"The Lady of the Lake, her arms clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying that by divine right I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. That is why I am your king." "Look mate, strange women lying on their backs in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government." "Shut up!"
They didn't even get that right. He drew the sword from the stone and was proclaimed king because of that. In the legend, the lady of the lake part came later.
It’s Funny, my family got me that EXACT version of the fake Excalibur for Christmas. And asked “do I like it?” And I legitimately love it, (because the cared enough to pay attention to my interest and made an effort to do something special and thoughtful) But My inner voice being a sword snob: (starts analyzing and picking apart all the problems of the sword) then my heart punched my brain saying “shut up at least they cared enough to listen.” And to this day it is the only fake sword in my collection, and is perhaps my favorite.
When you think about the meaning of Excalibur is the way you see your sentimental sword. The sword itself may have been designed in a way it makes it a superior sword but there's something more sentimental about Excalibur that was to Arthur. Excalibur's importance is what made him worthy of being king.
Horrendously cheap wall-hanger Excalibur. Exactly the same low quality dysfunctional wall-hanger piece of junk that has been floating around on the market for probably decades at this point.
Another theory on the myth of Excalibur is that he had an early steel blade from Rome. In battle against iron or even bronze blades, it would have seemed magical - lighter and faster, able to flex and return to shape, able to damage the softer-metal blades without being damaged in return.
I do like this theory, and I've been hearing it a lot more recently. It also makes a lot of sense if the story of King Arthur is based off the historical characters that Shad mentioned, which they likely are.
So 1:14 confirms that he is, in fact, holding the authentic Excalibur. I think the reason he can't activate it is either because he's not shouting its true name, Excalibur, from the top of his lungs, or possibly due to him not having enough mana.
@@VVayVVard the one true name is Caledfwlch! It's hard to activate because no one can pronounce it's name!1!1! (I'm mostly joking but Caledfwlch is the Welsh name and the first documented name)
As a witness to the Battle of Troy, I am pretty sure I saw Zeus there. At least I think it was Zeus. Looked a bit like him. Or maybe it was not the Battle of Troy at all.
Now Odysseus on the other hand... He was just kind of a crappy navigator. But it sure did sound more epic when he told everyone that Poseidon himself had it out for him when he finally made it back home... =p
On the sword in the stone, I believe the text reads “he pulled the sword from the stone through the anvil. Pull in blacksmith terms is to work metal, the stone an iron meteorite. So he made a sword from meteorite iron on an anvil.
Why does everyone read things and interpret them literally? This is why history so difficult to understand. People don't try and find a different context other than literal translation.
Fun fact: there's also an old Norse legend (folk tale, myth, saga? Idfk what to classify it as) of a sword being thrust into an oak stump at a wedding by a mysterious figure, heavily implied to be Odin, and that the person to pull it out is to be the next king, which someone does. It's been a while since I read it, so I am pretty hazy on the details.
Daniel Hyson That’s Gram (also known as Balmung or Nothung). It’s pulled by Sigmund, and later on Odin breaks it. It’s later reforged and wielded by Siegfried (or Sigurd).
@@michaellorah9051 to be fair, it's because linguistic understanding changes from century to century, even decade to decade. Cuss words were commonplace until european nobles didn't want to be associated with the peasantry, so their manner of speaking pretty made the common vernacular be defined as low-class. Aweful was an old word that meant that you were so full of awe that you couldn't speak or do much of anything but marvel at what you were seeing... now we have awful; which means the exact opposite. I feel you on wanting to really understand history, but the evolution of language is what makes it so much more difficult to understand.
Interestingly King Arthur is actually written about in a fair bit of detail the ancient Welsh "Mabinogion" fairy tales. They're written in Welsh and not that widely known, but Camelot is reffered to as "Camlan", which is a real place in east Wales, and a lot of the names in Arthurian legend are derived from ye olde Welsh and have meanings. I'm no expert by any stretch, just remember reading them as a kid. Love your content shad keep it up :)
The Mabinogion Books are problematic in regards to disproving Shad's position that Arthur and his Sword were inspired by Charlemagne and Joyeaux, just because they were written around the 1300s (despite being obviously based on much older stories) around 700 years after Charlemagne. I personally believe Arthur and Excalibur are NOT based on Charlemagne and Joyeux though Chretien did incorporate elements of Charlemagne into his version of King Arthur.
@@@corwyncorey3703. Yes, but they can still be two different places. The Camlan in modern Wales could be connected to myths about Camelot whilst having no connection to the Battle of Camlann (Though I am not saying it does). Names in modernity can sometimes share the same name as names in antiquity despite no physical connection just because of etymological roots. For Example there are at least three Wlesh and English cities that possible translate as "city of the legion", and they are not the same place. Caerleon, Carlisle & Chester.
While they could have influence the welsh and such are also cultures that held belief in their own magical weapons that had not entirely dis-similar properties to not only excalibur but also similar kinds of origins. Excalibur was not in the stone but gifted by The Lady of The Lake and reclaimed by her after he fell. The sword in the stone was his fathers with its own name and reputation and ended up breaking.
In Latin a single stroke (or mis-stroke) of the pen would change the word "stone" into "Saxon". Thus Arthur, instead of taking the sword from the stone to prove he is the rightful King of Britain, he takes the sword from the Saxon (defeating them in battle) to prove he is worthy of being King.
" ARTHUR: I am your king! WOMAN: Well, I didn't vote for you. ARTHUR: You don't vote for kings. WOMAN: Well, 'ow did you become king then? ARTHUR: The Lady of the Lake, [angels sing] her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. [singing stops] That is why I am your king! DENNIS: Listen -- strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. ARTHUR: Be quiet! DENNIS: Well you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you! ARTHUR: Shut up! DENNIS: I mean, if I went around sayin' I was an empereror just because some moistened bink had lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away! "
Me: * walks in covered in literal shit * Silence hieratic as I am the true king as I was blessed by the sacred bulls holly excrement was making me the one true ruler of this fair land of ours!
Rafael Arandas sorry all our wizards are busy and it takes months to get a meeting with the council of wizards for any new requests. I'll see if the crescent witches are available
Fun fact : you can say its the sword of the Pendragon since technequely it was Uther's sword and then put into the sword if i am not remembering the myth wrong.
Charlemagne's sword having been remade over and over again in all of its parts is a good example of the Theseus' Paradox: is an object the same if all of its parts have been replaced? In terms of symbolism and identification, yes, obviously, but in terms of its physicality, not quite. It's an interesting thing to consider.
By the way, the term used for depicting something in media in a fashion that is historically removed from their actual (or supposed) era is "anachronism" (usually but not always referring to modernizing the depiction).
We all know that Excalibur is a lot more blue and shines with the radiance of the promise of assured victory. It was also capable of shooting beams that could level entire city blocks.
nah, thats the true excalibur that shoots beams and has shin colors, to make it you have to find the magical sword and then find the legendar broken sword then melt the two together to get the true excalibur
Nah, it can level a city or even a mountain at base and when released from it's seals it can kill an alien god that is capable of destroying the planet
@@eraba661 Fate/Extella, it was the weapon that killed Sefar after it destroyed most of the gods in the planet and stuff. For reference Sefar at full power is equal to Amaterasu (goddess of the sun) who has the power of a star. The Mountain thing... Well, it's more powerful than Clarent, and Clarent was going to destroy a Mountain on Camelot singularity in FGO
While I'm not an expert I feel the need to point to another possible source for Excalibur's basis. That being the sword Caladbolg, which belongs to Fergus mac Roich. Who is one of the heroes from the Ulster Cycle of Irish myth. Now it can be coincidence, but it's worth noting that both Caladbolg and Excalibur are considered to mean "hard cleft." And they are BOTH called Caledfwlch in the Welsh language. Which is important, as the first accounts of Arthurian legend come from Welsh writing. Also worth noting is that Excalibur is stated to shine so brightly as to blind enemies with its strikes. While Calabolg supposedly left rainbows in the wake of its strikes, amongst other powers. So it's quite possible that Excalibur is actually based on yet ANOTHER mythical sword. POSSIBLE, mind you. Not necessarily, but there's certainly a case to be made. That said, aside from being a two-handed sword I know nothing of Caladbolg's physical description.
