What was the name of King Arthur's sword? Excalibur and other legendary swords.
The sword is not just a weapon, it is a true amulet, the strength and glory of which is forged in battles. History has known many swords, among them a special place is occupied by legendary swords that raise the morale of entire nations.
Excalibur
Probably everyone has heard about the legendary Excalibur of King Arthur. It was impossible to break it, and the sheath gave the owner invulnerability.
Excalibur's name probably comes from the Welsh Caledwolch, which can be translated as "heavy smasher". It is first mentioned in the Welsh epic Mabinogion (XI century). According to one version, the name comes from the Latin "chalybs" - steel, and the prefix "exc" meant enhanced properties.
According to one legend, Arthur took out Excalibur from a stone, which proved his right to be king, but in most texts, he received it from the fairy of the lake, after he broke his first sword. Before his death, he ordered to return it to its rightful owner, throwing it into the water.
Behind the myth of Excalibur there is definitely a historical prototype, as well as behind the figure of King Arthur. Only this is not a specific weapon, but a tradition. For example, the custom of flooding weapons in the North and Western Europe. Strabo describes such a ritual among the Celts in the vicinity of Toulouse, archaeological excavations at Torsbjerg testify to the presence of such a tradition in Jutland (weapons date from 60-200 AD).
Durandal
The sword of the nephew of Charlemagne, who terrified enemies, repeated the fate of Excalibur. According to the saga of Charlemagne, he was thrown into the lake after the death of his master Roland during the Battle of Ronceval (778). A later chivalric poem Roland Furious says that a part of it is still kept in the wall of the French sanctuary of Rocamadour.
Its legendary properties were practically the same as those of Excalibur - it was unusually durable, and did not break even when Roland tried to smash it against a rock before his death. Its very name comes from the adjective "dur" - solid. Judging by the frequent references in the sources to the breakdown of swords, the quality of steel was generally weak point medieval warriors.
If Excalibur had a scabbard with special properties, then Durandal had a hilt, where, according to the saga of Charlemagne, holy relics were kept.
Shcherbets
The coronation sword of the Polish monarchs - Shcherbets, according to legend, was given to Prince Borislav the Brave (995-1025) by an angel. And Borislav almost immediately managed to put a notch on it, hitting the Golden Gate of Kyiv. Hence the name "Shcherbets". True, this event is unlikely, since Borislav's campaign against Rus' took place before the actual construction of the Golden Gate in 1037. If only he managed to put a notch, encroaching on the wooden gates of the tsar-grad.
In general, Shcherbets, which has come down to our times, according to experts, was made in the XII-XIII centuries. Perhaps the original sword disappeared along with the rest of the treasures of Poland - the spear of St. Mauritius and the golden diadem of the German emperor Otto III.
Historical sources claim that the sword was used at coronations from 1320 to 1764, when the last Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, was crowned with it. After long wanderings from one collector to another, Szczerbiec returned to Poland in 1959. Today it can be seen in the Krakow Museum.
Sword of Saint Peter
The weapon of the Apostle Peter, with which he cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest, Malchus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, today is another ancient relic of Poland. In 968, Pope John XIII presented it to the Polish Bishop Jordan. Today, the legendary blade, or a later version of it, is kept in the Archdiocese Museum in Poznań.
Naturally, among historians there is no single time on the dating of the sword. Researchers at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw claim that the sword could have been made in the 1st century AD, but most scholars consider the blade in Poznań to be a late forgery. Experts Martin Glosek and Leszek Kaiser identify it as a copy from the first quarter of the 14th century. This hypothesis coincides with the fact that swords of a similar shape - falchions (a blade expanding towards the bottom with one-sided sharpening) were common in the 14th century as an additional weapon of English archers.
Sword of Dovmont
The relic of Pskov is the sword of the holy Pskov prince Dovmont (? -1299) - "a man of valor and impeccable honor." It was under him that the city gained de facto independence from its older "brother" Novgorod. The prince fought successfully with his original homeland Lithuania and the Livonian Order, more than once saving Pskov from crusader raids.
The sword of Dovmont, with which he allegedly hit the master of the Livonian Order in the face, for a long time hung in the Pskov Cathedral over the shrine of the prince. It was engraved with the inscription "I will not give up my honor to anyone." For the inhabitants of the city, it became a real shrine, with which they blessed all the new princes who entered the service of Pskov; Dovmont's sword was minted on Pskov coins.
Before today The sword arrived in good condition. Even the wooden scabbard, covered with green velvet and bound by a third with silver, has survived. The length of the sword itself is about 0.9 m, the width of the crosshair is 25 cm. In shape, this is a piercing-cutting triangular blade with a rib protruding in the middle. At the top of it, a stamp has been preserved, which indicates that it was made in the German city of Passau. Obviously, it belonged to Dovmont during his life in Lithuania.
