The gangs of today reflect the Knights of King Arthur's Round Table in many ways. King Arthur's Round Table has been known for centuries as the home of the Chivalristic knight. These knights are men of strength and God that hold the ethics of the Round Table. The gangs of America in the twenty-first century are recognized as men and women that seek refuge in organized crime. Although both of these organizations seem very different, they hold qualities that are more alike then have ever been noticed before. .
King Arthur first organized the Round Table because of disputes among seating arrangements during meetings. It is said that at the first meeting between the Knights, King Arthur laid down the rules of Knighthood. One of these rules being that every Knight would treat his fellow Knight as a brother. They were to protect each other and stand for what was just and right (Currin Knights 1). The gangs of today act in the same manner. After they reached the stage of lifetime membership, men and women must .
pledge an oath of loyalty to their fellow gang members in fear of getting beaten or killed. This is the tactic that most gang members use when recruiting youth as new members (Savelli 3). Both gangs and Knights have a leader that they look up to. The Knights have King Arthur himself. And the gangs have their leader of higher ranking in the gang. Both leaders share mutual responsibilities and it is these leaders that every man or member looks up to and follows.
Both organizations have a code of ethics that each member must follow. The Knights have the code of chivalry and rules of courtly love to follow. These rules were set down to give a proper way that the Knights were expected to act (Dersin 9). Some of these rules dealt with war, women, and allegiance to their leader King Arthur. Today's gangs have a constitution that they must follow. In this constitution the ranks of gang members are defined and responsibilities to members with position are divvied up.