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The Excalibur Sword is Part of History

By: Dhruv Patel


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Many who appreciate fine literature or who are enthralled with royal history know the legend of King Arthur, a myth and fable that may have had some roots in a real character but which now is more fiction than fact. As a matter of fact, there are many stories that revolve around this character, but according to the most popular and accepted one, a wizard named Merlin drove a magical Excalibur sword into a stone and put a spell upon it so that only the rightful kind could remove it. While many knights and nobles tried to remove the sword to claim the throne, it was only when a young man named Arthur attempted it did he then succeed.

Although pure fiction, accounts of Arthur and the Excalibur sword abound and still enthrall audiences even today. The central theme of a king claiming his rightful with a wizard by his side and using a magical sword in battle still appeals to worldwide audiences to this day. But since it was such a central part of the story, what is known about the Excalibur sword? Was it anything special, or was it just the magic of the wizard Merlin that made it so?

Obviously it was not the sword itself but the idea that only a rightful king should possess it that became the central thrust of the story and legend. However, in many versions of the story there are some details of the Excalibur sword that make it enthralling to sword lovers alike. Most versions of the story recount engravings on both side of the blade; on one were the words "Take me up," and on the other, "Case me away," or something similar to these phrases. Interpretations of these engravings abound, but many think that these words on the Excalibur sword refer to either the struggle of good versus evil in that an instrument such as a sword can protect or destroy, or may refer to the eventual end of the sword itself when it is finally cast into a lake, never to be found again.

Many accounts of the story state that when Arthur first pulls the Excalibur sword from the stone, his enemies are blinded by the blade, which was "as bright as thirty torches." Because mysticism and magic abound in the stories of Arthur's legend, of course the Excalibur sword had powers of its own. The one who held it would not die from injuries, and in some recounting of the story, those who held the sword would not bleed from their injuries at all.

There are of course different tellings of the legend of Arthur and the Excalibur sword. Another popular version has him receiving this gift from the Lady of the Lake, another magical and mystical creature of folklore. This happens after Arthur breaks his first sword in a fight with King Pellinore. Because there are those who do not want Arthur to be vanquished by his enemies, the Lake of the Lake offers him this magical sword to help him in his battles.

There are also different accounts of the end of the Excalibur sword. Some have said that the sword was stolen by Morgan le Fay, a powerful sorceress and enemy to Arthur and Merlin. It is she who throws the sword into a lake, where it is never seen again.

Other accounts have Arthur on his deathbed, when he tells one of his noble knights, Sir Bedivere, to return his sword to the Lady of the Lake by throwing it in the water. Sir Bedivere is reluctant to destroy such a precious object and so twice lies to Arthur, who does not believe his tale. Bedivere then finally throws the Excalibur sword into the lake for real, and before it can hit the water's surface a hand reaches out to grasp it and pulls it under. In these accounts, Arthur leaves on a death barge to Avalon, where legend says he will one day return to rule during the darkest hours of Britain's kingdom.

Indeed, while the Excalibur sword may be the stuff of fiction, it is also the stuff of history. There is good reason why its story has lasted all these generations!

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