• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Mythology / What Was Excalibur and How Did King Arthur Find the Magical Sword Excalibur In the Arthurian Legend?

What Was Excalibur and How Did King Arthur Find the Magical Sword Excalibur In the Arthurian Legend?

June 23, 2020 by Karen Hill

Although Arthur had proved himself king, many knights and barons refused to respect his rule.

Arthur had to lead his army through several battles to crush his enemies and establish his power.

With Merlin’s aid, Arthur built a capital city at Camelot where he brought together the Knights of the Round Table. Only the bravest and strongest knights were permitted to join.

They vowed to uphold the standards of truth and honor.

Still, Arthur made mistakes. When he was young, he slept with Morgaine, a powerful sorceress. Arthur did not know at the time that she was his half sister.

From this incestuous union, Arthur’s greatest enemy was born Mordred.

Another time, during a heated argument with one of his own knights, Arthur drew his sword. Because Arthur had acted rashly and without cause, the sword blade shattered in his hand.

In despair at the loss of his weapon, Arthur wandered into the countryside.

As he walked along a lake, he saw an arm rise out of the water. Gripped in the hand glowed a magical sword, Excalibur.

The Lady of the Lake emerged from the waters and handed the powerful weapon to Arthur.

Excalibur came with a magical, intricately woven scabbard.

As long as he wore the scabbard, Arthur would not bleed from any wounds.

Related Facts

  • How Did King Arthur Die In the Battle Against Mordred's Army and What Happened To His Sword Excalibur?
  • How Did the Sword In the Stone Help Decide Who the Next King of England Would Be In the Arthurian Legend?
  • How Did Arthur Become King of England and Why Did Arthur Remove the Sword From the Stone?
  • Who Were Tristan and Iseult In Arthurian Legend and What Did King Mark Do When He Discovered Their Affair?
  • Who Was Uther Pendragon and Why Did Gorlois Send Ygraine To Tintagel Castle In the Arthurian Legend?
  • How did the word "legend" originate and What does legend mean in Latin?

Filed Under: Mythology

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Who Was Sir Lancelot and How Did Mordred Expose Lancelot’s Affair With King Arthur’s Queen Guinevere?
Next Post: How Did the Sword In the Stone Help Decide Who the Next King of England Would Be In the Arthurian Legend? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy