Excalibur – The Sword in the Stone

The story of the Sword in the Stone is one of my favorite medieval tales.  I think I probably like it so much because Disney made a cartoon movie about it which I found to be really entertaining.  To sum it up with a quote, “Who so Pulleth Out This Sword of this Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of England.”

How cool is it, that if you can pull this sword out, you will become King?!  Of course, it’s not a matter of strength, but of honor and royalty, but it’s still a neat idea.  The original novel, The Once and Future King, was written by T.H. White and published in 1963.  Of course, there have been many revisions through different stories, movie adaptations, and radio programs, but the basic theme is the same throughout.

Excalibur is a pretty powerful sword, and I find it to be pretty interesting that it’s gained so much of its glory from this tale.  Whoever wields this sword becomes the King and has power over England, plus has bragging rights for being able to haul it out of stone.  The sword itself has been replicated and there are a number of different versions of it.  Some are simple plain versions, while others are intricated detailed with stones and etching on the blade.

As there are different versions of the sword, there are also many different versions of King Arthur and Excalibur.  In other tales, Excalibur was not pulled from the stone, but given to Arthur by the Lady in the Lake after he already began his reign.  Another story is that Arthur does in fact pull the sword from the stone, but he later breaks it.  Then, the Lady in the Lake repairs the sword for him.

There are so many stories regarding Arthur and the famed Excalibur that sometimes it’s hard to keep them straight!  The fact that people are still intrigued by these stories truly shows just how powerful this sword can be.