Excalibur does not mean "hard cleft". "Ex" is Latin for "out of" or "no longer part of", like an ex-wife. "Calibur" means "mold" as in bullet mold-the origins of a gun's caliber is the bullet size, the size of the mold that was used to make it. Excalibur means "out of the mold" suggesting how it was made. ie casting. It could also mean "out of the stone" if the stone is viewed as the mold for the sword. Hence the story "the sword in the stone that only the true king can remove, once removed it was named Excalibur-out of its mold"
I don't know how the word caliber (or however you want to spell it) was used at the time the myth was made, but I just thought of Excalibur as being the most badass way possible to name-ify/say "Without Peer" or "Beyond Compare" or in simpler words "The Bestest Sword That Has Ever Sworded"
Randomly found your channel through the wonderful random recommendation generation of youtube. Really love your speculation and theorising videos like these. Keep up the great work man.
The greek gods on the Iliad&Odissey weren't artistic license, they were a matter of faith, on the ancient time Greeks and Romans regarded Homer epic as actual historic facts, so it is not a fantasy and rather a religious text.
A history professor I used to know was fascinated by this stuff. It almost certain there was a real king Arthur but the details are all highly debatable. His theory on Excalibur was interesting, though not provable. He thought that possibly Excalibur was a steel sword rather than Iron which at the time needed a lot of water for all sorts. Also there were a very few weaponsmiths that were female. If the two went together it could explain the legend.
Steel was used over Iron in sword production long before any historical basis for the legend could have existed. An Iron Sword in late roman times would be quite rare already.
We're knights of the round table We dance when e'er we're able We do routines and chorus scenes With footwork impecc-Able. We dine well here in Camelot We eat ham and jam and spam a lot
Look, we all know Excalibur was actually the first Divine Weapon created in the Earth's inner sea to kill a bunny Titan with a sword beam. THEN, King Arthur used it.
In my opinion, the best depiction of the sword excalibur was done in the game Magicka, where it is a heavy bludgeoning weapon because obviously the wizards can't pull it from its stone.
Excalibur is not the sword in the stone. Excalibur was given to Arthur by the Lady of the lake, totally different sword. The sword in the stone was Ex Saxo, king Uther's sword and therefore would recognize the touch of his son. Get the facts right, son.
This is a really great video. I stumbled across you having watched lots of bushcraft videos, and haven't been able to stop watching your content since. You're seriously engaging and keep the viewer engaged throughout. Great job Shad!
8:21 im norwegian, which is where most Vikings originated, and hearing you pronounce our word for sword ('sverd') made me smile! thank you :) i really am enjoying your videos a whole lot. also, from having watched several smiting videos in the past, the design of all the swords really make my jaw drop! all that work in those intricate designs - like the migration period sword!! wow!
Arthur: "Seal Thirteen... Decision Start!" Merlin :"...Approved. Bedivere, Gareth, Lancelot, Mordred, Galahad." Arthur: "This is a battle to save the world." Merlin :"Arthur." Arthur:"EKSU-KARIBAAAA!!!"
Charlemagne is already part of a medieval fantasy tale Shad, called The Matter of France. All of Arthur's tales are part of The Matter of Britain. The reason they seem so similar is because they're basically the same thing. The Arthurian legends are not based on Charlemagne. Their relationship is more like that of DC and Marvel. They both take the local history and legends of their area and combine it into one story with fantasy elements like magic and monsters and mighty hero's.
then i think we need a France vs Britain crossover where Charlemaigne and his paladins fight against Arthur and his knights and then join forces to defeat an ancient necromancer that is tryng to take over the world using dark magic!
how about charlemagne and arthur take on a dragon or Mordred or maybe some other famous ruler from legend or semi history semi legend of around the same time.
charlemagne + knights vs. Arthus + knights. What name should we give them? "Medieval League"? "Justice Knights"? "The Chevaliengers"? +Chester now seriously. U are saying they are the same thing and therefore they are entirely different?! I am confused. Its like the tales of Hercules and Heracles (same character, same tales, different culture). Big tales dont "vanish" they just get adopted into the own culture (cuz everyone wants to be of the culture of the hero ofc.) Especially with England and France who had a very very close relationship throughout the entire medieval periode (constant war = close; also England was conquered (peacefully) by william the conqueror and became kind of "franced" in the process. Its only natural that the 2 countries share many stories.
A LOT of the Arthurian Legends derive from Celtic Mythology and the Tuatha De Danann. The Sword Excalibur very likely had a great deal of inspiration from the Sword Of Nuada.
sigh. CELTIC IRISH. And Arthurian Legend draws much more from Breton mythology than Irish. Besides, even the Irish and the Bretons are not really Celts (The Ancient Irish and Bretons were known as Pretanni).
I'd say Excalibur owes more to Caledfwlch than Charlemagne's sword. That weapon shows up in very early Arthurian lore before the more continental elements were added by Chrétien de Troyes' romances. He might have added something of Charlemagne in his influence but the sword existed in the old stories before that. If you've not seen it you might enjoy the BBC Merlin (not the recent one, the old one from years ago with Sam Neil). That had a pretty good Celtic Excalibur.
heck yeah someone who knows the best rendition of the Once and Future King: which is basically a girl who loves to ask for extra rice and makes girls whose names rhyme with Shmin Shmohsaka question her sexuality
Here I’ll make it better. Arthur: Seal 13. Commence Starts! Merlin: Commencing...Lancelot! Garwain! Argavain! Mordred! Galahad! Arthur: This is the battle to safe the world! Merlin: Arthur! Arthur: Ekusu-KALIBAAAAAAAAAAAA
Here's a point I wanna bring up and I noticed you didn't really mention. I've done an essay on Arthurian legend and how it evolved from its origins, so I've gone over this topic before. You mentioned how people during the High Medieval period sorta reinvented the story in terms of its artistic depiction, but you failed to talk about how they actually also did retellings and added to the legends. In fact, the Knights of the Round Table we associate with the Arthurian legends are inventions of High Medieval France. That's not all, in fact many of the Christian concepts of these French Romantisizations of the Arthurian legends didn't exist in the original Celtic stories. I also disagree with you saying that the original myth has its basis in Charlemagne on the basis of the Twelve Knights and the magical sword. Magical swords and weapons in general were common in Celtic myths, such as the Gae Bolg in Cuchalainn, and the Twelve Knights were only added centuries afterwards, as well as the themes of Christian virtues. In the original myths Arthur was the sole main character, while it can be argued that the Romantisizations of the French, who fell in love with this myth and added to it, ended up making Arthur a side-line character in their renditions, and focused more on the Knights and their adventures. Just thought I'd bring these points forward, don't know if you'll even see this.
Shadiversity Thanks for reading! I also had a thought come to mind, I don't have research to substantiate this, but perhaps the addition of the knights was done to mimic Charlemagne's paladins, it'd make sense for the French to make this addition based off of such a famous individual in French history
+Paul Great perspective! After many years of amateur study, I have at least a similar idea to yours. Arthur was a man, stories were told of him and his exploits. As time goes on, stories grow. Other ideas are incorporated, such as Charlemange, his knights and sword, as well as Christian values. All this to make a better story to relate to the masses. This is a rough idea, but I hope it gets my point across.
Paul I was wondering if these stories made their way to France before the Conquest, and if the addition of Lancelot could have had anything to do with the Normans trying to garner PR points for their cause?
Garret LeBuis Perhaps, I'm not sure if I believe that though. Lancelot du Lac and again, other knights of the Round Table didn't exist till the times of the High Medieval period, where the French created the Arthurian Romances, around the 12th and 13th century, long after the Normans conquered England. To further add to the point, the Historia Regnum Brittanica completed 1138, which is a fictional telling of the English royal line all the way to the Trojan and Roman hero Aeneas, was also written after the Norman Conquest, and has no mention of 12 knights, and focused solely on King Arthur, although this is the story that introduces Mordred if I remember correctly.
In my very limited knowledge of English history I've always felt that Alfred the Great came closest to the Arthurian legion. Even though he was born approximately four hundred years after Arthur was suppose to have ruled.
