Excalibur () is the
legendary sword
Mythological objects encompass a variety of items (e.g. weapons, armor, clothing) found in mythology, legend, folklore, tall tale, fable, religion, spirituality, superstition, paranormal, and pseudoscience from across the world. This list will ...
of
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
, sometimes also
attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
of Britain. It was associated with the
Arthurian legend
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of
Arthur's lineage) are not the same weapon, though in some modern incarnations they are either the same or at least share their name. In
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
, it is called ''Caledfwlch''; in
Cornish, ''Calesvol'' (in Modern Cornish: ''Kalesvolgh''); in
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
, ''Kaledvoulc'h''; and in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, ''Caliburnus''. Several similar swords and other weapons also appear in this and other legends.
Forms and etymologies
The name ''Excalibur'' ultimately derives from the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
Caledfwlch (and
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
''Kaledvoulc'h'',
Middle Cornish
Cornish ( Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a revived language, having become extinct as a living community language in Cornwall at the end of the 18th century. However ...
''Calesvol''), which is a
compound
Compound may refer to:
Architecture and built environments
* Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall
** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...
of ' "hard" and ' "breach, cleft". Caledfwlch appears in several early Welsh works, including the prose tale ''
Culhwch and Olwen
''Culhwch and Olwen'' ( cy, Culhwch ac Olwen) is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, c. 1400, and a fragmented version in the Whit ...
'' (c. 11th–12th century). The name was later used in Welsh adaptations of foreign material such as the ''Brut''s (chronicles), which were based on
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiograph ...
. It is often considered to be related to the phonetically similar ''
Caladbolg
''Caladbolg'' ("hard cleft", also spelled Caladcholg, "hard blade") is the sword of Fergus mac Róich from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.James MacKillop, ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'', Oxford University Press, pp. 64-65
Fergus calls h ...
'', a sword borne by several figures from
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...
, although a borrowing of ''Caledfwlch'' from Irish ''Caladbolg'' has been considered unlikely by
Rachel Bromwich
Rachel Bromwich (30 July 1915 – 15 December 2010) born Rachel Sheldon Amos, was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and she taught Celtic Languages and Literature in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at ...
and D. Simon Evans. They suggest instead that both names "may have similarly arisen at a very early date as generic names for a sword". This sword then became exclusively the property of Arthur in the British tradition.
Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his ''
Historia Regum Britanniae
''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...
'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain'', c. 1136),
Latinised the name of Arthur's sword as Caliburnus (potentially influenced by the Medieval Latin spelling of
Classical Latin
Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later periods ...
, from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
[] "steel"). Most Celticists consider Geoffrey's ''Caliburnus'' to be derivative of a Lost works, lost Old Welsh text in which (Old Welsh ) had not yet been Lenition, lenited to (Middle Welsh or ). In the late 15th/early 16th-century Middle Cornish play ''
Beunans Ke
''Bewnans Ke'' (''The Life of Saint Ke'') is a Middle Cornish play on the life of Saint Kea or Ke, who was venerated in Cornwall, Brittany and elsewhere. It was written around 1500 but survives only in an incomplete manuscript from the second ha ...
'', Arthur's sword is called ''Calesvol'', which is etymologically an exact Middle Cornish cognate of the Welsh ''Caledfwlch''. It is unclear if the name was borrowed from the Welsh (if so, it must have been an early loan, for phonological reasons), or represents an early,
pan-Brittonic traditional name for Arthur's sword.
In
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
sources this then became ''Escalibor'', ''Excalibor'', and finally the familiar ''Excalibur''.
Geoffrey Gaimar
Geoffrey Gaimar ( fl. 1130s), also written Geffrei or Geoffroy, was an Anglo-Norman chronicler. His contribution to medieval literature and history was as a translator from Old English to Anglo-Norman. His ''L'Estoire des Engleis'', or ''History ...
