Galgano Guidotti (1148 – 3 December 1181) was a Catholic saint from

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

born in

Chiusdino Chiusdino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italy, Italian region Tuscany, located about south of Florence and about southwest of Siena. Chiusdino borders the following municipalities: Casole d'Elsa, Monticiano, Mont ...

, in the modern

province of Siena The province of Siena ( it, provincia di Siena, link=no, ) is a province in Tuscany, Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena. Geography The province is divided into seven historical areas: * Alta Val d'Elsa * Chianti senese * The urban area o ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. His mother's name was Dionigia, while his father's name (Guido or Guidotto) only appeared in a document dated in the 16th century, when the last name Guidotti was attributed. The

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

process to declare Galgano a saint started in 1185, only a few years after his death, and his canonization was the first conducted with a formal process by the Roman Church. A lot of Galgano's life is known through the documents of the canonization process in 1185 and other ''Vitae: Legenda beati Galgani'' by anonymous, ''Legenda beati Galgani confessoris'' by an unknown Cistercian monk, ''Leggenda di Sancto Galgano'', ''Vita sancti Galgani de Senis'', ''Vita beati Galgani''.

Biography

The son of a feudal lord, Galgano became a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, and is said to have led a ruthless life in his early years. Galgano died in 1181. Soon after, in 1184, a round chapel was built over his claimed tomb to commemorate him; pilgrims came there in large numbers, and miracles were claimed. In that year,

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monks took over Montesiepi at the request of Hugh, bishop of

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History Volter ...

, but most of Galgano's monks left, scattered over Tuscany, and became Augustinian hermits. By 1220, San Galgano Abbey, a large Cistercian monastery, had been built below Galgano's hermitage: he was then claimed and recognized as a Cistercian saint. His cult was lively in Siena and Volterra, where numerous representations survive. The ruins of his hermitage can still be seen, while his cloak is kept in the church of Santuccio at Siena.

The sword in the stone

The sword in the stone can be seen at the Rotonda at Montesiepi, near the ruins of the

Abbey of San Galgano The Abbey of Saint Galgano was a Cistercian Monastery founded in the valley of the river Merse between the towns of Chiusdino and Monticiano, in the province of Siena, region of Tuscany, Italy. Presently, the roofless walls of the Gothic style 1 ...

. The handle of a sword protrudes from a stone, and is said to be the sword of Galgano. An analysis of the metal done in 2001 by Luigi Garlaschelli confirmed that the "composition of the metal and the style are compatible with the era of the legend". The analysis also confirmed that the upper piece and the invisible lower one are authentic and belong to one and the same artifact.

In the media

Television

Galgano's "sword in the stone" story was featured in a season 7 episode of TV series, '' Forged in Fire''. Bladesmiths had to recreate "Excalibur", a medieval

broadsword The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages. In mod ...

possibly inspired by Galgano's story. The episode explained the story as follows: the actual Sword in the Stone is located in

Siena, Italy Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

, and believed to have belonged to Galgano. An episode of

Ancient X-files ''Ancient X-Files'' is a series on the National Geographic Channel. Each episode contains one or two mysterious stories of the ancient past. As the show unfolds, it attempts to scientifically investigate legends and myths. The series premiered on ...

looked at the sword in the stone and the connections between it, and St Galgano, to Sir

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 ...

and King Arthur. It included some scientific exploration of the stone.

References

Footnotes Citations

External links