Dovmont's sword dates back to the 13th century. To date, this is the only medieval sword in Russia, whose “biography” is well known and confirmed by chronicle reports.
Kusanagi no tsurugi
The Japanese katana "Kusanagi no tsurugi" or "grass-cutting sword", according to legend, helped the first Japanese emperor Jimmu to conquer Japan. Not surprising, because it originally belonged to the wind god Susanno, brother of the sun goddess Amateratsu. He discovered it in the body of the monstrous dragon Yamata no Orochi he had killed, and gave it to his sister. She, in turn, presented it to people as a sacred symbol.
Kusanagi was a shrine of the Isonokami-jingu temple for a long time, where he was transferred by Emperor Shujin. Currently, an iron sword is fixed in the temple. In 1878, during excavations, a large sword blade with a total length of 120 cm was found. It is assumed that this is the legendary Kusanagi no tsurugi.
seven pronged sword
Another national treasure of Japan is the seven-pronged sword Nanatsusaya-no-tachi. It is different from the usual weapons of the country rising sun, first of all, by its shape - it has six branches, and the tip of the blade, obviously, was considered the seventh.
It is not known for certain when it was made, but the main version dates it to the 4th century AD. According to the analysis, the sword was forged in the kingdom of Baekche or Silla (the territory of modern Korea). Judging by the inscriptions on the blade, he came to Japan through China - he was presented as a gift to one of the Chinese emperors. The Japanese epic says that it belonged to the semi-mythical Empress Jingu, who lived approximately in 201-269.
Excalibur is the sword of King Arthur, which was often credited with amazing and magical properties. Today we will tell the legend about him in the words of Thomas Malory, author of the famous Le Morte d'Arthur.
“... And so, in the greatest of the churches of London - whether it was St. Paul's, the French Book does not say - long before the dawn of the day, all the estates of the kingdom gathered for prayer. And when matins and early mass departed, people suddenly saw in the temple courtyard opposite the main altar a large stone with four corners, like a marble tombstone, in the middle on it - like a steel anvil a foot high, and under it - a wonderful sword naked and around it golden inscriptions : "Whoever draws this sword from under the anvil, he is by right of birth the king over all the land of England."
people marveled and told the archbishop about it…” “…Then they [the people] went to the archbishop and told him how the sword was drawn and by whom. And on the day of the Epiphany of the Lord, all the barons gathered there in order to once again try, whoever wishes, to draw the sword, and in the face of all of them, only Arthur managed to pull it out. Many lords were angry and said that it would be a great shame to them and to the whole kingdom if they were ruled by a skinny youth. And such a strife flared up here that it was decided to postpone the matter until the Presentation of the Lord, and then all the barons would come together again, until the same time they sent ten knights to guard the sword day and night, pitched a tent over a stone and a sword, and there were guards five by five ... "Note that in passing, who was Thomas Malory, the author of the book from which the above quotation is taken.
It was a 16th-century knight who was imprisoned for robbery in New Gate Prison in London. Fortunately, he was given the happy opportunity to study there. literary activity. He called his famous work “Le Mort D’Arthure” (“The Death of Arthur”) “A Brief Excerpt from the French Book”, although, in fact, it was not a translation, but a retelling of foreign and local literary works. A prisoner of New Gate, he could visit the nearby library of the monastery of the Order of St. Francis. It is assumed that the total volume literary sources Malory - mostly, by the way, poetry - is five times the volume of the book he wrote himself.
His sources almost certainly included Chretien de Troyes, a 12th-century French poet, and Geoffrey of Monmouth (aka Geoffrey of Monemut), author of the History of the Britons and the Life of Merlin, also dated to the 12th century. Note: Galfrid does not have a legend about the sword in the stone (at least in the edition to which the link is given), but Chrétien de Troy has it. This can be quite significant geographic point vision. Be that as it may, the idea of the Celtic origin of the legend of the sword stuck in the stone (or, according to Malory, under the anvil standing on the stone) prevailed until now.
The legendary sword in the stone, which is often associated with the legend of King Arthur, exists. He is not in some Avalon, of course, but in Italy. It can be seen in the Montesiepi Chapel, near Saint Galgano Abbey in Chiusdino, Tuscany. The story is like this. Thirty kilometers southeast of Siena stands the dilapidated abbey of San Galgano, once belonging to the Cistercian order (an order adjacent to the Benedictines). This abbey was built just in the XII century, in honor of the memory of the saint, who in the world bore the name of Galgano Guidotti. This Guidotti led a very dissolute life, was arrogant, voluptuous and much in favor of all sorts of violent atrocities. But once he had a vision of the Archangel Michael, and Guidotti, leaving everything, became a hermit, and after his death - in 1181 - he was canonized as a saint.
