Excalibur
Excalibur is King Arthur's sword, attested in Le Morte d'Arthur where it appears in two distinct contexts: as a weapon of supernatural brilliance in battle, and as a named blade received from the Lady of the Lake.
Excalibur is King Arthur's sword, attested in Le Morte d'Arthur where it appears in two distinct contexts: as a weapon of supernatural brilliance in battle, and as a named blade received from the Lady of the Lake. The two attestations, both from Malory, present complementary aspects of the sword's nature -- its martial power and its etymology (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book I, Chapter IX; Book II, Chapter III).
The two attestations from Le Morte d'Arthur frame Excalibur through different lenses. In battle, the sword's defining quality is its radiance: "Then he drew his sword Excalibur, but it was so bright in his enemies' eyes, that it gave light like thirty torches" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book I, Chapter IX). This is Excalibur as weapon of war, its supernatural brightness serving a tactical function by blinding Arthur's opponents. The second attestation shifts to naming and provenance. The Lady of the Lake identifies the sword and glosses its name: "The name of it, said the lady, is Excalibur, that is as much to say as Cut-steel" (Le Morte d'Arthur, Book II, Chapter III). The etymology connects the blade to its cutting power rather than its luminous quality, suggesting two distinct traditions about what makes Excalibur extraordinary -- light or sharpness.
Appears in: Beings, Entities in Le Morte d'Arthur, Celtic Tradition