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WAS EXCALIBUR THE SWORD IN THE STONE?

7/16/2016

2 Comments

 
PictureDisney's Sword in the Stone
If we're going to talk about the sword in the stone, we're going to be delving into myth and fantasy.  The story of Arthur drawing the sword from the stone is one of the first stories that come to mind when King Arthur is mentioned.  In 1963 Disney set the legend in "stone" so to speak by giving the title of "The Sword in Stone" to its animated musical about King Arthur. The story of Arthur's accession to the throne usually begins (after the whole business of Uther deceiving Queen Ygraine) with Arthur being the foster son of Sir Hector and squire to his foster-brother Sir Kay.  England is without a king and Merlin has set Uther's sword into a rock and announced that the man who can draw the sword from the rock is the true King of England.  Kay breaks his sword and Arthur, in his role of squire, goes to find another sword.  He sees the sword in the stone, draws it out and tries to give it to Kay.  Surprise, surprise, Arthur is the new King of England!
PictureSan Galgano's sword set in stone
In 1135 Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Welsh cleric, published his History of Britain. He claimed that he was merely copying older manuscripts, and the story of Arthur was already being told.  However, Geoffrey was the first person to shape the story into one single piece and the first person to tell of the sword in the stone.  However, the story was not restricted to English legend.  San Galgano (1148) an Italian saint was instructed by the Archangel Michael to turn his back on fighting and to take his sword and thrust it into a stone, where it remains to this day.  A chapel was built to contain the sword in the stone. Although skeptics have long considered the sword to be a fake, modern testing has revealed the opposite.
Sword in the Stone legend from Italy?
PictureSamartian warriors
Could the sword in the stone have any basis in reality?  The Romans brought Sarmatian warriors from the Russian steppes to protect Roman forts in Britain.  Part of the Sarmatians' religious belief centered on the image of a sword thrust into a platform of stone. It is even said that the commander of the Sarmatians was named Artorius ("Arthur" maybe?)  When the Romans left in 410 AD it is possible that the Samartians stayed in Britain and their stories were absorbed into the folklore of the Britons.
PictureAn anvil as a Christian symbol
12th century poet Robert de Boron gives another meaning for the sword in the stone.  In his version of the story (and many others) the sword is thrust into an anvil set on top of a stone.  The anvil was one of the symbols of Christianity and can be seen on the logo of the African Methodist Episcopal church to name just one denomination.  By pulling the sword from the anvil Arthur was agreeing to set aside paganism and be a Christian king.
 So, the sword in the stone  was nothing fancy, and it was not Excalibur.  The giving of Excalibur is a story for another day. Does Excalibur still exist?  Check out the Excalibur Rising series.  We call them fantasy but who really knows?  
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WHAT KIND OF SWORD WAS EXCALIBUR?

7/9/2016

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PictureExcalibur rising from the Lake
To answer a question about Excalibur we have have to go back to the question that underlies every other question about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.  Was Arthur a real person and when did he live?
If a general, or war leader, or chieftain named Arthur actually existed he was either a Roman or someone who rose to power shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire. 
PictureRoman soldier with a short sword
Romans used the word gladius to refer to their type of sword.  Initially made of iron, by the time Rome fell, the gladii were made of steel.  They were two edged for cutting and had a tapered point for stabbing and they were short, more akin to a long dagger than an elegant magical sword.   There was no swashbuckling involved in fighting with a standard Roman sword.  No leaping from balconies or swinging from chandeliers. Roman soldiers were trained to use their swords for stabbing and to aim for the stomach.  Stomach wounds were almost always fatal.  The sharp edge of the blade could be used for cutting at the knees.  Fighting with a Roman sword was a bloody business relying on rigorous training and the quick kill. The sword was just over 2ft in length meaning that the combat was up close and personal.  If Excalibur was a Roman sword, it was a simple instrument, with a wooden hilt, perhaps some engraving of the owner's name on the blade, and very unlikely to be ornamented with precious metals or jewels of any kind. 
PictureThe long swords of the Celts
Perhaps Arthur was not a Roman.  He is often depicted as a Celt.  The Celts were known for their skill in sword making and especially for their ability to make long swords, some as long as 6ft.  They were given to naming their swords and decorating them with ivory, gold, and precious stones. They placed swords in sacred lakes and rivers to honor their dead.  Archaeologists today find lakes and rivers to be a good source of artifacts.  So, with the Celtic sword, are we getting closer to the fabled Excalibur?
PictureA Pictish warrior with a curved sword
The Romans conquered many of the Celtic tribes living in what is now England but they failed to conquer the members of an even more ancient society, the Picts of Scotland.  Although they fought one pitched battle in which many Picts were destroyed, Rome never managed to keep a foothold in Scotland.  The  Picts retreated to the mountains and lived free of the Romans.  Was Arthur a Pict, was Excalibur a Pictish sword?  Unlikely.  The Picts were renowned for fighting naked, and this has never been said of Arthur, and their swords were curved, and this has never been said of Excalibur.
PictureA 14th Century recreation of the Arthurian legends
 So let's move on to fantasy Arthur.  Edward III a 14th century King of England exploited the Arthurian myth to bolster his own popularity.  He staged mock Arthurian tournaments, and bestowed Arthurian honors on his favorites.  The style that many of us associate with  the legendary Arthur is in fact the High Medieval style of Edward III.  By the 14th Century the sword had evolved from the short stab-you-in-the-stomach blade of the Romans to an instrument of greater elegance about 4ft long and light enough to be used one-handed on horseback and two handed when on foot. 
PictureA Crusader fights a Saracen with a sword of Damascus Steel
 Of course we can't discount the possibility that Excalibur was a foreign import. Rome had conquered most of the known world and no doubt soldiers collected battlefield souvenirs and brought them home. Perhaps one of those souvenirs was a particularly well-made sword.

In the Middle Ages,  English knights joined the Crusades and traveled far and wide. As they made their way to Jerusalem and the battlefields of the Middle East, they encountered weapons made of Damascus Steel.  These weapons were light, flexible and kept their edge. A Saracen sword would be something to be treasured and perhaps endow with mystical properties.
  
PictureExcalibur rises from the water
However, when we consider a sword that has a name, is long and heavily ornamented and has connections to water (as in the sword given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake) ​and if we want the story of Arthur to be rooted in any kind of historical truth, Excalibur cannot be a sword from the HIgh Middle Ages, and is most likely to be a  Celtic sword from the time of the Roman occupation of Britain or soon after. 
In the Excalibur Rising series of Arthurian time travel novels,  I offer another compelling and much darker explanation of the origin of Excalibur and its relation to King Arthur. The First Chronicle and Second Chronicle are now available in paperback formats.  Both Chronicles together are available in the Omnibus Edition in the E-book format only.
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    Eileen Enwright Hodgetts

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