It is said of him that, as a sign of his renunciation of the world - and war - Guidotti plunged his sword into a stone, which "fell like butter." As a result, only the hilt sticks out of the stone, and three or four centimeters of the blade, forming a cross. According to legend, after the death of Galgano, countless people tried to steal the sword. The chapel also houses the mummified hands of one of the thieves who were left behind after he was attacked by a pack of wolves who were also said to have guarded the sword. Medievalist historian Mario Moiraghi believes that it was this tradition that formed the basis of the Arthurian cycle. This is indirectly supported by the estimated time of the appearance of the works that formed the basis of the later retellings of the Arthurian plot. Chrétien de Troyes wrote his poem "Perceval" which tells the story of the sword in the stone in 1190. Between 1210 and 1220 a German version of the Holy Grail myth was created (also required attribute Arthurian cycles). And its author, Wolfram von Eschenbach, also focused his attention on Perceval (Parzival). As further evidence, Moiragi presents the testimony of Dioniza, the mother of Saint Galgano (or Galganius), before the council of cardinals who decided on the canonization of the deceased in 1190. According to Moiragi, Dionysus outlined “all the main components of the myth of the Round Table”: a knight overcoming all obstacles on the way to his ideal, his search for the Holy Grail (although in Galgano’s vision, it was not the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper, but some text whose meaning he could not understand); and in the center of everything is the sword. "Knightly" stories brought by merchants from Persia were very popular in Italy at that time, and especially in Tuscany. Moiragi also found an explanation of where the image came from “ Round Table”, behind which sat the knights of Arthur. Round was the chapel built around the sword in stone. A characteristic detail, by the way: at Malory a tent was erected around the stone, where ten selected knights guarded day and night.
According to Moiragi, later authors could change the name of Galgano to Galvano - so, in the end, Gawain, the son of Morgause and Lot of Orkney, Arthur's nephew and one of his best knights, was born. In one of the stories, Gawain even acted as an envoy of the King of Britain to Rome. Galgano's sword was studied by experts. Although the sword was thought to be a fake for many years, recent studies have proven that the metal composition and style of the sword is consistent with the period from 1100 to the early 1200s. This is indeed a metal sword, forged, apparently, just at the time when the legendary saint lived. Therefore, he appeared before the Arthurian stories in the retelling of Chrétien de Troyes and others. But this does not mean that the Celts could not have similar plots. And finally: during the study of the Tuscan sword in stone, it turned out that there was some kind of emptiness under it. The church authorities, however, have not yet given permission to move the stone, so scientists do not know what hides the sword in the stone underneath. Nowadays, it is stored under protective glass, still in stone, in the chapel and is available to everyone. By the way, while I was looking for information about this sword, I found another one:
The typical sword of the Middle Ages is derived from the Germanic spatha, a long one-handed sword. Subsequently, this type of bladed weapon was borrowed and modernized accordingly by many peoples. So the Franks had a widespread sword, named after the dynasty of the Merovingian kings, who ruled in the early Middle Ages.
The Franks began the conquest of Gaul from the 3rd century, and by the 6th century the Frankish state was finally formed. The name of the Merovingian dynasty was given by Merovei, the successor of the second king of the Franks. Although the founder of the new dynasty only ruled for about ten years, he gave rise to a new branch of kings, now known as the miracle-working kings. They are associated with many secrets and mysteries, fascinating research and magical possibilities. These were not just successful military leaders, the Merovingian kings were descended from the ancestral Frankish nobility, and their family embodied the unity of the entire people of the Franks. The Merovingian dynasty lasted from the 5th century until the middle of the 8th century, the last representative of this powerful family, Childeric III, was overthrown in 754.
legendary king Arthur lived in the era of the Merovingian swords and owned the best sword. The most luxurious sword known to us was found in Sutton Hoo (Sutton Hoo). It was discovered in Edith Mary Pretty in May 1939 in a barrow necropolis east of Woodbridge in the English county of Suffolk, where in 1938-1939. perhaps the most significant archaeological finds in British history have been made, including the intact burial ship of an Anglo-Saxon king from the turn of the 6th and 7th centuries.
The person buried at Sutton Hoo has not been identified. Most likely, the tomb belongs to the East Anglian king Redwald (circa 599-624). The legendary king Arthur (English and Wall. Arthur, Irish Art?r from the Celtic "bear"), according to legend, the great sovereign of the kingdom of Logres, the legendary leader of the Britons of the 5th-6th centuries, who defeated the Saxon conquerors, lived around the same time. Until now, historians have not found evidence of the historical existence of Arthur, although many admit the existence of his historical prototype. And certainly King Arthur wielded the same sword as found in the barrow.
