,
The
Excalibur
King Arthur’s sword Excalibur: The
legends, the contradictions, and the discovery today
Ian Harvey
In 1485, Sir Thomas Malory published his most famous
work, Le Morte D’Arthur.
.
The story was about King Arthur, the legendary king of Britain,
and his sword, Excalibur.
.
Excalibur had been
previously featured in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s 1136 book History of the Kings of Britain, but
at that time it was called Caliburnus.
While
most Arthurian legends associate Excalibur with Arthur, there are a few ancient
poems, such as Conte du Graal, written
by poet Chretien de Troyes around 1160, that tell other stories.
This
work describes Excalibur as belonging to Sir Gawain, who was the son of
Arthur’s sister, Morgause, also sometimes referred to as Anna.
Supposedly,
Arthur loaned the sword to Sir Gawain, his most trusted and loyal knight, but
it was returned to King Arthur for his battle with Mordred.
According to
Malory, Excalibur was given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake near Bodmin Moor
at the request of Merlin, Arthur’s magical adviser.
Most legends agree
that Arthur battled his nephew Mordred, the brother of Sir Gawain and the
quintessential bad guy of Arthurian legends, at the Battle of Camlann.
Mordred was killed
after mortally wounding Arthur, who advised his knights that Excalibur must be
returned to the Lady of the Lake.
Excalibur was
thrown back into the lake by Sir Bedevere, another trusted knight of the Round
Table, and was never seen again.
Swords are common
in literature and history as a symbol of power, honor, and strength.
In medieval Europe
and Japan, swords were used to indicate social status and appeared on coats of
arms.
Dress swords could
have hilts and scabbards decorated with fine gemstones, pearl inlays, and gold
trimmings to advertise one’s wealth and status.
Peasants were
forbidden to own swords, especially in Japan, where the sword was a symbol of
Samurai, the elite warriors of the Emperor.
Samurai had their
own code of the sword, seeing it as an extension of themselves.
Swords have made
and broken kingdoms for thousands of years.
In northeast
Cornwall, an area of granite outcropping on Bodmin Moor is home to Dozmary
Pool.
Legend suggests
this is the lake that was home to the Lady of the Lake, the caretaker of
Excalibur.
In the legend, the
lake was reported as bottomless, but it now the water is a few feet
deep. Sometimes, when the water level is low, it goes dry.
On August 29,
2017, the Jones family from Doncaster in South Yorkshire decided to beat the
sweltering heat by visiting the lake.
As seven-year-old
Matilda was playing in the lake, she told her father saw a sword
lying on the bottom of the lake.
Having recently
told the story of King Arthur to his children, Paul Jones thought his
daughter was caught up in the fantasy and mistook a section of discarded
fencing for a sword.
As he approached
the area where his daughter was standing, Jones was surprised to find a
four-foot-long sword lying in the mud.
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After retrieving
and cleaning the sword, Jones surmised that it was about 30 years old and a
prop or toy that had been lost when the lake was dried out.
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The sword doesn’t
have the thickness an actual blade would have had, and the hilt is rather
plain.
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In addition, an
actual four-foot battle sword from medieval times would be too heavy for the
little girl to hold up.
There
is no word from the family as to whether the sword will be presented for
inspection or valuation from the Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer,
Great Britain’s entity which makes the decisions on the found treasure.
Until then, little Matilda Jones can
go on dreaming that she has found Excalibur and will someday be anointed as the
true ruler of Britain, but not until she finishes her homework, of course.
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