What is the name of King Arthurs sword?
Excalibur – The Name “Excalibur” was first used for King Arthur’s sword by the French Romancers. It was not the famous “Sword in the Stone” (which broke in battle), but a second sword acquired by the King through the intercession of his druidic advisor, Merddyn (Merlin). Worried that Arthur would fall in battle, Merlin took the King to a magical lake where a mysterious hand thrust itself up from the water, holding aloft a magnificent sword. It was the Lady of the Lake offering Arthur a magic unbreakable blade, fashioned by an Avalonian elf smith, along with a scabbard which would protect him as long as he wore it.
The King Arthur Legend The King Arthur story and the legend of Excalibur is probably more than 1,500 years old. In the legend, Arthur was considered an extremely wise king in medieval Briton who ruled over many people well, conquered a vast empire, and eventually went to war with the Romans. Though it is not known whether King Arthur was a historical figure or simply a myth, his story has fascinated people throughout the ages. The King Arthur history is a long and varied one, involving his wife Guinevere, his favorite knight Lancelot, and a series of struggles, victories, and betrayals. Arthur first won recognition as king through a contest set up by the druid Merlin. Merlin put the sword Excalibur in a stone and said whoever could draw it out would be king. To everyone’s amazement, Arthur did so and was crowned. After his coronation, he defended Briton against barbarian invaders and led his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail.
EXCALIBUR AND THE SWORD IN THE STONE The Sword in the Stone, sometimes a sword in an anvil, is drawn by Arthur as proof of his birthright and of his nobility. It is both a test and a miraculous sign of his royalty. The sword drawn from the stone is different from the one given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake. The latter is always referred to as Excalibur; the former is called by that name only once, when Arthur draws the sword at a crucial moment in the first battle to test his sovereignty (Vinaver I, 19): “thenne he drewe his swerd Excalibur, but it was so breyght in his enemyes eyen that it gaf light lyke thirty torchys.