The sword of the Merovingian type, like the ancient German spata, originally did not have a point. The end of his blade is flat (not faceted) or slightly rounded. Unlike the spatha, the Merovingian sword was forged from different grades of steel and at first resembled a diamond shape in cross section, and later a dol appeared. The hilt of the sword is short and flat, with a massive pommel. The flat blade, 5-6 cm wide, had a double-sided sharpening and practically did not taper from the handle to the end. A wide and shallow fuller runs on both sides and along the entire length of the sword, ending about 2-3 cm from the point. Despite the apparent massiveness due to the presence of dols, the weight of the sword usually did not exceed 2 kg. From the 5th to the 8th century, the blade of the Merovingian sword lengthens from 60 to 85 centimeters. The crosspiece was short, sometimes slightly curved towards the tip. The pommel could be mushroom-shaped, disc-shaped or "Brazil walnut".
The discovered sword has a pattern of steel called "smoke Sutton Hoo". First, the blacksmith took several iron rods and burned carbon out of them. Then he folded them together with other rods containing a lot of carbon and forged them together. As a result, a long uneven plate came out from under his hammer, which he twisted with a screw, and flattened again. This plate became the core of the blade. On it, with the help of forge welding, worse metal was welded. Then the blade was cleaned and polished. This blacksmithing technique lasted in Europe until the end of the 10th century, when it was replaced by more revolutionary technologies. The cost of a good sword could reach up to a thousand gold denarii.
The weight of 1000 denarii is approximately 4.25 kg of gold. This means that the royal sword costs about ten million rubles, although the status sword from Zlatoust, all gilded, rarely costs more than half a million. On average, a well-made sword now costs from 1500 to 4000 Euros, but there are swords (remakes) that are simply sky-high prices.
By the 8th century, the Merovingian sword was already widespread in Europe and was becoming the main weapon of the medieval feudal lord. But the time has come and metal armor is replacing leather armor. The role of the cavalry increases even more, battles are often fought in the cramped city narrow streets, behind the walls of castles and houses. Knightly tournaments and duels are also gradually becoming popular. And in this regard, bladed weapons are being modified again: a chopping sword evolves into a piercing-cutting one. Such bladed weapons as a sword, even undergoing the necessary changes, will be used by warriors for a long time and will finally be replaced by other types of weapons only in the 17th century.
Most of the swords of Europe and Britain in the 6th to 8th centuries looked like the sword from Sutton Hoo. The original dates from around 630. Length - 89 cm, weight 1020 grams.
It is believed that the swords with rings belonged to the leaders who took an oath of allegiance on them. The ring, a symbol of infinity, was also considered a cult item. Indirectly in favor of this version speaks a small number of swords with rings. And since their oldest specimens are found on the territory of modern England, it can be assumed that they were invented there. A leather strap was attached to the ring, making it difficult to draw the sword from its scabbard. It was called the "strap of good intentions", and was used during various kinds of negotiations on highest level. Although not a single strap has survived to our time, having decayed over the centuries, it is often remembered in the sagas:
He wore a hat from Gardariki and a gray cloak with a gold brooch on his shoulder, and he held a sword in his hand. Two boys approached him. The elder said, “What kind of noble-looking man is sitting here? I have never seen a more handsome or more worthy husband." Thorkel replied: "You are right, my name is Thorkel." Then the boy said: “The sword in your hand must be very expensive; can I have a look at it?" Thorkel replied, "It's an unusual request, but I'll let you do it." The boy took the sword, turned it around, untied the thong of good intentions, and drew it. When Thorkel saw this, he remarked, "I didn't say you could draw a sword." “But I didn’t ask permission,” the boy replied; then he swung his sword, hit Thorkel on the neck and cut off his head.
They carried swords, of course, in sheaths. The design is classic - a wooden frame covered with leather. Sometimes the scabbard was lined with fur from the inside. The sagas and the swords themselves tell about this. The villi were simply baked in the rust that covered the blades after so many years of rest. Swords were worn on the belt, and over the shoulder under the arm, and not behind the back, as they are sure in Hollywood. It depended on the occasion - the weapon on the belt is comfortable on foot, over the shoulder under the arm - on horseback. They were hung from the belt with the help of a special loop, like a trench coat. The option seems to be quite convenient. At least the ancient Chinese, Sarmatians and Celts were happy to use similar devices. The sheaths were also decorated with metal overlays at the tip and near the mouth. Interestingly, all swords of the fourth type were distinguished by very simple overlays. Such spartanism only emphasized the brilliant beauty of their handles.
In addition to rich decorations, swords could be supplied with rings and "stones of life". One of the main characters in the saga of King Hrolf Kraki was a sword called Skofnung. “He was the best of all the swords that were ever found in the northern lands,” says the saga about him. When Hrolf Kraki was buried, his sword was also placed in the mound with him. But the history of the sword did not end there. Approximately two hundred years passed, and in the 9th century, a certain Skeggi ruined the tomb of the king. He "went ashore, broke into the tomb of Hrolf Kraki and took Skofnung, the king's sword." Skofnung occurs to us in several sagas and we see that he often shows character. Once in the hands of an ignoramus, he dooms him to defeat, and in the hands of an attentive and sensitive to magic warrior, he brings victory. As befits a sword of this level, it was endowed with magical properties.