Comments: 40% actual speculation and theory. 40% Monty python refferences. And 20% Weebs, (like myself) saying that King Arthur was a girl, and that excalibur was gold and blue.
There was a tv movie version of the Arthurian romances centered around Merlin called Merlin and starring Sam Neil. I bring this up because the design used for Excalibur in that movie seems very much like the celtic style sword you mention in the video.
JonatasAdoM The more I play RPG's it seems lots of stuff is better than Skyrim unfortunately... (not that Skyrim is a horrible game or anything like that)
Jen'ari-asha Well Skyrim was possibly the 1st RPG I ever played, and since then I've played previous games of the TES series and from the Zelda series and I'm nearing the end of The Witcher 3, that I think is the best game I ever played. Idk nostalgia didn't change my mind at all.
My favorite depiction of Excalibur is in the Hellboy comics, where it's a golden carolingian sword with a crown shaped pommel. Granted it also has an unrealistically wide blade, but that can be attributed to Mike Mignola's super chunky art style. also Hellboy is the direct descendant of King Arthur and is the rightful King of Britain, because Hellboy lore is nuts.
Could you please do a video covering BBC’s “Merlin”, season one, episode two? Arthur participants in a ‘knight tournament’ and I thought it would be cool to know what was historically realistic and what was for entertainment purposes. It would also be cool to know what your tournament experiences were like in comparison. Thanks.
Wait, no. You're showing a La Tene type sword by Patrick Bárta, from cca 2nd century BCE, from the actual La Tene in Switzerland. So no, that's not what a Romano Briton Arthur's sword would've looked like. It's just equally wrong as the 12th century stuff, you're some 600-700 years too early. A sword that would've been used by a Romano Briton Arthur to fight off the Anglo Saxons after the Romans left would most likely be just a migration period sword, or maybe a late Roman spatha. Even the Hod Hill sword, which is likely from the 1st century CE would be closer than your example, because it's an actual Roman sword found in Britain, with a uniquely British styling.
JanPospisil42 I'd come to say the same thing. He even called Arthur a supposed Roman general, so why would he wield an antenna style Celtic sword from three or four centuries past? A migration period or spatha style sword would be highly more likely.
I also imagine throughout time aspiring nobles have gone to lakes (as there are numerous accounts of people being laid to rest with their blades) and looking through the water to find the blade of a Long Dead Hero, they would naturally have to reforge that blade (well have it reforged) and would no doubt have it done in a more modern style. If you ever get a mind to do some research on it, try to find a lot of accounts of meteorite steel swords. There are a lot of accounts, and because of the chromium and iridium and other metals inherent in the blades they're surprisingly well kept examples of swords, which is probably where the magical sword myth started.
Actually since they laid a lot of tributes into bogs and lakes it sort of makes sense that a lady of the lake might retrieve one for Arthur. Never thought of that before??
for what I've read about the legend of King Arthur, it seems that the sword Excalibur was a sword used by the celtic priests (better known as druids) for their rituals. Hence the whole "magic sword" thing. (suposedly he took this sword to ensure the support of the pagan tribes to his rule). So considering that the sword was made to be used for "magic rituals" and not for battle, it does make sense for it to look "fancy" and maybe not very practical.
Clemens Cohn the sword im talking about is the one given to him by the Lady of the Lake, wich, in some early versions of the legend, was a pagan priestess (or druidess)
My favorite explanation for the name of Excalibur (which I'm 90% positive is complete retrofitting bunk) is that it is from Ex Calce Liberatus or "freed from stone." The perversion of Caladfwch to Caliburn to Excalibur makes more sense though.
In the entire first millennium swords were literally made to look fancy as well as work. What you've said just isn't true. All ritualistic swords found in German and Celtic excavations had serrated edges and had clearly been used in combat, not built just to be wasted in a ritual in a time where druids had almost completely disappeared.
@@OrionPaxG4 nothing... I mean, the video is about a legendary sword and here you got people talking about some stupid anime, who cares? I came for the sword, not some random japanese stuff, what the hell?
I enjoy your videos. I'm kinda messed up in the head, and I often start out hating things due to various reasons, but you're growing on me. I like how you're pretty down to earth and don't go fangirling bad stuff just because it's new and popular, like the new starwars horror movies. Thanks for being a reasonable person.
Oh... You may be right Just Noob. Let's see Anri's Striaght Sword description: "Sword precious to Anri, another Unkindled. The dullest type of blade found in the ruined land of Astora. Only, it was once the sword of an earnest noble figure, and its attacks are boosted by that elusive, essential property unique to humans: luck." So "it was once the sword of an earnest noble figure"... Could this be? OMG! It is! It belonged to King Arthur! It's actually Excalibuir!
As in some stories Excalibur has runes in it, I often thought it was an Ulfberht repurposed as an arming sword with cross guard and the nord runes seemed to read Excalibur.
I always loved the way Excalibur looked in the Merlin 90's miniseries starring Sam Neil. Fits the migration period style, but with a bit more of a cross guard, and celtic knotwork for some decoration. Fantasy but realistic.
A SUPERIOR VIDEO! I took an undergraduate course in Arthurian Legends and the professor came to many of the same conclusions as you have presented, such as the historical person inspiration for Arthur being a Celtic commander in the 5th Century and The influence of Charlemagne and his peers. I also did not know that there was a historical basis for the sword in the stone! AGAIN A FABULOUS VIDEO!
Excalibur is not the sword in the stone. Excalibur was given to Arthur by the Lady of the lake, totally different sword. The sword in the stone was Ex Saxo, king Uther's sword and therefore would recognize the touch of his son. Get the facts right, son.
Is anyone else annoyed how modern fantasy settings always seem locked in the same time period? Hundreds of years can pass, yet technology stays pretty much the same.
"Yes, I'd like to pay a group of smiths for their many talents, to produce an exquisite piece of art and embodied magnificence!" "That sounds expensive!!?" "Yes! and I plan to get it wrecked and possibly lost and/or ruined in battle!" "Not hang it on a wall? Or carry it ceremoniously?"
One of the most interesting depictions of king Arthur is probably from the 2004 movie titled "King Arthur", which depicts him as the son of a roman general. Which actually fits the time period the legend is set in, around the 6th century, between the withdrawl of the roman legion and the arrival of the anglo-saxons.
Strange no mention of the Volsung saga when dealing with Arthur's sword. The part in point being of Sigmund being the only person capable of pulling the sword (Gram/Nothung/Balmung depending on the story) from a tree.
Sadly there isn't one Arthur but anywhere from 6-12 Arthurs. Then the original story was from the 5th to 6th century and the most popular version is from the 16th century.
if you aren't already aware , have a search for Alan Wilson historian. correct me if I'm wrong. from memory. 2 arthurs one first century. one 6th c. Arthur 1. a king in Warwickshire. Arthur 2 a king of south wales. Arthmail or iron bear in English is also a kingly title from the midlands (formerly part of Powis) .
It’s kind of interesting how if you look at Romano-Britain during the Saxon invasion there are several individuals who’s stories seem like pieces of the Arthurian legend. I don’t think it’s too hard to believe that as time went on the two got lumped together and infused with magical story tropes.
Arthurian Legend has made some of the best tales i have ever read. Fantastic stories and lore, each knight of the round table has dozens of stories dedicated to themselves individually.
I can’t believe that you failed to mention how Richard the Lionheart supposedly had Excalibur and sold it to the king of Cyprus in order to fund his crusade.
