King Arthur is one of the most famous legendary rulers of the past. His image was reflected in many literary works and cinema. Everything connected with this great ruler of the Britons is unusually interesting and shrouded in a veil of secrecy. King Arthur's Sword is another fascinating legend from Celtic legends. He is often confused with another famous weapon - a stone blade. The history of the sword Excalibur - we learn how it appeared, got to King Arthur and where is now.
The legendary ruler of Britain - birth and education
Legends about King Arthur appeared a long time ago. The first mention of it dates back to the year 600. The Welsh poem of this period tells of the battle between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons. Tales of King Arthur became popular thanks to the 12th-century priest and writer Jeffrey Monmouth, or Galfrid of Monmouth. He was the first to combine fragmentary information about the famous ruler of the Britons in a coherent narrative.
Arthur is the son of the legendary British king Uther Pendragon. Immediately after birth, by agreement, he was given to the education of the great magician Merlin. He, in turn, later entrusted the education of the boy to Sir Hector, because he did not want life at the royal court to leave an imprint on Arthur.
Arthur's rise to power
There are two versions of how Arthur took over. According to ancient literary sources, he was proclaimed king of Britain at the age of 15 after the death of his father Uther as a result of poisoning.
Subsequently, the story of King Arthur acquired the character of a legend. Here comes the famous sword in stone. Initially, it was a stone slab with a weapon lying on it, crushed by an anvil. Later, a stone appeared with a sword stuck in it and an inscription that the one who can pull out the weapon will become the king of the Britons. Arthur accidentally drew his sword when he was looking for a weapon for his named brother Kay. Merlin declared the young man the king, but many rulers did not recognize him and went to war against Arthur. He had to defend the throne and his right to it.
Arthur's reign and the first appearance of Excalibur
The capital of the young king made the city of Camelot. According to another version, he ordered the construction of the city from which he was going to rule the country. Where the capital was located is hard to say. According to the most common version, Camelot is considered to be an amphitheater of the city of Chester in the west of England. Jeffrey Monmouth in his famous work “The History of the Kings of Britain” believed that Camelot is Carleon Castle located in Wales.
King Arthur in Camelot, before the Saxons conquered England, ruled Britain, Brittany, and Ireland. The young ruler had many enemies. For a while he fought with a sword made of stone, but in a duel with Pelinor the weapon was broken. Then Merlin came to the aid of the king. He promised him Excalibur - a sword with wonderful properties. He pointed to Arthur's lake, in the waters of which could be seen a hand with a blade. The Lady of the Lake held the sword. She gave the weapon to the king with the condition - to expose it only for the sake of a just cause and return a wonderful relic to any lake in the event of the death of the ruler. Arthur promised to fulfill her request.
Appearance and properties of the sword
Usually he was portrayed as a straight blade with a simple cross-shaped hilt decorated with precious stones. The scabbard of the sword possessed magical power - they healed any wound. It was always necessary to wear them near Excalibur, otherwise they would lose their magical power. The sword gave its owner strength and dexterity in battle.
Excalibur - the names of wonderful weapons
The sword of King Arthur in different eras was called differently: Caliburn, Calad Kolg, Escalibor. The familiar name came from French medieval literature.
Origin of the sword
The legend of the Excalibur sword originates in the distant past. There are several versions of the appearance of this weapon. According to one of them, the Lady of the lake created it specifically for Arthur, and then took it after the death of the king. According to another legend, the great Merlin created it.
There is a version that Excalibur, a sword with wonderful properties, was forged by Velund, the Scandinavian blacksmith god.
Arthur's death and the disappearance of Excalibur
When the king went in search of the escaped wife of Guinevere, his throne was usurped by his nephew (according to another version, his illegitimate son) Mordred, whom Arthur left as governor. Upon learning of the turmoil, the king returned and fought a traitor in the Cammlan field. In this battle, the entire army of Britain fell. Arthur was mortally wounded by Mordred. Returning the sword to the Lady of the Lake, he died.
But there are other versions of what happened to the king. According to one of them, he was taken to the island of Avalon by four queens. According to legend, it was here that a portal to other worlds was located and witches were brought up. They say that the great ruler of Britain is sleeping in anticipation of the day when the country will need his help.
St. Michael's Hill in Somerset is considered a place associated with King Arthur. At its foot is Glastonbury - one of the oldest cities in Britain. Even before the advent of the Romans there was a large settlement. In the XII century, during restoration work in the abbey, were discovered, as stated by the monks, sarcophagi of Arthur and Guinevere. This place is considered a portal to another world - Avalon.
Excalibur Sword - where is the legendary relic located?
According to the tales of the life of King Arthur, before his death, he asked to throw the famous sword into the waters of the nearest lake. This was done by the last of the surviving knights of the Round Table. Only making sure that his request was granted, Arthur died. After this, Excalibur, the sword of the great king of the Britons, was forever lost.
Researcher from Italy Mario Moiragi in his book “The Secret of San Galgano” seriously believes that the prototype of King Arthur’s famous weapon is still resting in a rock in the abbey of San Galliano. It dates from the XII century, so there is no doubt about the authenticity of ancient weapons. The researcher believes that the legend of Excalibur is inspired by the sword of St. Galliano, who as a sign of non-violence and stuck his weapon into the rock.
Conclusion
Does Excalibur Sword really exist? History knows many examples when an ancient tradition became a reality. Tales of King Arthur are surprisingly believable - we know the entire history of the great ruler of Britain during the Dark Ages, and this leads us to believe that the legend about him has real ground.
Excalibur - the sword of the legendary King of the Britons Arthur, having its ancient and beautiful history, has long become an ancient relic, the discovery of which you can only dream of. For modern scholars, it is similar to the Holy Grail of the Knights of the Round Table - many dream of finding it and believe in the reality of the existence of a wonderful relic.