, in his Old French ''
Estoire des Engleis
''Estoire des Engleis'' (English: ''History of the English'') is a chronicle of English history composed by Geffrei Gaimar. Written for the wife of a landholder in Lincolnshire and Hampshire, it is the oldest known history chronicle in the French ...
'' (1134–1140), mentions Arthur and his sword: "this Constantine was the nephew of Arthur, who had the sword Caliburc" (""). In
Wace
Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his care ...
's ''
Roman de Brut
The ''Brut'' or ''Roman de Brut'' (completed 1155) by the poet Wace is a loose and expanded translation in almost 15,000 lines of Norman-French verse of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''History of the Kings of Britain''. It was formerly known as ...
'' (c. 1150–1155), an Old French translation and versification of Geoffrey's ''Historia'', the sword is called ''Calabrum'', ''Callibourc'', ''Chalabrun'', and ''Calabrun'' (with variant spellings such as ''Chalabrum'', ''Calibore'', ''Callibor'', ''Caliborne'', ''Calliborc'', and ''Escaliborc'', found in various manuscripts of the ''Brut'').
In
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...
' late 12th-century Old French
''Perceval'', Arthur's knight
Gawain
Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
carries the sword ''Escalibor'' and it is stated, "for at his belt hung Escalibor, the finest sword that there was, which sliced through iron as through wood" (). This statement was probably picked up by the author of the ''Estoire Merlin'', or Vulgate Merlin, where the author (who was fond of fanciful folk etymologies) asserts that Escalibor "is a
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
name which means in French 'cuts iron, steel, and wood (; note that the word for "steel" here, achier, also means "blade" or "sword" and comes from medieval Latin , a derivative of "sharp", so there is no direct connection with Latin in this etymology). It is from this fanciful etymological musing that
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of '' Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of '' Le Morte d' ...
got the notion that Excalibur meant "cut steel" (''the name of it,' said the lady, 'is Excalibur, that is as moche to say, as Cut stele'').
The sword in the stone and the sword in the lake
In Arthurian romance, a number of explanations are given for Arthur's possession of Excalibur. In
Robert de Boron's ''
Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
'', the first tale to mention the "sword in the stone" motif c. 1200, Arthur obtained the British throne by pulling a sword from an anvil sitting atop a stone that appeared in a churchyard on Christmas Eve. In this account, as foretold by
Merlin
Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...
, the act could not be performed except by "the true king", meaning the divinely appointed king or true heir of
Uther Pendragon
Uther Pendragon (Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur.
A few m ...
. The scene is set by different authors at either London (
Londinium
Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...
) or generally in
Logres
Logres (among various other forms and spellings) is King Arthur's realm in the Matter of Britain. It derives from the medieval Welsh word ''Lloegyr'', a name of uncertain origin referring to South and Eastern England (''Lloegr'' in modern Welsh ...
, and might have been inspired by a miracle attributed to the 11th-century Bishop
Wulfstan of Worcester
Wulfstan ( – 20 January 1095) was Bishop of Worcester from 1062 to 1095. He was the last surviving pre-Conquest bishop. Wulfstan is a saint in the Western Christian churches.
Denomination
His denomination as Wulfstan II is to indicate t ...
. As Malory related in his most famous English-language version of the Arthurian tales, the 15th-century ''
Le Morte d'Arthur
' (originally written as '; inaccurate Middle French for "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Rou ...
'': "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born of all England."
[This version also appears in the 1938 Arthurian novel '' The Sword in the Stone'' by British author ]T. H. White
Terence Hanbury "Tim" White (29 May 1906 – 17 January 1964) was an English writer best known for his Arthurian novels, published together in 1958 as ''The Once and Future King''. One of his most memorable is the first of the series, '' The Sw ...
