King Arthur and the Knights of the
Round Table
By Sharon Fabian
Arthur waited in line to try pulling the great sword
from the stone. He had no idea that King Uther, who
had just died, was his real father. He had no way of
knowing that he was the true heir to the throne.
1
His turn came. He gripped the huge sword,
glittering with shiny metals and jewels, and slid it from
its stone scabbard. That was the proof that England
needed. Arthur was crowned King. "Long live the king!"
2
Arthur ruled England with the guidance of his long-time guardian,
Merlin the magician.
3
4
He had brave and loyal knights - Lancelot, Gawain, and many others.
King Arthur's knights took their role seriously. They promised to abide
by a code of rules. They promised to act bravely and with honor. They
promised not to murder innocent people and to rescue ladies in distress.
5
Arthur's knights were adventurous and ambitious. They loved to meet
together and tell tales of their great feats, each one trying to out-tell the
other. Sometimes the competition between the exaggerating knights got to
be too much.
6
So Arthur, being a wise leader, came up with a solution. Into the meeting
hall of Camelot Castle, he moved the huge round table that his wife, the
lovely Lady Guinevere, had brought as part of her dowry. At this round
table, no knight would sit in front of another one. No one would have an
advantage or a favored position. Everyone would be equal.
7
King Arthur's court at the Round Table became known far and wide as
the perfect, fair way to rule. Every knight aspired to become a Knight of the
Round Table and enter the meeting hall at Camelot to the fanfare of his own
clanking armor.
8
When their meetings were adjourned, Arthur's knights set out from
Camelot for great adventures in all corners of England.
9
Wearing their shining suits of armor and their tin-can helmets, Arthur's
knights rode out to fight whoever had done them wrong. King Arthur's red
10
dragon painted on each shield proclaimed that they were The Knights of the
Round Table.
Back at Camelot, King Arthur presided over the forces of good in his
sweeping red robe and tall golden crown. Always nearby was his own trusty
sword, Excalibur, given to him by the mysterious Lady of the Lake. England
was in good hands.
11
Even good King Arthur had occasional problems to deal with. Life
among so many knights and ladies could be a bit dramatic. When King
Arthur's own wife, Guinevere, was stolen away by his knight Lancelot,
Arthur had to act at once. He fought his nephew Mordred, who had
somehow gotten into the thick of the plot.
12
13
Arthur killed Mordred.
Mordred gravely wounded Arthur too, and Arthur was swiftly carried
off by his own men - never to be heard from again.
14
This story may or may not be true. King Arthur and his Knights of the
Round Table may or may not have been real people. Many historians think
that there is at least a little bit of truth in the legend. The story of King
Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, however, has become a part of
history. The bravery and honor of the knights, the wisdom of King Arthur,
and the magical effect of the Round Table - it has all become a part of the
story of England.
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Copyright © 2007 edHelper
Name
_____________________________
Date
___________________
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
1. Although it is not stated directly
in the story, you can infer that this
story takes place during the
______.
Middle Ages
Ancient Roman times
Prehistoric times
Civil War era
2. Arthur became king ______.
When he pulled the sword
from the stone
After King Uther died
During the Middle ages
All of the above
3. Lancelot was a ______.
Knight
Magician
King
All of the above
5. The Round Table gave each
knight a/an ______.
Place to eat dinner
Equal say
Fortune
Job
4. Based on the story, we can say
that King Arthur probably died
from ______.
Food poisoning
Pneumonia
A gunshot wound
A wound from a sword
6. Excalibur was ______.
A sword
A horse
A crown
The sword in the stone
7. The red dragon was ______
8. The story of King Arthur and the
symbol.
Queen Guinevere's
Lancelot's
King Arthur's
Mordred's
Knights of the Round Table is
______.
A fiction story
No one knows for sure
Historical fiction
Factual history