Excalibur: The Legend of King Arthur's Sword

No sword is more famous than Excalibur. Kings have been crowned with swords named after it, warships and missiles carry its name, and every fantasy sword from Tolkien's Andúril to the lightsaber owes it a debt. Yet almost everything people "know" about it — the stone, the lake, the magic — comes from different centuries and different authors. Here is the real history of the legend: where Excalibur came from, what it looked like, and why it has never stopped being retold.

Is Excalibur the Sword in the Stone?

Usually not — and this is the most common confusion. In the fullest medieval version of the legend, Arthur draws a sword from a stone (or an anvil set on a stone) to prove he is the rightful king of Britain. That sword later breaks in a duel, and the wizard Merlin takes Arthur to a lake, where an arm rises from the water holding a second, finer sword. That second sword is Excalibur, given by the Lady of the Lake and returned to her at Arthur's death. Some early tellings do make the two swords the same, and most films simplify the story the same way, but in the classic account they are separate blades.

Where the Legend Comes From

Arthur's sword first appears in Welsh tradition as Caledfwlch, meaning roughly "hard cleft" or "battle breach," related to the Irish hero Fergus's sword Caladbolg. Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (around 1136) Latinized it as Caliburnus and said it was forged on the Isle of Avalon. French romancers of the late 12th century, beginning with Chrétien de Troyes, made it Escalibor, and the 13th-century Vulgate Cycle added the Lady of the Lake and the return of the sword. Sir Thomas Malory gathered all of it into Le Morte d'Arthur in 1485, and his version — the sword in the stone, the lake, Sir Bedivere throwing the sword back into the water — is the one the modern world inherited.

The Scabbard Was the Real Treasure

One detail from Malory that modern versions drop: Merlin tells Arthur that the scabbard is worth ten of the sword, because while he wears it he cannot lose blood, however badly he is wounded. Arthur's half-sister Morgan le Fay steals the scabbard and throws it into a lake, which is why he can be killed at the last battle. In the medieval story the sword makes Arthur a great fighter; the scabbard makes him invincible.

What Did Excalibur Look Like?

The legend never really says, and artists have filled the gap for 800 years. The historical Arthur, if he existed, would have been a 5th- or 6th-century Romano-British war leader, and his sword would have been a spatha — a straight, double-edged Roman-pattern blade about 30 inches long with a simple guard. The medieval authors, however, pictured the sword of their own day: a knightly arming sword or longsword with a cross guard and wheel pommel. Malory describes the blade as so bright it shone like thirty torches, and later tradition adds an inscription — "Take me up" on one side and "Cast me away" on the other. Modern images, from Victorian paintings to John Boorman's 1982 film Excalibur, settle on a long, gleaming cruciform sword with a jeweled hilt, and that is the Excalibur collectors know.

Excalibur's Legacy

Excalibur established the template for the hero's sword: a named blade, a supernatural origin, a test of worthiness, and a return to the otherworld at the end. Every legendary sword since follows some part of the pattern — Sigurd's Gram, Roland's Durendal, and the fantasy swords of the 20th century. Our guide to the most famous swords of mythology puts Excalibur alongside its peers.

Owning an Excalibur Today

An Excalibur is a statement piece, and the best versions are built the way the medieval authors imagined it: a straight, double-edged knightly blade with a cross guard and a commanding pommel. Ours are hand-forged in 1095 high-carbon and Damascus steel, sharpened, with scabbards included. See the Damascus steel Excalibur and the 29-inch Excalibur, or browse the longsword collection for the knightly swords of Arthur's literary era.

Excalibur FAQ

What is Excalibur?
The legendary sword of King Arthur, given to him by the Lady of the Lake in the medieval romances and returned to her at his death.

Is Excalibur the sword in the stone?
In the classic version by Malory, no: the sword in the stone proves Arthur's right to rule and later breaks, and Excalibur is a second sword from the Lady of the Lake. Some tellings merge them.

What does Excalibur mean?
It derives from the Welsh Caledfwlch, usually translated as "hard cleft" or "hard lightning," via the Latin Caliburnus and Old French Escalibor.

Was Excalibur a real sword?
There is no historical evidence of it. If a historical Arthur existed in the 5th or 6th century, his sword would have been a Roman-style spatha, not the knightly sword of the legends.

Who threw Excalibur into the lake?
Sir Bedivere, on the dying Arthur's orders, after twice failing to do it because he could not bear to lose the sword.

What was special about Excalibur's scabbard?
According to Merlin, whoever wore it could not bleed to death. Its theft by Morgan le Fay is why Arthur dies at the Battle of Camlann.