, and the Disney adaptation; they both quote the line from Thomas Malory in the 15th century. After many of the gathered nobles try and fail to complete Merlin's challenge, the teenage Arthur (who up to this point had believed himself to be son of
Sir Ector
Sir Ector , sometimes Hector, Antor, or Ectorius, is the father of Sir Kay and the adoptive father of King Arthur in the Matter of Britain. Sometimes portrayed as a king instead of merely a lord, he has an estate in the country as well as pro ...
, not Uther's son, and went there as
Sir Kay
In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay ( cy, Cai, Middle Welsh ''Kei'' or ''Cei''; la, Caius; French: ''Keu''; Old French: ''Kès'' or ''Kex'') is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. ...
's squire) does this feat effortlessly by accident and then repeats it publicly. The identity of this sword as Excalibur is made explicit in the Prose ''Merlin'', a part of the ''
Lancelot-Grail
The ''Lancelot-Grail'', also known as the Vulgate Cycle or the Pseudo-Map Cycle, is an early 13th-century French Arthurian literary cycle consisting of interconnected prose episodes of chivalric romance in Old French. The cycle of unknown authors ...
'' cycle of French romances (the ''Vulgate Cycle'').
Eventually, in the cycle's finale Vulgate ''Mort Artu'', when Arthur is at the brink of death, he orders
Griflet
The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
to cast Excalibur into the enchanted lake. After two failed attempts (as he felt such a great sword should not be thrown away), Griflet finally complies with the wounded king's request and a hand emerges from the lake to catch it. This tale becomes attached to
Bedivere
Bedivere ( or ; cy, Bedwyr; la, Beduerus; french: link=no, Bédoier, also Bedevere and other spellings) is one of the earliest characters to be featured in the legend of King Arthur, originally described in several Welsh texts as the one-hand ...
, instead of Griflet, in Malory and the English tradition. However, in the ''
Post-Vulgate Cycle
The ''Post-Vulgate Cycle'', also known as the Post-Vulgate Arthuriad, the Post-Vulgate ''Roman du Graal'' (''Romance of the Grail'') or the Pseudo-Robert de Boron Cycle, is one of the major Old French prose cycles of Arthurian literature from the ...
'' (and consequently Malory), Arthur breaks the Sword from the Stone while in combat against King
Pellinore
King Pellinore (alternatively ''Pellinor'', ''Pellynore'' and other variants) is the king of Listenoise (possibly the Lake District) or of "the Isles" (possibly Anglesey, or perhaps the medieval kingdom of the same name) in Arthurian legend. In ...
very early in his reign. On Merlin's advice, he then goes with him to be given Excalibur by a
Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...
in exchange for a later boon for her (some time later, she arrives at Arthur's court to demand the head of
Balin). Malory records both versions of the legend in his ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', naming each sword as Excalibur.
Other roles and attributes
In Welsh legends, Arthur's sword is known as ''Caledfwlch''. In ''Culhwch and Olwen'', it is one of Arthur's most valuable possessions and is used by Arthur's warrior
Llenlleawg
Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...
the Irishman to kill the Irish king Diwrnach while stealing his magical cauldron. Though not named as Caledfwlch, Arthur's sword is described vividly in ''
The Dream of Rhonabwy
''The Dream of Rhonabwy'' ( cy, Breuddwyd Rhonabwy) is a Middle Welsh prose tale. Set during the reign of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys (died 1160), its composition is typically dated to somewhere between the late 12th through the late 14th c ...
'', one of the tales associated with the ''Mabinogion'' (as translated by Jeffrey Gantz): "Then they heard
Cadwr Earl of Cornwall being summoned, and saw him rise with Arthur's sword in his hand, with a design of two
chimeras on the golden hilt; when the sword was unsheathed what was seen from the mouths of the two chimeras was like two flames of fire, so dreadful that it was not easy for anyone to look."
[Nineteenth-century poet ]Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
, described the sword in full Romantic detail in his poem "Morte d'Arthur", later rewritten as "The Passing of Arthur", one of the ''Idylls of the King
''Idylls of the King'', published between 1859 and 1885, is a Literature cycle, cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892; Poet Laureate from 1850) which retells the legend of King Arthur, his knig ...
