Posted on 06/10/2006 4:13:04 PM PDT by wagglebee
LONDON: Sections of the King's Table, a symbol of royal power until it was smashed by Oliver Cromwell, have been found beneath the floor of the Palace of Westminster.
The elaborately carved stone table was used by kings and queens from the 13th century for coronation feasts and state banquets but disappeared under Puritan rule.
It represented the power and authority of the monarch in the same way as the King's Bench, a court, and the King's Privy Wardrobe, or Jewel Tower.
A new table was made in the 17th century after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 but the original remained missing. Archeologists have now found large sections of at least four of the arched marble trestles that supported the tabletop, which they calculate to have been almost 6m long.
They were buried beneath the floor of Westminster Hall, apparently as a symbol of the return of royal power.
When Cromwell came to power in 1653, the table was removed from the Palace of Westminster and broken up to mark the end of the monarchy.
The discovery of several pieces in excavations this year, and reported in British Archaeology magazine yesterday, confirms a theory that during the Restoration the remains of the table were retrieved.
The pieces were placed in the foundations of a dais built in the 17th century in Westminster Hall, used by James II at his coronation banquet.
Phil Emery, a consultant archeological engineer, said: "It's the iconic symbol of royal power. Its significance is underlined by the haste with which it was replaced at the restoration of the monarchy.
"People often ask us what's the most exciting thing we've found. At last I have the unequivocal answer. It doesn't get more significant than this."
Among the monarchs known to have sat at it are Edward I and Henry VIII.
Henry used it for feasts after his marriages to Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn.
Both of whom probably would have rather stayed single.
GGG Ping.
ping
I really get irritated when newspapers print stories like this sans photos
Tables can have very historic consequence!
How ironic. Cromwell was buried beneath the floor of Westminster Abbey, as a symbol of the destruction of royal power.
When Cromwell came to power in 1653, the table was removed from the Palace of Westminster and broken up to mark the end of the monarchy.
And when Charles II was restored to power in 1660, Cromwell was removed from the Abbey of Westminster and broken up to mark the end of the Interregnum.
But Richard Harris played him well!
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Especially when they turn.
LOL -- no doubt!!
Interesting ping.
When Cromwell came to power in 1653, the table was removed from the Palace of Westminster and broken up to mark the end of the monarchy....and after his death, Ollie was succeeded by his son Richard, tranforming what has been called the first modern dictatorship into a hereditary monarchy.
I have to push the pram a lot.
IIRC didn't Oliver Cromwell's father have an important position under Henry VIII?
"His downfall was the haste with which he encouraged the king to re-marry following Jane's premature death. The marriage to Anne of Cleves, a political alliance which Cromwell had urged on Henry, was a disaster, and this was all the opportunity that Cromwell's conservative opponents needed to press for his arrest. Cromwell was subject to a writ of Attainder and was privately executed at the Tower of London on July 28, 1540. It is said that Henry VIII intentionally chose an inexperienced executioner. The young boy had three attempts at chopping Cromwell's head before he succeeded. After execution his head was boiled and then set upon a spike on London Bridge – facing away from the City of London. Henry came to regret executing Cromwell. "
Liberal guilt, no doubt.
Indeed -- kings' tables, tax tables, log tables, and truth tables.
Catherine was widow to Henry's brother, so single is a bit misleading.
I liked Richard Harris in everything I saw him in...even Wrestling Ernest Hemingway. And that's saying something.
Richard Harris as Cromwell, that was a great film...last saw it on B&W TV approx. 35 yrs ago.
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