Excalibur << ehk SKAL uh buhr >> was the sword of King Arthur, a legendary British ruler of medieval times. There are two versions of how Arthur got the sword. In one version, which probably originated in the French poet Robert de Boron’s Merlin (about 1200), Excalibur was embedded in a block of stone or in an anvil. Only the rightful heir to the throne of England could pull it out. Only Arthur succeeded, proving his right to be king.
Another version of the legend is found in the Suite du Merlin (about 1230). In it, Arthur received the sword and its valuable scabbard, which protected the bearer from injury, from the mysterious Lady of the Lake. She lived in a castle at the bottom of a magic lake. Just before Arthur died, he commanded a knight to throw Excalibur into the lake. When the knight did so, a hand rose from the water and pulled it down. The two versions of the legend are combined in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur (1470).