'': "''There drew he forth the brand Excalibur, / And o'er him, drawing it, the winter moon, / Brightening the skirts of a long cloud, ran forth / And sparkled keen with frost against the hilt / For all the haft twinkled with diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
sparks, / Myriads of topaz
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...
-lights, and jacinth
Jacinth (, ) or hyacinth () is a yellow-red to red-brown variety of zircon used as a gemstone.
In Exodus 28:19, one of the precious stones set into the ''hoshen'' (the breastplate worn by the High Priest of Israel) is called, in Hebrew, '' lesh ...
-work / Of subtlest jewellery."''
Geoffrey's ''Historia'' is the first non-Welsh source to speak of the sword. Geoffrey says the sword was forged in
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
and Latinises the name "Caledfwlch" as ''Caliburnus''. When his influential pseudo-history made it to
Continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
, writers altered the name further until it finally took on the popular form ''Excalibur'' (various spellings in the medieval Arthurian romance and chronicle tradition include: ''Calabrun'', ''Calabrum'', ''Calibourne'', ''Callibourc'', ''Calliborc'', ''Calibourch'', ''Escaliborc'', and ''Escalibor''). The legend was expanded upon in the Vulgate Cycle and in the Post-Vulgate Cycle which emerged in its wake. Both of them included the Prose ''Merlin'', however the Post-Vulgate authors left out the original ''Merlin'' continuation from the earlier cycle, choosing to add an original account of Arthur's early days including a new origin for Excalibur. In some versions, Excalibur's blade was engraved with phrases on opposite sides: "Take me up" and "Cast me away" (or similar). In addition, it said that when Excalibur was first drawn in combat, in the first battle testing Arthur's sovereignty, its blade shined so bright it blinded his enemies.
![Arthur-Pyle Queen Morgana loses Excalibur His Sheath](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Arthur-Pyle_Queen_Morgana_loses_Excalibur_His_Sheath.JPG)
In the later romance tradition, including Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', Excalibur's
scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and Lever action, lever-action ...
is also said to have powers of its own, as any wounds received while wearing it would not bleed at all, thus preventing the wearer from ever bleeding to death in battle. For this reason, Merlin chides Arthur for preferring the sword over its sheath, saying that the latter is the greater treasure. The scabbard is, however, soon stolen from Arthur by his half-sister
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morg e, Morgant Morge , and Morgue namong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful ...
in revenge for the death of her beloved
Accolon
Accolon is a character in Arthurian legends where he is a lover of Morgan le Fay who is killed by King Arthur in a duel during the plot involving the sword Excalibur. He appears in Arthurian prose romances since the Post-Vulgate Cycle, including ...
having been slain by Arthur with Excalibur in a duel involving a false Excalibur (Morgan also secretly makes at least one duplicate of Excalibur during the time when the sword is entrusted to her by Arthur earlier in the different French, Iberian and English variants of that story); the sheath is then thrown by her into a lake and lost. This act later enables the death of Arthur, deprived of its magical protection, many years later in
his final battle. In Malory's telling, the scabbard is never found again; in the Post-Vulgate, however, it is recovered and claimed by another fay, Marsique, who then briefly gives it to Gawain to help him fight Naborn (
Mabon) the enchanter.
In some French works, such as Chrétien's ''Perceval'' and the Vulgate ''Lancelot'', Excalibur is wielded also by Gawain, Arthur's nephew and one of his best knights; this is in contrast to most versions, where Excalibur belongs solely to Arthur. A few texts, such as the English
Alliterative ''Morte Arthure'' and one copy of the Welsh ''Ymddiddan Arthur a'r Eryr'', tell of Arthur using Excalibur to kill his son
Mordred
Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he ...
.
Excalibur as a relic
Historically, a sword identified as Excalibur (Caliburn) was supposedly discovered during the purported exhumation of Arthur's grave at
Glastonbury Abbey
Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction.
