Difference between revisions of "Excalibur" - New World Encyclopedia
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==Arthur's weapons== | ==Arthur's weapons== | ||
| − | Excalibur is by no means the only weapon associated with Arthur, nor the only sword. | + | Excalibur is by no means the only weapon associated with Arthur, nor the only sword. Welsh tradition also knew of a dagger named Carnwennan and a spear named Rhongomyniad that belonged to him. Carnwennan ("Little White-Hilt") first appears in ''[[Culhwch and Olwen]]'', where it was used by Arthur to slice the Very Black Witch in half.<ref>T. Jones and G. Jones, ''The Mabinogion'' (London: Dent, 1949), p.136; R. Bromwich and D. Simon Evans, ''Culhwch and Olwen. An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale'' (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1992), pp.64, 66</ref> Rhongomyniad ("spear" + "striker, slayer") is also first mentioned in ''Culhwch'', although only in passing; it appears as simply ''Ron'' ("spear") in Geoffrey's ''Historia''.<ref>P. K. Ford, "On the Significance of some Arthurian Names in Welsh" in ''Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies'' 30 (1983), pp.268-73 at p.71; R. Bromwich and D. Simon Evans, ''Culhwch and Olwen. An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale'' (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1992), pp.64</ref> In the ''[[Alliterative Morte Arthure]]'', a [[Middle English]] poem, there is mention of Clarent, a sword of peace meant for knighting and ceremonies as opposed to battle, which is stolen and then used to kill Arthur.<ref>[http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/alstint.htm ''Alliterative Morte Arthure''], TEAMS, retrieved 26-02-2007</ref> |
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
Revision as of 21:28, 27 September 2008
Excalibur or Caliburn is the legendary sword of King Arthur sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur's lineage) are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was associated with the Arthurian legend very early. In Welsh, the sword is called Caledfwlch.
The sword was obtained by the king with the advice of his wizard-adviser Merlin. But it was considered that there existed two Excalibur swords. The first was the one Merlin put into the stone and said that the throne will be claimed by the one who will take the sword out of the stone. Young Arthur was the one to do it. The second Excalibur was the one which Merlin took took to the King. The sword was located at a magical lake where the Lady of the Lake gave it to Arthur. The Excalibur was made by an Avalonian elf. Later, the sword was stolen by his sister and and at this time the scabbard (sword coverage) was lost. In the battle of Camlann, Arthur was hurt, and he told Bedwyzr (Griflet) to return the Excalibur to the lake.
The sword and its name have become very widespread in popular culture, and are used in fiction and films.
Forms and etymologies
The name Excalibur came from Old French Excalibor, which came from Caliburn used in Geoffrey of Monmouth (Latin Caliburnus). There are also variant spellings such as Escalibor and Excaliber (the latter used in Howard Pyle's books for younger readers). One theory holds that Caliburn[us] comes from Caledfwlch, the original Welsh name for the sword, which is first mentioned in the Mabinogion. This may be cognate with Caladbolg ("hard-belly," i.e. "voracious"), a legendary Irish sword. Another theory[1] states that "Caliburnus" is ultimately derived from Latin chalybs "steel," which is in turn derived from Chalybes, the name of an Anatolian ironworking tribe.[2] According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, Excalibur was originally derived from the Latin phrase Ex calce liberatus, "liberated from the stone." In Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, Excalibur is said to mean "cut-steel," which some have interpreted to mean "steel-cutter."
In her book The Ancient Secret, Lady Flavia Anderson postulates that "Excalibur" has a Greek origin, Ex-Kylie-Pyr or "out of a cup—fire." This corresponds to her thesis that the Holy Grail refers to those items used to draw down the Sun in order to make fire. Excalibur, she believed, was a "brand of light" ("brand" is another word for "sword") and associated with Aaron's Rod. Just as only Aaron or Moses could make their rod "flower" (into flame), so only Arthur could pull Excalibur from the stone.
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. The second comes from the later Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin, which was taken up by Sir Thomas Malory. 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," and Arthur takes it from a hand rising out of the lake.
As Arthur lies dying, he tells Sir Bedivere (Sir Griflet in some versions) to return his sword to the lake by throwing it into the water. Bedivere is reluctant to throw away such a precious sword, so twice he only pretends to do so. Each time, Arthur asks him to describe what he saw. When Bedivere tells him the sword simply fell into the water, Arthur scolds him harshly. Finally, Bedivere throws Excalibur into the lake. Before the sword strikes the water's surface, a hand reaches up to grasp it and pulls it under. Arthur leaves on a death barge with the three queens to Avalon, where as his legend says, he will one day return to rule in Britain's darkest hour.
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 only one sword, which Arthur draws from the stone and later breaks; the Lady of the Lake then repairs it.
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. Caladbolg was also known for its incredible power and was carried by some of Ireland's greatest heroes.