During Julius Caesars failed invasion, he lost his sword in battle.Fact. This short, maybe ornate/inscribed Roman assault sword became a prize of war by the British. It was known as Caliburn by the Romans, and therefor in Latin became known as Ex-Caliburn. Hence the sway to Excalibur. Simple, factual and actually well chronicled and, perhaps nothing to do with Arthur 1st or 2nd.I remember a farm built inside an ancient stronghold/fort foundations in South Wales where the water came out of a well coloured yellow. Hence, Caer Melyn was the name of the farm/fort. Put a French twist on this(courtesy of Chretian de Trois, a 12 century poet come troubadour, and it swings into Caermelo, and eventually Camelot. This was NOT a castle, as we did not have castles at the time, only forts and ex Roman defensive walls. Strange, or a hint maybe, why the Masonic architect Burgess built a fairy tale style castle over looking this site called Castle Coch(Red Castle) which is now under the A470, just North of the M4. Very strategic, guarding the gateway to the valleys. This was not the capitol, by the way. That honour goes to a site just outside Llantwit Magor, a few miles West. Remnants of the documented white marble walls can still be found in abundance.As for the round table, evidence sends us to Caerleon, or somewhere similar where there is still a Roman amphitheater. The annual clas, of forum would have been a festivity/forum for about 300 people of importance.Therefor, I don't imagine them sitting around a round table, as claimed in Winchester.I suggest anyone with an interest in this topic to read some very well researched books, massive evidence included, by Adrian Gilbert,Baram Blacket and Alan Wilson. 'The Holy Kingdom' being a prime example.
Unfortnately the word excalibur comes from welsh not latin, so thats not a fact but nonsense. Fits better to the welsh well that became camelot though. As far as im aware there is one source that mentions caesar losing his sword and coming into posession of the welsh and thats "Historia Regum Britanniae" which is seen as fiction. So no this is not factual and well chronicled. Also the sword has a completely different name and we dont have any clue how the romans called it. Where did you get that info from?
"The Lady of the Lake, her arms clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying that by divine right I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. That is why I am your king."
"Look mate, strange women lying on their backs in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."
"Shut up!"
WHAT IS THE UNLADEN AIRSPEED OF A SWALLOW
I read the second paragraph in a Scottish accent.
@@emeraldemperor2601 african or european swallow?
@@remco4057 I don't know
*flies out of existence*
They didn't even get that right. He drew the sword from the stone and was proclaimed king because of that. In the legend, the lady of the lake part came later.
It’s Funny, my family got me that EXACT version of the fake Excalibur for Christmas. And asked “do I like it?” And I legitimately love it, (because the cared enough to pay attention to my interest and made an effort to do something special and thoughtful) But My inner voice being a sword snob: (starts analyzing and picking apart all the problems of the sword) then my heart punched my brain saying “shut up at least they cared enough to listen.” And to this day it is the only fake sword in my collection, and is perhaps my favorite.
I mean it is a really cool looking sword, no matter how fake ;)
Cool swords are cool don’t let realism take that away
Maybe mass produced in China? So that they are all the same.
Still better than a pair of socks
When you think about the meaning of Excalibur is the way you see your sentimental sword. The sword itself may have been designed in a way it makes it a superior sword but there's something more sentimental about Excalibur that was to Arthur. Excalibur's importance is what made him worthy of being king.
"Exactly the same low quality disfunctional wall hanger piece of junk" - Skallagrim 2020
I came for that comment !
I was about to post it myself if it wasn't here already
what a piece of junk indeed
Horrendously cheap wall-hanger Excalibur. Exactly the same low quality dysfunctional wall-hanger piece of junk that has been floating around on the market for probably decades at this point.
But how realistic/accurate is Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
not very, id reckon
Ryan Kunst it's only a model.
It was just LARPing.
The car was realistic.
The witch trial definitely was a 100% accurate.
Another theory on the myth of Excalibur is that he had an early steel blade from Rome. In battle against iron or even bronze blades, it would have seemed magical - lighter and faster, able to flex and return to shape, able to damage the softer-metal blades without being damaged in return.
I do like this theory, and I've been hearing it a lot more recently. It also makes a lot of sense if the story of King Arthur is based off the historical characters that Shad mentioned, which they likely are.
Britain had a lot of trade with Rome, a roman sword wouldn't have been so rare as to be considered exceptional.
Please read my new post above.
beautiful theory but not a very likely one. steel blades were common by the 5th century, esp. among the wealthy class.
And this is the right period for Ulfberht type crucible steel blades. Early edge of it but we have such swords in Scandinavia plus Roman steel blades.
Shad: Lets talk about Excalibur!
Fate fans: *The Expert*
@eli-boy 747 shad: The God
The dungeon crawler?
Legit just came here after binging all of it.
@@hsemicolonc 100% brutality especially fate zero
Read the VN you nerd
8:04 no, Everyone knows that the true excalibur's blade shines with the light of the promised victory
So 1:14 confirms that he is, in fact, holding the authentic Excalibur.
I think the reason he can't activate it is either because he's not shouting its true name, Excalibur, from the top of his lungs, or possibly due to him not having enough mana.
@VVayVVard or he isnt holding it with 2 hands
@@VVayVVard no, its because hes not a cute blonde green-eyed romano-british girl
With dragon ancestry
@@VVayVVard the one true name is Caledfwlch! It's hard to activate because no one can pronounce it's name!1!1!
(I'm mostly joking but Caledfwlch is the Welsh name and the first documented name)
As a witness to the Battle of Troy, I am pretty sure I saw Zeus there. At least I think it was Zeus. Looked a bit like him. Or maybe it was not the Battle of Troy at all.
It could have just been Greg though.
He often forgets to shave, and the static electricity always freaks people out.
turns out rubbing beard bristles together has a habit of shocking people. who knew?
Alan Heath Zeus? That nigga owes me 5 bucks!!
Now Odysseus on the other hand... He was just kind of a crappy navigator. But it sure did sound more epic when he told everyone that Poseidon himself had it out for him when he finally made it back home... =p
No, that was the brawl at O'Malley's Pub. 😂😂😂
On the sword in the stone, I believe the text reads “he pulled the sword from the stone through the anvil.
Pull in blacksmith terms is to work metal, the stone an iron meteorite.
So he made a sword from meteorite iron on an anvil.
Why does everyone read things and interpret them literally? This is why history so difficult to understand. People don't try and find a different context other than literal translation.
Fun fact: there's also an old Norse legend (folk tale, myth, saga? Idfk what to classify it as) of a sword being thrust into an oak stump at a wedding by a mysterious figure, heavily implied to be Odin, and that the person to pull it out is to be the next king, which someone does. It's been a while since I read it, so I am pretty hazy on the details.
Daniel Hyson
That’s Gram (also known as Balmung or Nothung). It’s pulled by Sigmund, and later on Odin breaks it. It’s later reforged and wielded by Siegfried (or Sigurd).
So Sonja is the one true king?
@@michaellorah9051 to be fair, it's because linguistic understanding changes from century to century, even decade to decade. Cuss words were commonplace until european nobles didn't want to be associated with the peasantry, so their manner of speaking pretty made the common vernacular be defined as low-class. Aweful was an old word that meant that you were so full of awe that you couldn't speak or do much of anything but marvel at what you were seeing... now we have awful; which means the exact opposite.
I feel you on wanting to really understand history, but the evolution of language is what makes it so much more difficult to understand.
Interestingly King Arthur is actually written about in a fair bit of detail the ancient Welsh "Mabinogion" fairy tales. They're written in Welsh and not that widely known, but Camelot is reffered to as "Camlan", which is a real place in east Wales, and a lot of the names in Arthurian legend are derived from ye olde Welsh and have meanings. I'm no expert by any stretch, just remember reading them as a kid. Love your content shad keep it up :)
The Mabinogion Books are problematic in regards to disproving Shad's position that Arthur and his Sword were inspired by Charlemagne and Joyeaux, just because they were written around the 1300s (despite being obviously based on much older stories) around 700 years after Charlemagne. I personally believe Arthur and Excalibur are NOT based on Charlemagne and Joyeux though Chretien did incorporate elements of Charlemagne into his version of King Arthur.
Wasnt camlan where the final battle was fought and he died? Not where camelot “was”?
@@@corwyncorey3703. Yes, but they can still be two different places. The Camlan in modern Wales could be connected to myths about Camelot whilst having no connection to the Battle of Camlann (Though I am not saying it does). Names in modernity can sometimes share the same name as names in antiquity despite no physical connection just because of etymological roots. For Example there are at least three Wlesh and English cities that possible translate as "city of the legion", and they are not the same place. Caerleon, Carlisle & Chester.