So, for example, the wound inflicted by Skofnung could be healed in only one way - to rub it with the "stone of life". This stone was always with the sword, so that its owner became a very significant figure. He could kill and heal as he saw fit. In general, the “stone of life” is often mentioned in the sagas, but, apparently, this was a common concept for people of that time. Therefore, it has not yet been possible to find a description of how exactly it looked and how it was attached to the sword.
However, often, when excavating graves of the 3rd-5th centuries, archaeologists find large beads made of stone, ceramics, glass or foam next to the sword of the deceased. Sometimes they are set in gold. The beads are drilled through and apparently used to be attached to weapons with a leather cord. The English explorer Ewart Oakeshott believed that these beads could very well be the very “stones of life”.
The Merovingians were gradually supplanted by the Carolingians, who appeared in the 8th century, and by the 10th century they had practically gone out of circulation, remaining in history as the sword of the Great Migration.
Excalibur is the sword of King Arthur in Sir Thomas Malory's landmark work Le Morte d'Arthur, published in 1485 CE. The sword was originally introduced in The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth (1136 CE) as Caliburnus (or Caliburn) and further developed by later writers before Malory immortalized it in his work. The sword, at first glance, is a powerful weapon in the hands of a skilled warrior and maintains that reputation in every story that characterizes it.
As with many other magical or powerful swords in legend or mythology, it is identified with a single hero and should not be allowed to fall into enemy hands due to its inherent power. In the case of Excalibur, when Arthur dies of his wounds after fighting Mordred, he must be returned to his source, the Lady of the Lake, instead of being entrusted to any knight - no matter how noble - Arthur, the king, may succeed.
However, this rule is not always true for every version of the legend. In the poem Comté du Grail, the Provençal poet Chrétien de Troyes (c. 1130 - 1190 AD) makes Excalibur (called Escalibor) Sir Gawain's weapon. In the Vulgate Cycle (1215-1235 CE) and the Post-Vulgate Cycle (c. 1230-1245 CE), Arthur presents Gawain with Excalibur, who then hands him over to Lancelot for his protection of Guinevere. Gawain then returns the sword to Arthur for his final battle with Mordred and then it must be returned to the Lady of the Lake.
DREAMS IN MYTHOLOGY
The concept of "sword of power" was not associated with the Arthurian legend. IN Greek mythology a number of magical swords are mentioned and, especially, the gappa used by the titan Kronos to overthrow his father Uranus. Julius Caesar's sword, Croce Mors was supposed to have supernatural powers, like the Sword of Mars owned by Attila the Hun. The Janjiang and Moye swords of the Chinese spring and autumn period must also be imbued with great power by their creators.
In the biblical Book of Genesis, after the Fall of Man, God places his cherubim to stand east of the Garden of Eden, along with a flaming sword "which has turned in every way" to prevent the return of Adam and Eve. The Shinto storm god Susanuo finds a magic sword in the dragon's tail and it eventually became part of the Japanese imperial regalia. Magical swords are often used in Norse mythology, such as Gram, the weapon of Sigmund and his son Sigurd, and the Celts introduced a number of magical swords into their tales, including the Kleeve Sollish, the Sword of Light that triumphs over darkness. In the 11th century AD. the Spanish hero El Cid had two magic swords, and the 8th-century French champion of Europe, Roland, possessed his famous Durendal blade and fell with it, protecting the Ronchevo Pass in the epic Song of Roland.
While there are precedents for earlier magical or supernatural power swords, Excalibur is perhaps the most famous. It is often associated with another Arthurian motif, the Sword in the Stone, but they are actually two different swords. In some versions of the legend, the Sword in the Stone is destroyed in Arthur's first battle and replaced by Excalibur, while in others the Sword in the Stone establishes Arthur's right to rule (as only he can draw the blade from the rock) as the son and successor of Uther Pendragon, while Excalibur serves as a symbol of his authority as king.
FAMOUS NAME AND ORIGIN
The name Excalibur may appear in the work of Culhwch and Olwen from the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh legends, if the composition date is taken as c. 1100 CE. However, the Mabinogion only exists in manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries, with some scholars noting it as early as 1200 CE. In this tale, Arthur's sword is called Kaledviwich, which comes from the Latin chalibs ("steel" or "iron") and means "hard cleft". Caledwywich, as the name of the sword of power, is most likely derived from the mythological Irish blade Caladbolg (meaning "gluttonous"), transposed by King Fergus Mac Roich into the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.