Though not named as Caledfwlch, Arthur's sword is described vividly in The Dream of Rhonabwy one of the tales associated with the Mabinogion:
Then they heard Cadwr Earl of Cornwall being summoned, and saw him rise with Arthur's sword in his hand, with a design of two serpents on the golden hilt; when the sword was unsheathed what was seen from the mouths of the two serpents was like two flames of fire, so dreadful that it was not easy for anyone to look. At that the host settled and the commotion subsided, and the earl returned to his tent.
From The Mabinogion, translated by Jeffrey Gantz.[3]
Caliburn to Excalibur
Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain is the first non-Welsh source to speak of the sword. Geoffrey says the sword was forged in Avalon and Latinizes the name "Caledfwlch" to Caliburn or Caliburnus. When his influential pseudo-history made it to Continental Europe, writers altered the name further until it became Excalibur. The legend was expanded upon in the Vulgate Cycle, also known as the Lancelot-Grail Cycle, and in the Post-Vulgate Cycle which emerged in its wake. Both included the work known as the Prose Merlin, but the Post-Vulgate authors left out the Merlin Continuation from the earlier cycle, choosing to add an original account of Arthur's early days including a new origin for Excalibur.
Other information
The legend of Excalibur is similar to the Irish hero, Cú Chulainn who had a sword named Caladbolg; or to Norse Legend of Sigurd. All these swords were made by an elf. Sometimes he is named Wayland (Saxon myth); and Gofannon (Celtic myth).
The Norse story of the Sword in the Stone is analogus to some versions of the story of Sigurd (the Norse proto-Siegfried), who draws his father Sigmund's sword out of a tree where it is embedded.
In several early French works such as Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail and the Vulgate Lancelot Proper section, Excalibur is used by Gawain, Arthur's nephew and one of his best knights. This is in contrast to later versions, where Excalibur belongs solely to the king. In the Alliterative Morte Arthure, Arthur is said to have two legendary swords, the second one being Clarent, stolen by the evil Mordred. Arthur receives his fatal blow from Clarent.
Attributes
In many versions, Excalibur's blade was engraved with words on opposite sides. On one side were the words "take me up," and on the other side "cast me away" (or similar words). This prefigures its return into the water. In addition, when Excalibur was first drawn, Arthur's enemies were blinded by its blade, which was as bright as thirty torches. Excalibur's scabbard was said to have powers of its own. Injuries from losses of blood, for example, would not kill the bearer. In some tellings, wounds received by one wearing the scabbard did not bleed at all. The scabbard is stolen by Morgan le Fay and thrown into a lake, never to be found again.
Nineteenth-century poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, described the sword in full Romantic detail in his poem "Morte d'Arthur," later rewritten as "The Passing of Arthur," one of the Idylls of the King:
:There drew he forth the brand Excalibur,
Arthur's weapons
Excalibur is by no means the only weapon associated with Arthur, nor the only sword. Welsh tradition also knew of a dagger named Carnwennan and a spear named Rhongomyniad that belonged to him. Carnwennan ("Little White-Hilt") first appears in Culhwch and Olwen, where it was used by Arthur to slice the Very Black Witch in half.[4] Rhongomyniad ("spear" + "striker, slayer") is also first mentioned in Culhwch, although only in passing; it appears as simply Ron ("spear") in Geoffrey's Historia.[5] In the Alliterative Morte Arthure, a Middle English poem, there is mention of Clarent, a sword of peace meant for knighting and ceremonies as opposed to battle, which is stolen and then used to kill Arthur.[6]
Notes
- ↑ noted in The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, 1995
- ↑ This is noted and used by the historian Valerio Massimo Manfredi in his novel The Last Legion; the English translation has Calibian instead of the intended Chalybian
- ↑ Gantz, The Mabinogion, p. 184.
- ↑ T. Jones and G. Jones, The Mabinogion (London: Dent, 1949), p.136; R. Bromwich and D. Simon Evans, Culhwch and Olwen. An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1992), pp.64, 66
- ↑ P. K. Ford, "On the Significance of some Arthurian Names in Welsh" in Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 30 (1983), pp.268-73 at p.71; R. Bromwich and D. Simon Evans, Culhwch and Olwen. An Edition and Study of the Oldest Arthurian Tale (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1992), pp.64
- ↑ Alliterative Morte Arthure, TEAMS, retrieved 26-02-2007
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Cavendish, Richard. et al. Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion, and the Unknown. New York: M. Cavendish, 1995. ISBN 978-1854357311
- Cohen, Richard. By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions. New York: Random House, 2002. ISBN 978-0375504174
- Cornwell, Bernard. Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0312185756
- Day, David. The Search for King Arthur. New York: Facts on File, 1995. ISBN 978-0816033706
- Gantz, Jeffrey (translator). The Mabinogion. New York: Penguin, 1987. ISBN 0-14-044322-3
- Kennedy, Edward Donald. King Arthur: A Casebook. New York: Garland Pub., 1996. ISBN 978-0815304951
- Arthur: King of the Britons (2002) BBC Documentary with Richard Harris (narrator and presenter) and Francis Pryor (Bronze Age expert).
External links
- Timeless Myths website: Legend of "Excalibur"
- The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester: Excalibur and The Sword In The Stone
- Background on King Arthur's weapons.
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