@@glenbe4026 Kudos, Roland and Galahad are so matching
While they could have influence the welsh and such are also cultures that held belief in their own magical weapons that had not entirely dis-similar properties to not only excalibur but also similar kinds of origins. Excalibur was not in the stone but gifted by The Lady of The Lake and reclaimed by her after he fell. The sword in the stone was his fathers with its own name and reputation and ended up breaking.
In Latin a single stroke (or mis-stroke) of the pen would change the word "stone" into "Saxon". Thus Arthur, instead of taking the sword from the stone to prove he is the rightful King of Britain, he takes the sword from the Saxon (defeating them in battle) to prove he is worthy of being King.
At 4:00, you can see the iconic mural of the legendary King Arthur preparing to go snow boarding.
Listen; if I went around saying I was an emperor, just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!
Bloody Peasant
I thought it was "some watery tart"
@@zoleroid7027 use more flour then
" ARTHUR: I am your king!
WOMAN: Well, I didn't vote for you.
ARTHUR: You don't vote for kings.
WOMAN: Well, 'ow did you become king then?
ARTHUR: The Lady of the Lake, [angels sing] her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. [singing stops] That is why I am your king!
DENNIS: Listen -- strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
ARTHUR: Be quiet!
DENNIS: Well you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!
ARTHUR: Shut up!
DENNIS: I mean, if I went around sayin' I was an empereror just because some moistened bink had lobbed a scimitar at me they'd put me away! "
Ni!
WE ARE THE KNIGHTS WHO SAY NI
Me: * walks in covered in literal shit * Silence hieratic as I am the true king as I was blessed by the sacred bulls holly excrement was making me the one true ruler of this fair land of ours!
Thank you for this
@@samuelreed1830 Too bad they didn't adapt the 47 ronin fable also! it could be hilarious...
Seal thirteen, decision start.
Approved, Bedivere, Gareth, Lancelot, Mordred, Galahad.
This is the battle to save the world, EXCALIBUR
... dafuk
@@zarya_gmb Fate reference fam
PROTO ARTHUR! 😍
Cleave the wicked! CALIBUUURN!
Ex..caibaaaaaa
But what about pen-dragons?!
Mirage Gaocariomon Wow.... *slow clap* That was...
AMAZING!
Yep, you win
Legen wait for it.....
Dary!! Legendary
I have a dragon pen holder.
Ive got a peeen ive got a dragon...Pendragon!
Can't the British just send a wizard to travel back in time to retrieve the blade?
Rafael Arandas sorry all our wizards are busy and it takes months to get a meeting with the council of wizards for any new requests. I'll see if the crescent witches are available
Finn Hargraves Well, they'll have to take a boat then. Because they would be on the wrong island. Excalibur would be on fair Éire.
No, that's the terminator.
They did but the wizards had to make it invisible to keep it from falling into the wrong hands and I have it hanging on my wall...er..somewhere.
Hint on possible truth to your post: Gryffindor's sword
King Arthur is my favorite waifu.
Dan Nguyen it’s pronounce Saber and yes you are correct.
Are you sure he’s not a husbando. And a decent one.
@@tuckerjohnston1844 Seiba*
I always more of a Mordred fan myself.
kind of awe struck mad shad didnt mention/jab anything towards that "Arthur"
Who else got bumped this into their recommendations again after the infamous Skallagrim incident?
me :D :D :D
Same here .
me!
same :D
Infamous? What happened?
The Modern Excalibur 1:14
The Legendary Excalibur 8:06
The Real Excalibur 9:40
I am so tired right now that I read the title as “The King of Sword Arthur”
Well, someone's gotta rule that rowdy sword.
@@demutrudu6106 that little rascally piece of steel and wood!
Fun fact : you can say its the sword of the Pendragon since technequely it was Uther's sword and then put into the sword if i am not remembering the myth wrong.
Charlemagne's sword having been remade over and over again in all of its parts is a good example of the Theseus' Paradox: is an object the same if all of its parts have been replaced? In terms of symbolism and identification, yes, obviously, but in terms of its physicality, not quite. It's an interesting thing to consider.
By the way, the term used for depicting something in media in a fashion that is historically removed from their actual (or supposed) era is "anachronism" (usually but not always referring to modernizing the depiction).
@@RaspK Triggers Broom (Only Fools and Horses)!
@@cossieconnoisseur ?
We all know that Excalibur is a lot more blue and shines with the radiance of the promise of assured victory. It was also capable of shooting beams that could level entire city blocks.
nah, thats the true excalibur that shoots beams and has shin colors, to make it you have to find the magical sword and then find the legendar broken sword then melt the two together to get the true excalibur
Nah, it can level a city or even a mountain at base and when released from it's seals it can kill an alien god that is capable of destroying the planet
@@Founder_of_Morgans_Fanclub LMAO
Can you tell me the source, I'm interested in it
@@eraba661 Fate/Extella, it was the weapon that killed Sefar after it destroyed most of the gods in the planet and stuff. For reference Sefar at full power is equal to Amaterasu (goddess of the sun) who has the power of a star.
The Mountain thing... Well, it's more powerful than Clarent, and Clarent was going to destroy a Mountain on Camelot singularity in FGO
"...low quality, disfunctional, wall hanger, piece of junk..."
Everyone knows Excalibur is bright gold and King Arthur is actually a girl
tehultimateotter23 wkwkwk it's in fate/zero/UBW anime :v wkwkwk
tehultimateotter23 lol someonw watched fate stay knight
LOL!!! Spot on. 👌
EXSUUUU CALIBAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAYYyyeeee Fate is the real stuff. XD
Told my Grandfather about your channel and your Dragons! Shirt, he immediately picked up his phone and ordered one.
2:10 Awesome how their user names were there in that painting.
While I'm not an expert I feel the need to point to another possible source for Excalibur's basis. That being the sword Caladbolg, which belongs to Fergus mac Roich. Who is one of the heroes from the Ulster Cycle of Irish myth. Now it can be coincidence, but it's worth noting that both Caladbolg and Excalibur are considered to mean "hard cleft." And they are BOTH called Caledfwlch in the Welsh language. Which is important, as the first accounts of Arthurian legend come from Welsh writing.
Also worth noting is that Excalibur is stated to shine so brightly as to blind enemies with its strikes. While Calabolg supposedly left rainbows in the wake of its strikes, amongst other powers. So it's quite possible that Excalibur is actually based on yet ANOTHER mythical sword. POSSIBLE, mind you. Not necessarily, but there's certainly a case to be made. That said, aside from being a two-handed sword I know nothing of Caladbolg's physical description.
Excalibur does not mean "hard cleft". "Ex" is Latin for "out of" or "no longer part of", like an ex-wife. "Calibur" means "mold" as in bullet mold-the origins of a gun's caliber is the bullet size, the size of the mold that was used to make it. Excalibur means "out of the mold" suggesting how it was made. ie casting. It could also mean "out of the stone" if the stone is viewed as the mold for the sword. Hence the story "the sword in the stone that only the true king can remove, once removed it was named Excalibur-out of its mold"
Except Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are not the same sword in the legends.
Matthew St. Cyr Yeah, the Sword in the Stone was Caliburnus, Uther's sword.
I don't know how the word caliber (or however you want to spell it) was used at the time the myth was made, but I just thought of Excalibur as being the most badass way possible to name-ify/say "Without Peer" or "Beyond Compare" or in simpler words "The Bestest Sword That Has Ever Sworded"
It also shot laser beams that sheared the tops off of mountains.
Oh, you insular Celts and your anime.
Randomly found your channel through the wonderful random recommendation generation of youtube. Really love your speculation and theorising videos like these. Keep up the great work man.
Thanks heaps mate! really, and it's awesome to have you join us ^_^
The greek gods on the Iliad&Odissey weren't artistic license, they were a matter of faith, on the ancient time Greeks and Romans regarded Homer epic as actual historic facts, so it is not a fantasy and rather a religious text.
so... publicly accepted fantasy of that time?
youtube suggested me to watch his videos and boy i am gratefull it did
Hey, isn't that the low-quality wall hanging sword
pls don't kill me :0
It looks like Beowulf killed a Spinosaurus at 00:26
I've would've guessed Cu Culan rather than Beowulf. But both are major kick-ass, so I don't mind.
