The famous story of King Arthur, as told in the book Le Morre d’Arthur, is rife with symbolism and imagery, particularly as it is an aggrandized fable of Arthur’s life. There are several main symbols that jump out.

First is the Round Table. This one is a clear piece of symbolism, obviously meant as equality. The King was unlike any others in his day because his knights were held in equal esteem as he was, and for this he was extremely highly regarded.

A second symbol in the book is his sword, Excalibur. A sword typified power and strength, not to mention symbolizing fear to opponents. King Arthur not only is symbolically powerful because of the sword, he is also royal because of it. In the story, the true heir to the throne will be able to wield Excalibur, and Arthur does. The sword symbolizes strength and royal power for him.

A final symbol is more abstract, but it is King Arthur’s title of the “Once and Future King,” which is a reference to him one day supposedly returning to rescue England in the future. This is a clear reference to the Bible and Christ’s impending return to save his followers, showing Arthur as the Christ-type in the story and essentially imbuing him with godliness and purity.

The first most impressive symbol in Le Morte d'Arthur by Malory may be the sword Excalibur. In the story, whoever wields the sword is the recognized King of England. Because of its importance, the sword symbolizes power. (It is also said to symbolize the responsibility that comes with power, and may allude to Arthur's eventual fall, when he loses sight of his responsibility as King.)

The Round Table is also symbolic of equality. Because it is round, no one sits at the "head" of the table, and therefore, no one is more important that his neighbor.

The Round Table was first mentioned...in 1155 and in that account was made round so that all the knights seated around it would have the same stature...

Christian themes are strongly present in the story. Christ is alluded to when the young maiden walks across the water of the lake to retrieve Excalibur for Arthur in one version of how Arthur becomes king.

Here we see the commingling of Christian and pagan motifs, the Christ-like walking on water with the fairy quality of Excalibur and the mythic making of a King.

This is a direct parallel to Christ's miracle of walking on the water, as recounted in the Bible in the books of Matthew, Mark and John. This act by the maiden may symbolize God's desire that Arthur be King. (The English believed that whoever was King or Queen was ordained to be such by God. Anyone killing a king was believed to have committed a mortal sin, as is seen with the ill-fated Macbeth after killing Duncan in Shakespeare's Macbeth, as well as Claudius after killing Old Hamlet in Shakespeare's