In Arthurian legend, the name of King Arthur's sword, which was given to him by the Lady of the Lake. As he lay dying he instructed Sir Bedivere to throw it back into the lake, where a hand drew it under. In another account, he acquires the sword by pulling it from a stone, thus proving he was the rightful king.
Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. The sword was associated with the Arthurian legend very early; Another theory holds that Excalibur was originally derived from ensis caliburnus, "Calibian sword", which might point to a Mediterranean origin.
Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone
In surviving accounts of Arthur, there are two originally separate legends about the sword's origin. The first is the "Sword in the Stone" legend, originally appearing in Robert de Boron's poem Merlin, in which Excalibur can only be drawn from the stone by Arthur, the rightful king. Here, Arthur receives Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake after breaking his first sword in a fight with King Pellinore. The Lady of the Lake calls the sword "Excalibur, that is as to say as Cut-steel."
As Arthur lay dying, he tells a reluctant Sir Bedivere (Sir Griflet in some versions) to return the sword to the Lake by throwing it into the water. Bedivere thinks the sword too precious to throw away, so twice only pretends to do so. When Bedevere tells him the sword simply vanished underwater, Arthur scolds him harshly. Before the sword strikes the water's surface, the hand of the Lady of the Lake reaches up to grasp it and pull it under.
Malory records both versions of the legend in his Le Morte d'Arthur, and confusingly calls both swords Excalibur. The film Excalibur attempts to rectify this by having the Lady of the Lake only repair the sword after it is broken.
History
Caledfwlch
In Welsh legend, Arthur's sword is known as Caledfwlch. In Culhwch and Olwen, it is one of Arthur's most valuable possessions and is used by Arthur's warrior Llenlleawg the Irishman to kill the Irish king Diwrnach while stealing his magical cauldron. Caledfwlch is thought to derive from the legendary Irish weapon Caladbolg, the lightning sword of Fergus mac Roich.
Caledfwlch is vividly described in the Mabinogion:-
Video games
Swords named Excalibur or similar occur in some video games, for example, the Final Fantasy series, the Soul Calibur series, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Tales of Symphonia, Onimusha Blade Warriors, Secret of Mana, Tomb Raider: Legend, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, RuneScape, World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, Fate/Stay Night, Ace Combat Zero, Nethack, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Steambot Chronicles and Phantasy Star Online.
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