Where do you think dragons came from? It wasn't a meteor that killed the dinosaurs if you look at history we hunted them into extinction.
@@topsecret770 "Oh guys we found another Dinosaur-- Ah no nevermind someone just killed it again dammit."
AguAgu-sama. You’re joking right ?
@@uncannyvalley2350 65 MILLION YEARS
A history professor I used to know was fascinated by this stuff. It almost certain there was a real king Arthur but the details are all highly debatable. His theory on Excalibur was interesting, though not provable. He thought that possibly Excalibur was a steel sword rather than Iron which at the time needed a lot of water for all sorts. Also there were a very few weaponsmiths that were female. If the two went together it could explain the legend.
Steel was used over Iron in sword production long before any historical basis for the legend could have existed. An Iron Sword in late roman times would be quite rare already.
My favorite depiction of King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, would have to be from fate zero. All hail Artoria Pendragon.
You say that yet your profile picture are arthur
We're knights of the round table
We dance when e'er we're able
We do routines and chorus scenes
With footwork impecc-Able.
We dine well here in Camelot
We eat ham and jam and spam a lot
Its clearly a model
Ronan Van Kessel sssh!
On second thought lets not go there. Tis' a silly place.
Michael Parker And I push the pram-a-looooot!
Ni!
Look, we all know Excalibur was actually the first Divine Weapon created in the Earth's inner sea to kill a bunny Titan with a sword beam. THEN, King Arthur used it.
Excalibur is Good Civilization.
“Ahhh yeah, you didn’t believe me, you just thought it was a harmless boony, didn’t ya?”
Primal murder beast 4 aka fou
Love how 90% of the comments are pretty much Fate references!
It was sword without a blade.
It was a double sided pommel.
That would be a very dangerous weapon to use in the wrong hands.
all the better to end them rightly.
so, it's a projectile weapon, then?
I personally believe Excalibur was the name of a large sack filled with pommels
Pommels are meant to be unscrewed and thrown.
In my opinion, the best depiction of the sword excalibur was done in the game Magicka, where it is a heavy bludgeoning weapon because obviously the wizards can't pull it from its stone.
Excalibur is not the sword in the stone. Excalibur was given to Arthur by the Lady of the lake, totally different sword. The sword in the stone was Ex Saxo, king Uther's sword and therefore would recognize the touch of his son. Get the facts right, son.
This is a really great video. I stumbled across you having watched lots of bushcraft videos, and haven't been able to stop watching your content since. You're seriously engaging and keep the viewer engaged throughout. Great job Shad!
I am adoring your most recent videos, you are quickly becoming my favorite channel on youtube.
But was it possible to unscrew the pommel?
(Sorry, couldn't resist.)
For the sake of pretending to take the joke seriously, almost certainly not.
Thank you for your time.
you ended it rightly.
whats an unscrew?
will sim see pommel? You need to unscrew to take it out. See that screw stuck on the wall? Unscrew it to get it back.
dam commies
8:21 im norwegian, which is where most Vikings originated, and hearing you pronounce our word for sword ('sverd') made me smile! thank you :) i really am enjoying your videos a whole lot. also, from having watched several smiting videos in the past, the design of all the swords really make my jaw drop! all that work in those intricate designs - like the migration period sword!! wow!
Arthur: "Seal Thirteen... Decision Start!"
Merlin :"...Approved. Bedivere, Gareth, Lancelot, Mordred, Galahad."
Arthur: "This is a battle to save the world."
Merlin :"Arthur."
Arthur:"EKSU-KARIBAAAA!!!"
Charlemagne is already part of a medieval fantasy tale Shad, called The Matter of France. All of Arthur's tales are part of The Matter of Britain. The reason they seem so similar is because they're basically the same thing.
The Arthurian legends are not based on Charlemagne. Their relationship is more like that of DC and Marvel. They both take the local history and legends of their area and combine it into one story with fantasy elements like magic and monsters and mighty hero's.
then i think we need a France vs Britain crossover where Charlemaigne and his paladins fight against Arthur and his knights and then join forces to defeat an ancient necromancer that is tryng to take over the world using dark magic!
ARX 351 Isn't Lotr enough?
how about charlemagne and arthur take on a dragon or Mordred or maybe some other famous ruler from legend or semi history semi legend of around the same time.
charlemagne + knights vs. Arthus + knights. What name should we give them? "Medieval League"? "Justice Knights"? "The Chevaliengers"?
+Chester
now seriously. U are saying they are the same thing and therefore they are entirely different?! I am confused. Its like the tales of Hercules and Heracles (same character, same tales, different culture). Big tales dont "vanish" they just get adopted into the own culture (cuz everyone wants to be of the culture of the hero ofc.) Especially with England and France who had a very very close relationship throughout the entire medieval periode (constant war = close; also England was conquered (peacefully) by william the conqueror and became kind of "franced" in the process. Its only natural that the 2 countries share many stories.
england wasnt conquered peacefully by william. i suggest you learn more about the normans.
Caliburn: Am I a joke to you?
No one really cares about Caliburn it's all about Excalibur
Who’s Caliburn?
@@mrobligatory.5234 the name of the sword in the stone, Excalibur original came from the lady of the lake
Reece Allen thank you.
@@mrobligatory.5234 you're welcome
A LOT of the Arthurian Legends derive from Celtic Mythology and the Tuatha De Danann. The Sword Excalibur very likely had a great deal of inspiration from the Sword Of Nuada.
Bernie Burton Yeah, it would be more of an Ancient Celt sword.
sigh. CELTIC IRISH. And Arthurian Legend draws much more from Breton mythology than Irish. Besides, even the Irish and the Bretons are not really Celts (The Ancient Irish and Bretons were known as Pretanni).
Reminds me of Claiomh Solais
I'd say Excalibur owes more to Caledfwlch than Charlemagne's sword. That weapon shows up in very early Arthurian lore before the more continental elements were added by Chrétien de Troyes' romances. He might have added something of Charlemagne in his influence but the sword existed in the old stories before that. If you've not seen it you might enjoy the BBC Merlin (not the recent one, the old one from years ago with Sam Neil). That had a pretty good Celtic Excalibur.
GriffinPilgrim
I thought Charlemagne's sword was Joyeuse.
I scrolled down to comment on the Sam Niell mini series Excalibur
and depending on just how roman the historical Arthur was, the type of sword could also just have been a spatha.
And caledfwlch and caladbolg has similarities as the Irish tale depicts caladbolg as a sword of fire
Tyrfing, Angervaldi, and Gramr come to mind.
So in other words, the early 2000s king arthur movie is actually pretty damn historically accurate. If he did indeed exist of course
Ethan Hey, lady guinevere can wear whatever she wants lmao
I was about to make an obligatory "EKSU-KALIBAAA!" reference to Saber/Artoria Pendragon from the Fate/ series but. Several people beat me to it.
FOOL! his legend began in the 13th century XD
Escaliba escaliba from the united kingdom looking for love going to California.
heck yeah someone who knows the best rendition of the Once and Future King: which is basically a girl who loves to ask for extra rice and makes girls whose names rhyme with Shmin Shmohsaka question her sexuality
Here I’ll make it better.
Arthur: Seal 13. Commence Starts!
Merlin: Commencing...Lancelot! Garwain! Argavain! Mordred! Galahad!
Arthur: This is the battle to safe the world!
Merlin: Arthur!
Arthur: Ekusu-KALIBAAAAAAAAAAAA
@@KhanhNguyen-mh5ec ofc it's protoype... Smh
Were the knights who say NI real?
Not _here,_ not _there,_ not _anywhere..._ ;-)
NI
THEY ARE REAL!!!
Definitely
depends on how you look at IT!
This was super helpful as part of my research for my upcoming book. Thank you so much for the great information.
EKSU- KARIBAAAA
Mer ry Ku-ru-su-musu!
@@misanthropas PADORU PADORUUUUUU
ekusu-kariba
*cough* GALATINU!!!!
I am... The Bone of my Sword.
