Excalibur is one of the most well known parts of the Arthurian legends. This legendary sword, which is said to have had magical powers, is what is said to have given Arthur the stregnth to build his kingdom and conquer his enemies.
Originally the sword was given to Merlin by the Lady Of The Lake. Merlin then handed the sword down to the man he thought would be the great king of Englan, Uther Pendragon. Although Uther began with good intentions, his love for Igraine caused him to kill her husband and start yet another civil war within the country.
Diffrent versions of the legend explain differently how Uther came to lose the sword. Some say that Merlin tricked him into casting the Excalibur into the stone, others say that he placed it into the stone right before his death so that it would not fall into the hands of his enemies.
Years later, Auther , who was the one true heir to the sword, pulled it from the stone and was crowned King of Britain. This sparked another civil war in the country which Arthur won. After that Arthur went on to unify all of Britain. Early in his reign as king, Arthur got greedy with the sword and when he went to swing it the mighty weapon shattered in half. After the breaking, the sword was lost. Later Arthur recieved the sword, in it's whole again, back from the Lady Of The Lake.
Excalibur stayed with Arthur until his death. Shortly after the Battle of Camelot, while gravely wounded, Arthur commanded Sir Bedivere to through the sword back into the lake where it was taken back by the Lady.
The sword was mighty and it gave it's master an extra boost of leadership. Excalibur's scabbard was also powerful, as long as Arthur wore it he would never lose a drop of blood no matter how bad the wound. |
