Knights of the Round Table

The Knights of the Round Table are presented as the future institution that the boy who will be king is taught to establish. Their significance lies in the moral purpose attached to their founding: the defense of Right over Might.

Founding and Purpose

In the imagined future shaped by Merlyn, he gains a new pupil in the boy who will be king. His task is to educate the boy in the morality of power and inspire him to found the Knights of the Round Table. The order’s purpose is framed not simply as the exercise of power, but as a continuing struggle to place Right above Might.

Narrative Significance

The Knights of the Round Table represent a form of repair made possible in the imagination. Merlyn cannot recover his lost hawk in life, but the imagined story gives him a pupil to train and a chance to prepare a king who might prevent violence before it begins. The order is thus linked to the hope that moral instruction can redirect power and avert future conflict.