Here's a point I wanna bring up and I noticed you didn't really mention. I've done an essay on Arthurian legend and how it evolved from its origins, so I've gone over this topic before. You mentioned how people during the High Medieval period sorta reinvented the story in terms of its artistic depiction, but you failed to talk about how they actually also did retellings and added to the legends. In fact, the Knights of the Round Table we associate with the Arthurian legends are inventions of High Medieval France. That's not all, in fact many of the Christian concepts of these French Romantisizations of the Arthurian legends didn't exist in the original Celtic stories.
I also disagree with you saying that the original myth has its basis in Charlemagne on the basis of the Twelve Knights and the magical sword. Magical swords and weapons in general were common in Celtic myths, such as the Gae Bolg in Cuchalainn, and the Twelve Knights were only added centuries afterwards, as well as the themes of Christian virtues. In the original myths Arthur was the sole main character, while it can be argued that the Romantisizations of the French, who fell in love with this myth and added to it, ended up making Arthur a side-line character in their renditions, and focused more on the Knights and their adventures.
Just thought I'd bring these points forward, don't know if you'll even see this.
I appreciate your perspective mate!
Shadiversity Thanks for reading! I also had a thought come to mind, I don't have research to substantiate this, but perhaps the addition of the knights was done to mimic Charlemagne's paladins, it'd make sense for the French to make this addition based off of such a famous individual in French history
+Paul Great perspective!
After many years of amateur study, I have at least a similar idea to yours. Arthur was a man, stories were told of him and his exploits. As time goes on, stories grow. Other ideas are incorporated, such as Charlemange, his knights and sword, as well as Christian values. All this to make a better story to relate to the masses.
This is a rough idea, but I hope it gets my point across.
Paul
I was wondering if these stories made their way to France before the Conquest, and if the addition of Lancelot could have had anything to do with the Normans trying to garner PR points for their cause?
Garret LeBuis Perhaps, I'm not sure if I believe that though. Lancelot du Lac and again, other knights of the Round Table didn't exist till the times of the High Medieval period, where the French created the Arthurian Romances, around the 12th and 13th century, long after the Normans conquered England.
To further add to the point, the Historia Regnum Brittanica completed 1138, which is a fictional telling of the English royal line all the way to the Trojan and Roman hero Aeneas, was also written after the Norman Conquest, and has no mention of 12 knights, and focused solely on King Arthur, although this is the story that introduces Mordred if I remember correctly.
1981, Boormans Excalibur is THE best Authurian retelling ever, EVER!!
Well of course Camelot isin't real, it's only a model!
And a very silly place. Would not recommend going.
Mithrawnudo they eat ham and jam and spam a lot.
Been there, gave it only 1 star on Yelp.
In my very limited knowledge of English history I've always felt that Alfred the Great came closest to the Arthurian legion. Even though he was born approximately four hundred years after Arthur was suppose to have ruled.
Comments: 40% actual speculation and theory. 40% Monty python refferences. And 20% Weebs, (like myself) saying that King Arthur was a girl, and that excalibur was gold and blue.
Correction, 5% of those Weebs are referencing Soul Eater.
FOOL!
There was a tv movie version of the Arthurian romances centered around Merlin called Merlin and starring Sam Neil. I bring this up because the design used for Excalibur in that movie seems very much like the celtic style sword you mention in the video.
There's also the gods' awful The Last Legion.
Hey Shad, what's your opinion about Mount & Blade?
Yeah, I've been playing this a ton and want to know as well
Better than Skyrim
JonatasAdoM The more I play RPG's it seems lots of stuff is better than Skyrim unfortunately... (not that Skyrim is a horrible game or anything like that)
+Nothing. Respectfully disagree! Might be nostalgia, but Skyrim is far and away the best open world RPG I've played
Jen'ari-asha Well Skyrim was possibly the 1st RPG I ever played, and since then I've played previous games of the TES series and from the Zelda series and I'm nearing the end of The Witcher 3, that I think is the best game I ever played. Idk nostalgia didn't change my mind at all.
My favorite depiction of Excalibur is in the Hellboy comics, where it's a golden carolingian sword with a crown shaped pommel. Granted it also has an unrealistically wide blade, but that can be attributed to Mike Mignola's super chunky art style.
also Hellboy is the direct descendant of King Arthur and is the rightful King of Britain, because Hellboy lore is nuts.
Camelot was a real place though. There was a Roman city founded in 1st century BC in southern England called Camulod or Camulodunum
Could you please do a video covering BBC’s “Merlin”, season one, episode two? Arthur participants in a ‘knight tournament’ and I thought it would be cool to know what was historically realistic and what was for entertainment purposes. It would also be cool to know what your tournament experiences were like in comparison. Thanks.
(If we're thinking about the same Merlin series, I'm referring to the 2008 one) That show is underrated.
Behold! The sword of power! Excalibur! Forged when the land was young and bird and beast and flower were one with man and death was but a dream.
So, it literally was the inspiration to man of how to efficiently introduce death to the land. Yay?
Wait, no. You're showing a La Tene type sword by Patrick Bárta, from cca 2nd century BCE, from the actual La Tene in Switzerland.
So no, that's not what a Romano Briton Arthur's sword would've looked like.
It's just equally wrong as the 12th century stuff, you're some 600-700 years too early.
A sword that would've been used by a Romano Briton Arthur to fight off the Anglo Saxons after the Romans left would most likely be just a migration period sword, or maybe a late Roman spatha.
Even the Hod Hill sword, which is likely from the 1st century CE would be closer than your example, because it's an actual Roman sword found in Britain, with a uniquely British styling.
JanPospisil42 I'd come to say the same thing. He even called Arthur a supposed Roman general, so why would he wield an antenna style Celtic sword from three or four centuries past? A migration period or spatha style sword would be highly more likely.
Yes, because he posits that the character in the story is actually Charlemange.
well the thing is Charlemagne is a lot later then (700s), which makes the sword he posit's even more unlikely.
I also imagine throughout time aspiring nobles have gone to lakes (as there are numerous accounts of people being laid to rest with their blades) and looking through the water to find the blade of a Long Dead Hero, they would naturally have to reforge that blade (well have it reforged) and would no doubt have it done in a more modern style.
If you ever get a mind to do some research on it, try to find a lot of accounts of meteorite steel swords. There are a lot of accounts, and because of the chromium and iridium and other metals inherent in the blades they're surprisingly well kept examples of swords, which is probably where the magical sword myth started.
Actually since they laid a lot of tributes into bogs and lakes it sort of makes sense that a lady of the lake might retrieve one for Arthur. Never thought of that before??
Saber, destroy the grail..
*YAMEROOOOOO*
Seihai wa..hakai suru!
by my commad seal
for what I've read about the legend of King Arthur, it seems that the sword Excalibur was a sword used by the celtic priests (better known as druids) for their rituals. Hence the whole "magic sword" thing. (suposedly he took this sword to ensure the support of the pagan tribes to his rule). So considering that the sword was made to be used for "magic rituals" and not for battle, it does make sense for it to look "fancy" and maybe not very practical.
Clemens Cohn the sword im talking about is the one given to him by the Lady of the Lake, wich, in some early versions of the legend, was a pagan priestess (or druidess)
My favorite explanation for the name of Excalibur (which I'm 90% positive is complete retrofitting bunk) is that it is from Ex Calce Liberatus or "freed from stone." The perversion of Caladfwch to Caliburn to Excalibur makes more sense though.
its also believed its based off what would now be welsh and irish legends such as calad bolg. like not so much arthur but his magic sword.
MoonChild even geralt got that sword from the lady of the lake in blood and wine
In the entire first millennium swords were literally made to look fancy as well as work. What you've said just isn't true. All ritualistic swords found in German and Celtic excavations had serrated edges and had clearly been used in combat, not built just to be wasted in a ritual in a time where druids had almost completely disappeared.
Lol. This man talking about history but the whole comment just mention an anime character.
Every one here came because they are a fan of the Fate series
Fate series or monty python fan
@@dinoluke3234 screw that crap
@@JulioLeonFandinho what is wrong with you
@@OrionPaxG4 nothing... I mean, the video is about a legendary sword and here you got people talking about some stupid anime, who cares? I came for the sword, not some random japanese stuff, what the hell?
