on me, but it does raise intriguing questions about restoration, and something that I’ve been banging on about for ages. Another topic for another time maybe, but another great post as usual Stuart – and thanks for opening my eyes to who should get the biggest slice of the pie. It’s bound to be Henry of course 🙂
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Thanks Malcolm I think Henry probably had the whole pie, not just the biggest slice! 😀
I agree, an interesting topic – and I’ve heard some really stupid things over the years in regards to listed buildings.
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…as his waistband showed! 😉
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😀
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it’s definitely a topic that I could talk about for ages
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;-D Me too!
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Facepalm! I didn’t notice the meaning of the rounded table. Poor King Arthur, Henry didn’t respect his desires.
King Henry VIII is known as “El Rey Enrique VIII” in spanish.
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Hello and thanks for dropping in and commenting. lo! I doubt Henry worried about any desires other than his own!
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Superb point, well made. I couldn’t agree more. Down with the Tudors. 😦
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LOL!!!! Down with them indeed- usurping pretenders to the throne!
Thanks my love ❤
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