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Excalibur and King Arthur


Megan marti

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Is excalibur a myth Or legend?where is it located when first King Arthur drew it out of a stone or did he get it from some goddess?Does Arthurian legend really exist? What about Avalon ?Are all these just myths or they are legends?

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Excalibur wasn't the sword in the stone, it was the sword from the Lady of the Lake. The Sword in the stone was Caliburn.

Avalon, was the Isle of Apples, and according to one theorist, it was a Tor that from time to time was flooded in and became an island.

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I've always take the legends of Aurthur to be an allegory of England becoming a symbol of righteousness and upstanding principles.

There are some scholars who believe Aurthur to be an actual leader from the early ADs, but obviously without the magic and what have you.

I'm hardly an expert though

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Is excalibur a myth Or legend?where is it located when first King Arthur drew it out of a stone or did he get it from some goddess?Does Arthurian legend really exist? What about Avalon ?Are all these just myths or they are legends?

Myths and Legends are usually "born" from events that happened a long time ago,and were passed on by word of mouth as people couldnt read or write,so the telling of the stories became distorted over time with the story tellers adding bits here and there.The Welsh people claim that King Arthur lived in their country.But Cornish people say he was from there.They are still looking for the ruins of Camelot.Tintagel Castle (which still exists) in Cornwall seems to be a good bet,who knows..
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That's a hard one.. being the 5th/6th century hardly any information exists on rulers and their history. The link below if supposedly the castle and birthplace of Arthur, not been there myself - but hope to.

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/tintagel-castle/

It's not to say he couldn't exist, and there may even been a 'Merlin' of sorts, if that were the case he'd be somekind of herbal-healer/medicine man.. certainly not the all powerful wizard we see on tv shows.

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Excalibur may well have existed. It was given to King Tancred of Sicily by Richard the Lionheart, King of England, in 1191.

Research revealed that, In 1191 AD, King Richard and King Tancred of Sicily signed a contract assuring one of his daughters would marry Arthur when he came of age. Before King Richard left Sicily for the holy land, he gave King Tancred a sword called Excalibur in order to secure their friendship. When I was in Sicily, I spoke to a historian who informed me that the Sicilian secret police are so convinced that Excalibur is hidden in the walls of Tancred's Palace that, last year, they funded several covert archeological missions to recover it.

http://www.syfy.com/legendquest/maps/excalibur/page/2

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Look around for a castle with a lake nearby,if it hasnt been filled and is now a housing estate.I reckon King Arthur is in the same category as Robin Hood.

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Is excalibur a myth Or legend?where is it located when first King Arthur drew it out of a stone or did he get it from some goddess?Does Arthurian legend really exist? What about Avalon ?Are all these just myths or they are legends?

So many questions. Don't you have any opinions yourself?

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Excalibur may well have existed. It was given to King Tancred of Sicily by Richard the Lionheart, King of England, in 1191.

http://www.syfy.com/...xcalibur/page/2

I'm wondering if that was the same sword or two swords with the same name... 600+ years is a long time for a sword to remain whole enough to be traded around, especially in a climate

like Britain - as wet as it is... Rust is a real problem... I own a few swords - made of higher quality steel than the Early Excalibur most likely (if it was steel and not Iron) and Oklahoma is by far

less "Moist" than England... I have to really keep after them to keep the rust off..

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I'm wondering if that was the same sword or two swords with the same name... 600+ years is a long time for a sword to remain whole enough to be traded around, especially in a climate

like Britain - as wet as it is... Rust is a real problem... I own a few swords - made of higher quality steel than the Early Excalibur most likely (if it was steel and not Iron) and Oklahoma is by far

less "Moist" than England... I have to really keep after them to keep the rust off..

If they ever find it, in Sicily perhaps, hopefully it can be dated.

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I dont know much about Arthurian legend.So i thought asking here might help..I do have opinions myself but in things about which i know..

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Excalibur wasn't the sword in the stone, it was the sword from the Lady of the Lake. The Sword in the stone was Caliburn.

Avalon, was the Isle of Apples, and according to one theorist, it was a Tor that from time to time was flooded in and became an island.

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Excalibur wasn't the sword in the stone, it was the sword from the Lady of the Lake. The Sword in the stone was Caliburn.

Avalon, was the Isle of Apples, and according to one theorist, it was a Tor that from time to time was flooded in and became an island.

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I heard he returned the sword to the lady of the lake by throwing it into the lake.Or did the sword still is present in some castle like others said.

