EXCALIBUR worked almost like magic in the hand of its wielder — it was supposed to have given out lights and shimmered so brightly as to blind the enemy in battle and was capable of cutting through rock and steel

IN today’s story, we are transported to the days of legends and lore, the time when fantasy was real and heroes were considered to have extraordinary powers; when the line between good and evil were clearly drawn and those on the side of good spared neither their wealth nor their lives when it came to fighting and preserving their way of life. Living a life full of stories that have lived on for centuries, making us wonder ‘could this be true’?

The legendary King Arthur, a ruler like no other, with faithful and brave knights, who would lived and died for their ruler, who ruled Camelot, a perfect kingdom. But legends sometimes not only speak of heroic acts of bravado, but also the weapons that these heroes of lore used to defeat enemies, whether man or beast.

Excalibur is one such weapon, very much a part of Arthurian legends. A sword that worked almost like magic in the hand of its wielder. Victory to King Arthur, who ruled England in the fifth and sixth century, in his battles is almost always attributed to the mighty sword he carried.

But, as with most myths, this sword is a mystery in itself. The reason being that aside from the way it was obtained and the powers it was supposed to have, there is also the question of whether we are speaking of one or two swords. And that dear friends, is as old a mystery as the legend or maybe older.

In the first instance, we have “The Sword in the Stone”, as it is called. The tale goes that the sword belonged to Uther, the High King of Britain. When the king died, there were no heirs, (at least not one that anyone knows of), and so the barons fought amongst themselves to claim the mighty Excalibur and the kingdom.

Seeing this, the King’s faithful wizard, the resourceful Merlin, magically locked the sword in a huge stone. He stated that no one but the rightful heir to the throne of Britain shall be able to remove it. Many tried and failed to retrieve the sword from the stone. Except of course the young Arthur. He did it for his brother Kay when the brother’s sword was broken.

Little did Arthur know that he was not the real son of his father Sir Ector but a stepson. Thus, Merlin’s magic is proven right as the young lad did have royal blood in his veins, including the love of his land and its people. Since he was able to remove the sword from the stone, he was made king.

Then there is another version. It is told in folklore that Excalibur was given to King Arthur by ‘The Lady of the Lake’, a magical woman or spirit who lived inside a lake and was even capable of appearing in other forms than herself. The lake that she is supposed to have inhabited was also magical.

There are quite a few legends of the Lady of the Lake too. She could appear anywhere where there was water. The power that the sword held within itself too varies from story to story. In some, it is an extremely precise and powerful piece of weaponry, finely shaped and sharpened expertly. In others, it is supposed to give out lights and shimmered so brightly as to blind the enemy in battle.

It was believed that the person that held the sword would not die of wounds inflicted in battle. Also that the wounds would not bleed. It was capable of cutting through rock and steel. Alfred Lord Tennyson describes the sword as having jewels encrusted in it. The word ‘Excalibur’ is supposed to have been originally Latin and later got the present form by a French writer who was writing legends of King Arthur. But the word ‘Excalibur’ itself means ‘cuts steel’.

It has various descriptions too. The blade, according to some writers, was inscribed with words on both sides. Thomas Malory writes, “then he drew his sword Excalibur, but it was so bright in his enemies eyes that it gave light like 30 torches,” this when he writes about King Arthur using his sword in battle.

But there is so much confusion here. Or let’s say mystery, shall we? Is the sword that King Arthur retrieves from the rock, the same that could cut through rock and steel or were there two swords? One the sword in the rock and the other presented to him by the Lady of the Lake? And then, what happened to it after King Arthur died? Some say he threw it back into the magical lake. But that’s another mystery, is it not?