EXCALIBUR

'Excalibur' is the mythical sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur's lineage) are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was associated with the Arthurian legend very early. In Welsh, the sword is called 'Caledfwlch'.

Contents

Forms and etymologies

Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone

History

Caledfwlch

Caliburn to Excalibur

Other information

Attributes

See also

Notes

References

External links

Forms and etymologies

The name ''Excalibur'' came from Old French ''Excalibor'', which came from ''Caliburn'' used in Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1140) (Latin ''Caliburnus''). There are also variant spellings such as ''Escalibor'' and ''Excaliber'' (the latter used in Howard Pyle's books for younger readers). One theory holds that ''Caliburn[us]'' comes from ''Caledfwlch'', the original Welsh name for the sword, which is first mentioned in the Mabinogion. This may be cognate with ''Caladbolg'' ("hard-belly", i.e. "voracious"), a legendary Irish sword (see below). Another theory (noted in ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', 1995) states that "Caliburnus" is ultimately derived from Latin ''chalybs'' "steel", which is in turn derived from ''Chalybes'', the name of an Anatolian ironworking tribe. This is noted and used by the historian Valerio Massimo Manfredi in his novel ''The Last Legion'' (2002: the English translation has ''Calibian'' instead of the intended ''Chalybian''). According to ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'' by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, ''Excalibur'' was originally derived from the Latin phrase ''Ex calce liberatus'', "liberated from the stone". In Malory, ''Excalibur'' is said to mean "cut-steel", which some have interpreted to mean "steel-cutter".

Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone

In surviving accounts of Arthur, there are two originally separate legends about the sword's origin. The first is the "Sword in the Stone" legend, originally appearing in Robert de Boron's poem ''Merlin'', in which Excalibur can only be drawn from the stone by Arthur, the rightful king. The second comes from the later Post-Vulgate ''Suite du Merlin'', which was taken up by Sir Thomas Malory. Here, Arthur receives Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake after breaking his first sword in a fight with King Pellinore. The Lady of the Lake calls the sword "Excalibur, that is as to say as Cut-steel," and Arthur takes it from a hand rising out of the lake.
As Arthur lies dying, he tells Sir Bedivere (Sir Griflet in some versions) to return his sword to the lake by throwing it into the water. Bedivere is reluctant to throw away such a precious sword, so twice he only pretends to do so. Each time, Arthur asks him to describe what he saw. When Bedivere tells him the sword simply fell into the water, Arthur scolds him harshly. Finally, Bedivere throws Excalibur into the lake. Before the sword strikes the water's surface, a hand reaches up to grasp it and pulls it under. Arthur leaves on a death barge with the three queens to Avalon, where as his legend says, he will one day return to rule in Britain's darkest hour.
Malory records both versions of the legend in his ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', and confusingly calls both swords Excalibur. The film ''Excalibur'' attempts to rectify this by having only one sword, which Arthur inherits through his father and later breaks; the Lady of the Lake then repairs it.

History

Caledfwlch

In Welsh legend, 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 the Irishman to kill the Irish king Diwrnach while stealing his magical cauldron. Caledfwlch is thought to derive from the legendary Irish weapon ''Caladbolg'', the lightning sword of Fergus mac Roich. Caladbolg was also known for its incredible power, and was carried by some of Ireland's greatest heroes.
Though not named as Caledfwlch, Arthur's sword is described vividly in ''The Dream of Rhonabwy'' one of the tales associated with the ''Mabinogion'':

Caliburn to Excalibur

Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''History of the Kings of Britain'' is the first non-Welsh source to speak of the sword. Geoffrey says the sword was forged in Avalon and Latinizes the name "Caledfwlch" to ''Caliburn'' or ''Caliburnus''. When his influential pseudo-history made it to Continental Europe, writers altered the name further until it became ''Excalibur''. The legend was expanded upon in the Vulgate Cycle (c. 1230–1250), also known as the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, and in the Post-Vulgate Cycle which emerged in its wake. Both included the work known as the ''Prose Merlin'', but the Post-Vulgate authors left out the ''Merlin'' Continuation from the earlier cycle, choosing to add an original account of Arthur's early days including a new origin for Excalibur.

Other information

The story of the Sword in the Stone has an analogue in some versions of the story of Sigurd (the Norse proto-Siegfried), who draws his father Sigmund's sword out of a tree where it is embedded.
Interestingly, in several early French works such as Chrétien de Troyes' ''Perceval, the Story of the Grail'' and the Vulgate ''Lancelot Proper'' section, Excalibur is used by Gawain, Arthur's nephew and one of his best knights. This is in contrast to later versions, where Excalibur belongs solely to the king. In the ''Alliterative Morte Arthure'' (ca. 1400), Arthur is said to have two legendary swords, the second one being Clarent, stolen by the evil Mordred. Arthur receives his fatal blow from Clarent.

Attributes

In many versions, Excalibur's blade was engraved with words on opposite sides. On one side were the words "take me up", and on the other side "cast me away" (or similar words). This prefigures its return into the water. In addition, when Excalibur was first drawn, Arthur's enemies were blinded by its blade, which was as bright as thirty torches. Excalibur's scabbard was said to have powers of its own. Injuries from losses of blood, for example, would not kill the bearer. In some tellings, wounds received by one wearing the scabbard did not bleed at all. The scabbard is stolen by Morgan le Fay and thrown into a lake, never to be found again.
The 19th century poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 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'':

See also

★ Singing Sword

★ List of fictional swords

★ Petrosomatoglyph

Notes

References

★ Gantz, Jeffrey (translator) (1987). ''The Mabinogion''. New York: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044322-3.

★ ''By the Sword'' Richard Cohen (2003)

★ ''Arthur: King of the Britons'' (2002) BBC Documentary with Richard Harris (narrator and presenter) and Francis Pryor (Bronze Age expert).

External links

★ Timeless Myths website: Legend of "Excalibur"

★ The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester: Excalibur and The Sword In The Stone

★ Background on King Arthur's weapons.