Geoffrey of Monmouth calls Arthur's sword Caliburnus in Medieval Latin, which uses the Latin chalybs more directly as "steel", but designates a particularly heavy or efficient blade. As such, by the time Geoffrey wrote, the name of Arthur's blade could be understood to mean "famous sword" or " great sword due to earlier associations of chalibs with mythological weapons.
The French poet Wace (c. 1110-1174 AD) translated Geoffrey's work into Old Russian folk literature and renamed the sword Shaliburn. Chrétien de Troyes changed his name to Escalibor. When the Arthurian legend was translated into English, Haliborn/Excalibor became Excalibur. Malory, drawing on the Vulgate Cycle, calls Arthur's sword Excalibur shortly after Arthur found and drew the Sword in the Stone, linking the name to that weapon, and the association stuck. Later, however, once this first sword is shattered in combat, it becomes clear that Arthur must obtain the "true excalibur" from the mystical source, the Lady of the Lake and Merlin (who seems to Magic force behind both swords) directs him to where he will be asked. No explanation matters, the strength or origin of the sword, and, in fact, Malory pays more attention to the scabbard.
Whether it is presented as the Sword in the Stone or given to the Lady of the Lake, it is clear that Excalibur comes from another realm. This motif follows from an established paradigm in Celtic lore of magical weapons such as Cuchulainn's spear or Fergus mac Roych's sword being forged in the mystic realm. However, the same device is used in the legends of many cultures around the world. For example, the great swords of Jangjiang and Moye also have mystical origins. In the case of Excalibur, the sword is transformed from a powerful weapon into a symbol of divine inspiration and redemption. When weapons are first mentioned in the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth, magical attributes are not attributed to them.
sword power
In Book IX of The History of the Kings of Britain, Caliburn is first mentioned as "the finest of swords that was forged on the Isle of Avallon" and listed by Geoffrey, along with Arthur's other equipment, as being of particular importance. As Arthur prepares to face the Saxons at the Battle of Bath, Geoffrey writes:
He placed on his head a roll of golden tomb with the likeness of a dragon. Moreover, on his shoulders he carried a shield, which was called Prydwen, where on the inside was painted the image of St. Mary, the Mother of God, who many times and always called her back to his memory. Girth was he also with Caliburn, the best of swords, which was forged on the island of Avallon; and the spear that adorned his right hand was called by the name of Ron, a high and thick spear, complete collection to commit slaughter. (188)
The Saxons broke trust with Arthur after they swore to negotiate peace, and so the battle is a matter of personal honor as well as a necessary defense of his realm. Geoffrey describes a hard battle in which the Saxons hold the high ground and inflict heavy casualties on the British under Arthur. The Saxons continue to hold their position until the day is all but gone, and then Arthur has finally had enough and leads the final charge in his position. Geoffrey writes:
Arthur winced at the stubbornness of his resistance, and the slowness of his own advance, and thrusting out his sword, shouts aloud in the name of Saint Mary and quickly advances him forward into the thickest press of the enemy's ranks. Whomever he touched while invoking God, he struck with one blow, and one day he did not weaken in his onslaught until he killed four hundred and seventy people alone with his sword Caliburn. This, when the British saw them, they followed him in close rank, going in for the kill from all sides. (189)
Excalibur is described more or less the same every time it appears in the story. In Malory's work, when Arthur is attacked by King Lot, he is first beaten until he unleashes the power of his sword:
At the same time, King Lot struck down King Arthur. In doing so, his four knights rescued him and put him on horseback; then he drew the sword of Excalibur, and it was so bright in the eyes of his enemies that it gave light like thirty torches. In doing so, he set them aside and killed many people. (13)
Arthur confronts Lot at the beginning of Malory's legendary version, and it seems that Excalibur is the same sword as Arthur, previously drawn from the stone. This has caused confusion between the two weapons, which are often labeled as the same but are not.
SWORD IN STONE
The concept of "The Sword in the Stone" was added to the Arthurian legend by the French poet Robert de Boron (12th century CE) in his "Merlin". Robert de Boron presents the sword as fixed on an anvil, which writers later turned into stone. The Vulgate Cycle of legend is distinguished by the sword Arthur drew from the stone and Excalibur, and this tradition continues in the Post-Vulgate Cycle and is repeated in Malory's work.
Although Arthur's sword is identified as Excalibur at the beginning of Malory's version, it becomes clear that this is not the true Excalibur, as this sword is destroyed in Arthur's fight with King Pellinore. Pellinore gets the best of Arthur after his sword breaks and tells him to give in, but the young king won't. To save his life, Merlin puts Pellinore to sleep and then takes Arthur to retrieve the true Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Arthurian scholar Norris J. Lacey writes:
In some texts (and in popular Arthurian lore) Excalibur is also the Sword in the Stone, but such an identification is inconsistent with the tradition found, for example, in the Cycle after the Vulgate and Malory, whereby the sword was Arthur (and finally taken from him) by hand in the lake. (176)
Since Excalibur is defined by its power and strength, it cannot be the same weapon that is violated in Arthur's clash with Pellinore. However, according to Merlin, it's not Excalibur, which is so unusual, but its scabbard. Merlin asks Arthur, "Which do you like better, the sword or the scabbard?" and Arthur replies, "The sword pleases me." Merlin then rebukes him:
“You are more foolish,” said Merlin, “because the scabbard is worth the tenth of a sword. As long as you have the sheath on you, you will never lose blood, you will be so badly injured, so always keep the sheath with you." (37)
This detail becomes significant later in Malory's version when Arthur's sister, Morgan le Fay, steals the scabbard. She hoped to defeat Arthur with magic by turning her lover Sir Accolon against Arthur, giving Accolon a true Excalibur and Arthur a fake (a plot device taken almost directly from the Irish Ulster Cycle). When Arthur's sword breaks, he knows it's not Excalibur and manages to defeat and kill Accolon. Morgan takes the magical scabbard in revenge and throws it into the lake; thus dooming Arthur in his final battle with Mordred.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EXCALIBURA
The sword became more famous than the powerful scabbard and continues to be a symbol of Arthur's virtue and strength. Later works, including El Cid and Roland's Song, draw on the Excalibur symbolism for their characters. J.R.R. Tolkien's famous Lord of the Rings trilogy relies on the symbolism of the sword of power, which is broken and must be made in its entirety to convey the concept of the return of the right king; a plot device similar to the Stone Motif Sword, where the earth suffers after the death of Uther Pendragon until the rightful king can draw a magical sword from stone.
However, more than just a literary device, Excalibur became the noblest aspect of the Arthurian legend. Although it is always described as a sword of power, this power is used in the interests of the people, justice, and not in the selfish interests of the king. Excalibur is given to Arthur by magical means, the Lady of the Lake; it is not a weapon forged in this world, but in another. The sword comes from this other realm, and once Arthur is defeated and dies, it must be returned there. This motif is not unique to the Arthurian legend, but is borrowed from the Celtic tradition in which magical weapons must be returned to their source.
In some versions of the story, the knight Sir Gearflet, who survived the final battle between Arthur and Mordred, was given the task of throwing Excalibur back into the lake; in Malory it refers to Sir Bedevere. If Gearfleth or Bedewee, Arthur's command that Excalibur be returned to where it came from, does not go unnoticed twice, since the knight he sends on an errand sees no point in throwing away such a noble and powerful weapon. This failure on the part of one of Arthur's most trusted comrades resonates with Christian history the betrayal of Christ by Judas, as it is intended, and points to the same meaning: the world cannot understand or appreciate the efforts of the divine will help him to rise higher than he thinks.
Excalibur- the legendary sword of King Arthur, which is often attributed to mystical and magical properties. Sometimes Excalibur is identified with the sword in the stone, but in most texts they are different swords. The sword was first mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain.
Story
This sword King Arthur obtained with the assistance of the wizard Merlin - he was held above the waters by the hand of the Lady of the Lake - after he lost his sword in a duel with Sir Pelinor. One day, Arthur's sister, the fairy Morgana, persuaded her lover Sir Accolon to kill the king. To make it easier for him, she stole Excalibur, as well as his sheath, which was magical and promoted healing of wounds. But Arthur was able to defeat the enemy with conventional weapons. After the last battle of Arthur, when the king felt that he was dying, he asked the last of the surviving knights of the Round Table, Sir Bedivere, to throw the sword into the nearest body of water - to return it to the Lady of the Lake. Only after making sure that this was done, Arthur died peacefully. According to one legend, Excalibur was forged by the blacksmith god Velund. According to another, it was forged on Avalon. In some early texts, before falling into the hands of Arthur, it belonged to Gawain. Archaeological finds of a large number of swords of the Dark Ages in European waters suggest the existence of a custom of flooding weapons after the death of a warrior.
Etymology
The name of King Arthur's sword comes from the Welsh Caledwulch, which combines the elements caled ("battle") and bwlch ("break the integrity", "break"). Geoffrey of Monmouth Latinized the sword name in his 12th century History of the Kings of Britain as Caliburn or Caliburnus. In French medieval literature the sword was called Excalibor, Excalibor and Excalibur.
The first references to Caledwulch are in the Celtic tales The Spoils of Annun and Keeluch and Olwen, a work included in the Mabinogion and dating from around 1100. In some chivalric romances, Excalibur is also referred to as Mirandoisa and Chastefol.
What is the legend? An old legend about the Knights of the Round Table.