The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It wa ...
in 1191. On 6 March 1191, after the Treaty of Messina, either this or another claimed Excalibur was given as a gift of goodwill by the English king
Richard I of England
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
(Richard the Lionheart) to his ally
Tancred, King of Sicily
Tancred ( it, Tancredi; 113820 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of ...
. It was one of a series of Medieval English symbolic Arthurian acts, such as associating the crown won from the slain Welsh prince
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last ( cy, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, lit=Llywelyn, Our Last Leader), was the native Prince of Wales ( la, Princeps Wall ...
with the crown of King Arthur.
Similar weapons
![326 The Romance of King Arthur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/326_The_Romance_of_King_Arthur.jpg)
The challenge of drawing a sword from a stone (placed on the river just outside
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...
) also appears in the later Arthurian story of
Galahad
Sir Galahad (), sometimes referred to as Galeas () or Galath (), among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of S ...
, whose achievement of the task indicates that he is destined to find the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
, as also foretold in Merlin's prophecies. This powerful yet cursed weapon, known as the Adventurous Sword among other names, has also come from Avalon; it is first stolen and wielded by Balin until his death while killing his own brother, then is briefly taken up by Galahad, and eventually is used by
Lancelot
Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...
to give his former friend Gawain a mortal wound in their long final duel. In ''
Perlesvaus
''Perlesvaus'', also called ''Li Hauz Livres du Graal'' (''The High Book of the Grail''), is an Old French Arthurian romance dating to the first decade of the 13th century. It purports to be a continuation of Chrétien de Troyes' unfinished ''Perc ...
'', Lancelot pulls other weapons from stone on two occasions. In the Post-Vulgate ''Merlin'', Morgan creates the copies of Excalibur itself as well as of its scabbard.
In
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ...
, the Dyrnwyn ("White-Hilt"), one of the
Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain
The Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain (Welsh: ''Tri Thlws ar Ddeg Ynys Prydain'') are a series of items in late-medieval Welsh tradition. Lists of the items appear in texts dating to the 15th and 16th centuries.Jones, Mary"Tri Thlws a ...
, is said to be a powerful sword belonging to
Rhydderch Hael
Rhydderch Hael ( en, Rhydderch the Generous), Riderch I of Alt Clut, or Rhydderch of Strathclyde, (floruit, ''fl.'' 580 – c. 614) was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Britons (Celtic people), Brittonic kingdom in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" of Brita ...
, one of the Three Generous Men of Britain mentioned in the
Welsh Triads
The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...
. When drawn by a worthy or well-born man, the entire blade would blaze with fire. Rhydderch was never reluctant to hand the weapon to anyone, hence his nickname Hael "the Generous", but the recipients, as soon as they had learned of its peculiar properties, always rejected the sword. There are other similar weapons described in other mythologies as well. Irish mythology mentions a weapon
Caladbolg
''Caladbolg'' ("hard cleft", also spelled Caladcholg, "hard blade") is the sword of Fergus mac Róich from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.James MacKillop, ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'', Oxford University Press, pp. 64-65
Fergus calls h ...
, the sword of
Fergus mac Róich
Fergus mac Róich (literally "manliness, son of great stallion") is a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Formerly the king of Ulster, he is tricked out of the kingship and betrayed by Conchobar mac Nessa, becomes the ally and lover ...
, which was also known for its incredible power and was carried by some of Ireland's greatest heroes. The name, which can also mean "hard cleft" in
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, appears in the plural, ''caladbuilc'', as a generic term for "great swords" in ''Togail Troi'' ("The Destruction of
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
"), a 10th-century Irish translation of the classical tale. A sword named
Claíomh Solais
The Sword of Light or (Old Irish; modern ga, Claíomh Solais ) is a trope object that appears in a number of Irish and Scottish Gaelic folktales. The "Quest for sword of light" formula is catalogued as motif H1337.