I enjoy your videos. I'm kinda messed up in the head, and I often start out hating things due to various reasons, but you're growing on me. I like how you're pretty down to earth and don't go fangirling bad stuff just because it's new and popular, like the new starwars horror movies. Thanks for being a reasonable person.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DRAGONS?!! WHAT ABOUT THEM?!!
I suppose they can sit around in lakes throwing swords at people too, if they want.
They where busy melting forts in Scotland.
th-cam.com/video/S75GzpTbO0A/w-d-xo.html
Psh, Excalibur obviously was a level E tome for wind magic. It would look like a spell book!
Or was it a prototype starship?
KasasTheWarlock Or sometimes as an A or S tome
Fire Emblem :D
KasasTheWarlock
it's an armor used by the Tenno. (Warframe)
Excalibur was obviously a Blessed Longsword +10 and King Arthur's build was a Faith and Strength build.
extrathicc Blessed Longsword +10? I thought his sword is Anri Straight Sword +5
Oh... You may be right Just Noob. Let's see Anri's Striaght Sword description:
"Sword precious to Anri, another Unkindled. The dullest type of blade found in the ruined land of Astora.
Only, it was once the sword of an earnest noble figure, and its attacks are boosted by that elusive, essential property unique to humans: luck."
So "it was once the sword of an earnest noble figure"... Could this be? OMG! It is! It belonged to King Arthur! It's actually Excalibuir!
As in some stories Excalibur has runes in it, I often thought it was an Ulfberht repurposed as an arming sword with cross guard and the nord runes seemed to read Excalibur.
I always loved the way Excalibur looked in the Merlin 90's miniseries starring Sam Neil. Fits the migration period style, but with a bit more of a cross guard, and celtic knotwork for some decoration. Fantasy but realistic.
A SUPERIOR VIDEO! I took an undergraduate course in Arthurian Legends and the professor came to many of the same conclusions as you have presented, such as the historical person inspiration for Arthur being a Celtic commander in the 5th Century and The influence of Charlemagne and his peers. I also did not know that there was a historical basis for the sword in the stone! AGAIN A FABULOUS VIDEO!
Excalibur is not the sword in the stone. Excalibur was given to Arthur by the Lady of the lake, totally different sword. The sword in the stone was Ex Saxo, king Uther's sword and therefore would recognize the touch of his son. Get the facts right, son.
Actually King Arthur is an anime waifu named Arturia Pendragon.
As an anime historian I concur.
On what historical facts?
Anime history. The Fate series, what else could we be talking about?
We Fate fans are professional historians
Actually King Arthur is also a male who was bullied by female Merlin.
I'm NasuVerse historian, believe my words
the man. the legend, Shadiversity
The version of Excalibur in the 1998 Merlin miniseries by Hallmark was very similar to this, so they got the closer than most versions.
Excalibur can be any type of sword, no matter how it looks, it only matters what that sword stands for.
Is anyone else annoyed how modern fantasy settings always seem locked in the same time period? Hundreds of years can pass, yet technology stays pretty much the same.
Noah Weisbrod Terry Brooks and Joe Abercrombie both have significant technological and social development across their series.
Galahad:"Ooh that chair looks comfy!"
7:49 Nice approach to steering clear of that age-old philosophical question.
Ah yes, King Arthur, my favorite waifu
If you asked my 6 year old self it was the cool stick I found on my way to school
Mine would've been the ruler I have yet to snap in a sword fight.
Love your vids man, I learn so much every video!
In a land of myth, and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy. His name: Merlin
you forgot to mentoin that hes half demon
We all know that Excalibur really looked like a space ninja with a horn.
WARFRAME INTENSIFIES
That was unexpected I almost forgot about him
It's so great that Shad made a video about Excalibur exactly 1337 long...
"Yes, I'd like to pay a group of smiths for their many talents, to produce an exquisite piece of art and embodied magnificence!"
"That sounds expensive!!?"
"Yes! and I plan to get it wrecked and possibly lost and/or ruined in battle!"
"Not hang it on a wall? Or carry it ceremoniously?"
Loving the new hair!
I am loved! Use my Voice over talents you sexy beast!
One of the most interesting depictions of king Arthur is probably from the 2004 movie titled "King Arthur", which depicts him as the son of a roman general. Which actually fits the time period the legend is set in, around the 6th century, between the withdrawl of the roman legion and the arrival of the anglo-saxons.
so i'm getting that Charlemagne's sword is acting a lot like the Ship of Theseus
I was expecting “sword of theseus”
Strange no mention of the Volsung saga when dealing with Arthur's sword. The part in point being of Sigmund being the only person capable of pulling the sword (Gram/Nothung/Balmung depending on the story) from a tree.
Thanks!
Sadly there isn't one Arthur but anywhere from 6-12 Arthurs. Then the original story was from the 5th to 6th century and the most popular version is from the 16th century.
Don't you know there are infinite authors. Not just 6-12
XD
EldrenOfTheMist I meant Aurthurs as in more than one person named Aurthur not Author
I know. It was meant to be a joke. Because just by the sound. You can make them sound similar.
if you aren't already aware , have a search for Alan Wilson historian. correct me if I'm wrong. from memory. 2 arthurs one first century. one 6th c.
Arthur 1. a king in Warwickshire. Arthur 2 a king of south wales.
Arthmail or iron bear in English is also a kingly title from the midlands (formerly part of Powis) .
It’s kind of interesting how if you look at Romano-Britain during the Saxon invasion there are several individuals who’s stories seem like pieces of the Arthurian legend. I don’t think it’s too hard to believe that as time went on the two got lumped together and infused with magical story tropes.
Yeah, that seems most likely. Taking different more or less local legends and combining them into one heroic figure as sort of a national icon.
Arthurian Legend has made some of the best tales i have ever read. Fantastic stories and lore, each knight of the round table has dozens of stories dedicated to themselves individually.
Don't forget brave Sir Robin.
Right after Skallgrim 'called him out' this pops into my recommendations LOL
I can’t believe that you failed to mention how Richard the Lionheart supposedly had Excalibur and sold it to the king of Cyprus in order to fund his crusade.
Just here rewatching the amazing video!
And see the comments about the wall hanging piece of junk xD.
You're great shad, never change!
During Julius Caesars failed invasion, he lost his sword in battle.Fact. This short, maybe ornate/inscribed Roman assault sword became a prize of war by the British. It was known as Caliburn by the Romans, and therefor in Latin became known as Ex-Caliburn. Hence the sway to Excalibur. Simple, factual and actually well chronicled and, perhaps nothing to do with Arthur 1st or 2nd.I remember a farm built inside an ancient stronghold/fort foundations in South Wales where the water came out of a well coloured yellow. Hence, Caer Melyn was the name of the farm/fort. Put a French twist on this(courtesy of Chretian de Trois, a 12 century poet come troubadour, and it swings into Caermelo, and eventually Camelot. This was NOT a castle, as we did not have castles at the time, only forts and ex Roman defensive walls. Strange, or a hint maybe, why the Masonic architect Burgess built a fairy tale style castle over looking this site called Castle Coch(Red Castle) which is now under the A470, just North of the M4. Very strategic, guarding the gateway to the valleys. This was not the capitol, by the way. That honour goes to a site just outside Llantwit Magor, a few miles West. Remnants of the documented white marble walls can still be found in abundance.As for the round table, evidence sends us to Caerleon, or somewhere similar where there is still a Roman amphitheater. The annual clas, of forum would have been a festivity/forum for about 300 people of importance.Therefor, I don't imagine them sitting around a round table, as claimed in Winchester.I suggest anyone with an interest in this topic to read some very well researched books, massive evidence included, by Adrian Gilbert,Baram Blacket and Alan Wilson. 'The Holy Kingdom' being a prime example.
Unfortnately the word excalibur comes from welsh not latin, so thats not a fact but nonsense. Fits better to the welsh well that became camelot though.
As far as im aware there is one source that mentions caesar losing his sword and coming into posession of the welsh and thats "Historia Regum Britanniae" which is seen as fiction. So no this is not factual and well chronicled. Also the sword has a completely different name and we dont have any clue how the romans called it.
Where did you get that info from?
@@not-a-theist8251 I was about to say that it's Welsh too but I'm 2 years late