Many years ago, heroes lived and died for the honor of the king, for their land and beautiful ladies. Many, many years ago, the formidable King Uther Pendragon lived on the land of Britain, and he was in love with the beautiful Igraine, Duchess of Cornwall. For the happiness of connecting with her, the king promised the magician Merlin his future son. And when the child was born, Uther, keeping his word, gave the boy to a wise druid to raise him according to his own understanding. So little Arthur lost his parents and became the adopted son of Sir Ector. Soon Uther died, and chaos reigned in the country. Fearing internecine wars, on the night before Christmas, Merlin gathered the English barons in the largest church in London. Coming out of the doors of the temple after the service, they saw a miraculously appearing stone in the square, into which a sword was stuck to the middle of the blade. “Whoever can draw this sword from the stone,” the inscription read, “he will become the king of England.” Many wished to test their strength, but the sword did not even swing, and the English throne did not find the long-awaited ruler. Many years later, when few people remembered the sword in the stone, valiant knights from all over Britain came to London to participate in the tournament. Among the guests was Sir Ector with his son Kay, as well as the unknown Arthur, who served as a friend and squire with his foster brother. On the way, it turned out that Kay had forgotten the sword at home, and Arthur had the honor of returning for it. But the servants left for the tournament, and the house was locked. Arthur was ashamed to appear empty-handed before his master, but, fortunately, he saw a sword sticking out of a stone in the square, easily pulled it out and, happy with the find, went to Kay. He immediately recognized Merlin's magic sword and, showing it to his father, declared that he intended to become king. But under the stern gaze of Sir Ector, he immediately confessed everything. When Arthur, in front of the astonished knights, again pulled the sword out of the stone, it became clear who the real king was. Arthur ruled as befits a just king. He did many glorious deeds for the benefit of his subjects. Rumors about him filled the earth. Dreaming of exploits, the noblest knights of Britain reached out to his court. They were strong and courageous people, but there was no agreement among them. Frequent quarrels and strife overshadowed the life of the state. And then one day everything changed. On the wedding day, along with his wife's dowry, lovely lady Guinevere, Arthur received an unusual table - 150 knights could gather at him at the same time 
no, and thanks to its round shape, they all turned out to be equal before God and the king. Thus was born the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Round Table. Once a year, on Pentecost, they gathered in Camelot to confirm their right to a seat at the Round Table with stories of exploits. There was no shortage of noble men in Camelot, only one seat at the Round Table was always empty. He was called "disastrous" because only the most noble and pure in heart a knight could occupy it without harming himself or others. And one day such a knight appeared. On the next feast of Pentecost, when, having renewed their vows of loyalty to Arthur and Camelot, the knights took their places at the Round Table, a beautiful young man in white robes appeared in the hall. On the back of a vacant chair, the inscription “Galahad” immediately appeared. When Galahad took his place, thunder boomed, the shutters rattled in alarm, and darkness fell on Camelot. Suddenly, a bowl appeared on the table, covered with a white veil, and the voice of heaven announced that this bowl is the Grail and that as long as it lives in the world, the brotherhood of the Knights of the Round Table will also live. No one could see her, only the hall was filled with wonderful aromas, and dishes and drinks that were most to his taste appeared in front of each knight. "And the Holy Grail was carried across the entire hall and disappeared no one knows how and where." The audience was breathless, and when they regained the gift of speech, then, without leaving the spot, they swore an oath without any delay to go in search of the Holy Grail. From now on, life among feasts and feats of arms remained for the knights in the past. 
For some reason, troubadours and minnesingers were sure that the search for the Grail was the only important thing in life, that the Grail united in itself that without which the life of each of us loses its meaning: the most beautiful dreams, the most great love, the highest aspirations, to which a person can only grow and reach, the Grail is revealed only to those who strive for it with all the strength of their soul. Many trials brought the search for the Grail to Arthur's knights. Only three of them: the invincible Perceval, the pure-hearted Bors and the perfect knight Galahad reached their goal. The Grail was revealed to them as a reward for spiritual search, for purity and courage, it was revealed because they saw it in dreams day and night, in dreams and in reality. Galahad, having completed his mission, turned his eyes to heaven, and his soul went up, towards the angels. Parzival and Bors vowed to return to Camelot and tell everyone about the Holy Grail. “And the two knights also saw how a hand was stretched out from heaven, but they did not see the body, and that hand reached the sacred vessel and lifted it and carried it to heaven. Since then, there has not been a person on earth who could say that he saw the Holy Grail. Not all knights returned to Camelot. And the last battle awaited those who returned. In it, the eternal enemy, the embodiment of evil and vice, Mordred mortally wounded King Arthur. It's time for the Knights of the Round Table to leave this world. The ship approached silently and took the great king to a magical island, where there is no place for evil, suffering and death. The best knights followed him, and there, on the unknown Avallon, they sleep soundly, sharing the fate of their master.