The sword appears common ...
, which is an Irish term meaning "sword of light", or "shining sword", appears in a number of orally transmitted Irish folk-tales. The Sword in the Stone has an analogue in some versions of the story of
Sigurd
Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Meroving ...
, whose father,
Sigmund
In Norse mythology, Sigmund ( non, Sigmundr , ang, Sigemund) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the dr ...
, draws the sword
Gram
The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram.
Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...
out of the tree
Barnstokkr
In Norse mythology, Barnstokkr (Old Norse, literally "child- trunk"Byock (1990:113).) is a tree that stands in the center of King Völsung's hall. Barnstokkr is attested in chapters 2 and 3 of the ''Völsunga saga'', written in the 13th century f ...
where it is embedded by the Norse god
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
. A sword in the stone legend is also associated with the 12th-century Italian
Saint Galgano in the tale of "Tuscany's Excalibur".
Arthur's other weapons
Other weapons have been associated with Arthur. Welsh tradition also knew of a dagger named
Carnwennan
Carnwennan, or Carnwenhau ("Little White Hilt"), was the dagger of King Arthur in the Welsh Arthurian legends.
In ''Culhwch and Olwen'', Arthur names it as one of the few things in the world which he will not give to Culhwch. Later, he uses it ...
and a spear named
Rhongomyniad
Rhongomyniad, or Rhongomiant (variously translated as "Slaying Spear," "Cutting Spear" or "Striking Spear"), was the spear of King Arthur in the Welsh Matter of Britain, Arthurian legends. Unlike Arthur’s two other weapons, his sword Excalibu ...
that belonged to him. Carnwennan ("little white-hilt") first appears in ''Culhwch and Olwen'', where Arthur uses it to slice the witch Orddu in half. Rhongomyniad ("spear" + "striker, slayer") is also mentioned in ''Culhwch'', although only in passing; it appears as simply Ron ("spear") in Geoffrey's ''Historia''. Geoffrey also names Arthur's shield as
Pridwen
Pridwen was, according to the 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth, King Arthur's shield; it was adorned with an image of the Virgin Mary. Geoffrey's description of it draws on earlier Welsh traditions found in ''Preiddeu Annwfn'', ''Culhwch ...
; in ''Culhwch'', however,
Prydwen
''Prydwen'' plays a part in the early Welsh poem ''Preiddeu Annwfn'' as King Arthur's ship, which bears him to the Celtic otherworld Annwn, while in ''Culhwch and Olwen'' he sails in it on expeditions to Ireland. The 12th-century chronicler Ge ...
("fair face") is the name of Arthur's ship while his shield is named Wynebgwrthucher ("face of evening").
In the Alliterative ''Morte Arthure'', a
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
poem, Clarent is the royal sword of peace meant for knighting and ceremonies as opposed to battle, which
Mordred
Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he ...
stole and then used to kill Arthur at Camlann. The Prose ''Lancelot'' of the ''Vulgate Cycle'' mentions a sword called Sequence (also Secace or Seure) as borrowed from Arthur by Lancelot.
[Warren, Michelle. ''History On The Edge: Excalibur and the Borders of Britain, 1100–1300'' (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press) p. 212.]
See also
*
List of magical weapons
This is a list of magical weapons from fiction and folklore. A magical weapon is one that is directly described as such in the work, or one that has obvious fantastic or supernatural qualities.
In folklore
* Trident – Weapon usually attribute ...
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*''The Works of Sir Thomas Malory,'' Ed.
Vinaver, Eugène, 3rd ed. Field, Rev. P. J. C. (1990). 3 vol. Oxford: Oxford University Press. , , .
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*Lacy, N. J (ed). ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia.'' (London: Garland. 1996). .
External links
The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester: Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone
{{Notable swords
Fictional elements introduced in the 11th century
Arthurian legend
Fictional swords
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Mythological swords