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Excalibur wasn't the sword in the stone, it was the sword from the Lady of the Lake. The Sword in the stone was Caliburn.

Avalon, was the Isle of Apples, and according to one theorist, it was a Tor that from time to time was flooded in and became an island.

In the earliest texts the Sword in the Stone actually had no name. The names Excalibur and Caliburn are one and the same, originating from Caledfwlch. As to Avalon, it is of some interest IMO that a possible inspiration for the person of "King Arthur", known as Riotamus, was last seen in the vicinity of Aballon/Avalon, France retreating from the Visigoths.

cormac

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It's quite possible there was a King Arthur, though his name might have been a little different if he was Welsh or Cornish. A lot of legends do have some truth to them about heros and battles and such. It's just that over time this get garbled.In fact, a year or two ago, they had an arictle all over the internet about a real sword in the stone.It was in Italy and had been driven into a rock by an italian knight who later became a saint. I can't recall the saint's name, but it started with a G. He lived i believe as a hermit,but was known for his kindness and wisdom. There is some thought that in the past, the story of this saint's sword in the stone got attached somehow to the stories of King Arthur.

That's like James Mitchner in his book,Iberia mentions the Lovers of Teruel.You can visit their tomb and there is some thought their story might have provided Boccacio with inspiration for one of his stories in the Decameron, and perhasp even provided another source of inspiration for Shakespeare for Romeo and Juliet, besides Romeo and Juliet themselves.

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As it seems there are some posters that know their ledgends, What of Uther Pendragon, Arthurs father? And of the story that with Merlins help he deseved and raped Egrain, the desireable wife of a rival duke(?), thereby fathering Arthur?

And lets not forget Lancelot or Geneivere, or the quest for the holy grail. Or "the land and the king are one". Or the round table.

Regardless of its historical basis or orgin, definitely a great story/ledgend and one my personal favorites.

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I've been to the place where Arthur and Guinevere are supposed to be buried and actually felt the grass on top of their grave.

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Malory dressed Arthur's stories up in the costumes and culture of his own times but I think you'll find that the 'real' Arthur has his origins in the late Roman Era, when Rome was falling to pieces and the different tribes kept under the thumb by the Romans started to destroy civilization as the Romans had made it.

That's my theory anyway. And lots of other people's as well.

You know Malory was twice jailed for raping the same woman?

If at first you don't succeed appears to have been his motto.

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Oklahoma is by far

less "Moist" than England...

.

Taun, the bleedin' atlantic's less moist than england!!

*sob*

:-)

*double post*

Edited by shrooma
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I've been to the place where Arthur and Guinevere are supposed to be buried and actually felt the grass on top of their grave.

.

would that have been the grave that was found at glastonbury abbey....?

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I heard he returned the sword to the lady of the lake by throwing it into the lake.Or did the sword still is present in some castle like others said.

accoding to legend, it was flung back into the Lake by one of Arthur's knights after he fell to Mrdred (either Gwaine or Bedevere, I can't remember).

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there's so many myths surrounding arthur that finding the truth is nigh-on impossible. most likely he's a pre iron-age tale, from a time when stories were oral tales and not written down. merlin was most likely a druid, based at glastonbury tor, an ancient druidic centre of learning, which would correspond with camelot, as in prehistoric times the tor was basically an island, surrounded by water and marshy swampland (the old name for the tor, Ynis Wytrin means 'the island of glass'), which is where the avalon myth came from, as the tor is supposed to contain a passageway to the underworld.

the excalibur tale is probably easier to explain, as in prehistoric times it was customary, as water was held to be sacred, to make votive offerings by placing high-value items in lakes, items such as swords, daggers, shields etc, as these things, being metal, were important status symbols and would make the most grandiose gestures.

the legend of uther pendragon & arthur could be an ancient high druidic tale for the shifting of the north star 5000yrs ago from alpha draconis (uther pendragon- lit. 'the wonderful head of the dragon') to polaris in the constellation ursa minor, 'little bear' (arthur translates from the ancient celtish as 'arth vawr- lit. 'heavenly bear') thereby meaning the tale is an allegory, with power shifting from father to son, as told by the ruling class of astronomer-priests to the citizenry as a way of preserving and explaining the mystery at a time when oral tradition was a way of keeping history over hundreds of generations.

that all these tales were kept alive, half remembered and over millennia evolved into the arturian romance of tomas malory is probably the closest we'll get to the truth.

hope this helps....?

:-)

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