Treason in Arthurian legend caused by the duplicity in his knights. A linking motif throughout a variety of centuries and countries, authors focus on the treasonous destruction of Arthur's court, and the temptation knights face to engage in treason. Queen Guinevere found herself facing accusations of treason several times over the course of recorded Arthurian legend. In Malory's Le Morte d’Arthur, she is accused first in the “Poisoned Apple” episode, when at a dinner she holds for some of the knights of the Round Table, one of the knights, Sir Patrise, dies from eating a poisoned apple intended for Gawain. The real culprit is
Treason in Arthurian legend of noble birth, while a death by hanging, drawing and quartering was reserved for those deemed “ignoble.” The English would also disembowel or burn the entrails of those executed for treason, in a practice distinct from the French. Those executed for treason in later medieval England would also often have their bodies put on display to symbolize their shamefulness and their “excision from the body politic.” Treason is a major feature throughout Arthurian romances. Knights constantly commit acts of treason as does Guinevere herself. The treason of Lancelot, Guinevere, Agravain and Mordred eventually destroy Arthur's court and his downfall is