Excalibur

The name of the sword of King Arthur apparently comes from the Welsh Caledvulch ^[1] ( Wall. Caledfwlch ), in which the elements caled (“battle”) and bwlch (“break integrity”, “tear”) are combined ^[2] .

Galfrid of Monmouth Latinized the name - the sword in his 12th-century work “ The History of the Kings of Britain ” is called Caliburn or Caliburnus (probably from lat. Chalybs - “steel”). In French medieval literature, the sword was called Escalibor, Excalibor, and finally, Excalibur.

The first mentions of Caledvulh belong to the Celtic legends “Trophies of Annun” and “Kiluh and Olven” - a work included in the Mabinogion dating back to about 1100 .

In some chivalrous novels, Excalibur is also referred to as Mirandoisa

King Arthur obtained this sword with the assistance of the wizard Merlin - it was held by a mysterious hand (the hand of the Lady of the Lake ) - after he lost his sword in a duel with Sir Pelinor.

One day, Arthur's sister, the fairy of Morgan , persuaded her lover, Sir Accolon, to kill the king. To facilitate his task, she stole Excalibur, as well as his scabbard, which were magical and helped to heal wounds. But Arthur was able to defeat the enemy with conventional weapons.

After the last battle of Arthur, when the king felt that he was dying, he asked the last of the surviving knights of the Round Table, Sir Bedivere (or Griflet), to throw his sword into the nearest body of water - to return to the Lady of the Lake. At first, he tried to hide the sword, but according to his story Arthur realized that he was being deceived and again sent him to throw his sword into the lake. Just hearing about the “great miracle” - a hand rose from the lake and caught an abandoned sword - Arthur was convinced that his errand was fulfilled and died quietly (according to some legends - he did not die, but was carried away by Morgan’s sister or, in other legends, repentant Morgana on Glass Island, where he sleeps in a crystal tomb).

First appears in The History of the Kings of Britain by Galfried of Monmouth .

According to one of the legends, Excalibur was forged by the blacksmith god Velund . According to another, it was forged on Avalon . In some early texts, before falling into Arthur's hands, it belonged to Gawain .

Archaeological findings of a large number of Dark Age swords in European reservoirs suggest the existence of the custom of flooding weapons after the death of a warrior.

In the novel " Perceval, or The Grail Story " by Chretien de Troyes , Gawaine carries the Excalibur and he is described as follows: " Excalibur hung on his belt, the most beautiful sword of all, which cut iron like a tree ."

Although the sword is not named in Vision of Ronabvi , it is described as follows:

Then they heard the name of Cador, Earl of Cornwall. And he went out with Arthur's sword in his hand, on which two golden chimeras were depicted. Flames burst from their mouths when they drew their swords, and it was not easy to look at them because of their frightening appearance.

- “ Mabinogion ”, “Vision of Ronabvi”. Translation W. Erlichman

In the 19th century, poet Alfred Tennyson described Excalibur in the poem The Passing of Arthur , included in The Royal Idylls :

There he drew the sword of Escalibur,
And bared over his head,
The moon is golden out of the clouds
And rolling through the sky, lightly
A hilt struck a beam.
And the hilt of diamonds sparkled
Countless sparks of topaz
And hyacinths fabulous work.

- “Royal Idylls”, “Arthur's Care”. Translation by V. Lunin

• Thuanthyen
• List of famous and legendary swords

• Joel Grisvar - The motive of the sword thrown into the lake: the death of Arthur and the death of Batrads