The Legend
EXCALIBUR today is the legend of legends, the greatest of myths. From the Middle Ages onwards the story has known many authors. Monks, poets and storytellers have all glorified the epic adventures of King Arthur and his knights, each author adding a piece here and a chapter there thus creating a great canvas, a huge labyrinth strewn with heroic tales and marvellous quests. By this, King Arthur became a myth and his life a legend!
The birth of Merlin is a wondrous story. Obviously the British people found out that – in order to make their fortress on the plains of Salisbury impregnable – they had to imbue the local soil with the blood of a child whose father is not a human being. Of course, such a half-human sacrifice seemed to be impossible to them, until the rumour spread that a young maiden had born the child of a demon. The child answered to the name of Merlin and – although it had a Christian baptism – it disposed of supernatural powers which were passed on to him by his diabolic father. However, the child had not to be sacrificed in favour of the fortress because it solved the problem thanks to his magical powers.
It was also thanks to Merlin’s magic that King Uther Pendragon could transform himself into the husband of the duchess Igraine in order to creep into her bed-chamber. The fruit of this cohabitation is ARTHUR. After the death of her husband, Igraine married King Uther but their son couldn’t be approved as legitimate heir to the throne. So Arthur was left in the hands of Merlin.
After the death of King Uther Great Britain found itself without a legitimate successor as the King didn’t father another child. In front of the cathedral – like a sign of God – a sword was discovered, plugged in a rock. It carries an inscription which said that only the legitimate king could pull the sword out of the stone. All the present knights tried their luck, but in vain.
Arthur, however, ensured himself the throne by effortlessly pulling the sword out of the rock – an obvious prove of the grace of God!
All the knights pledged loyalty and founded the brotherhood of the Round Table. In this legendary Round Table one seat stayed free at first. According to Merlin only the best of all knights was allowed to take a seat there. This knight was Lancelot, the same Lancelot who would betray Arthur later on by seducing his wife Guinevere.
Morgane, the stepsister of Arthur, also meant mischief and planned to avenge her father who had been betrayed by Uther Pendragon. She spied on Camelot, made eyes at the knights and seduced Merlin in order to learn his magic. She destroyed the great dream of an ideal world, transformed into Queen Guinevere and conceived together with Arthur, her half-brother, a son and demon: Mordred!
Arthur pursued the traitor Lancelot and besieged his fortress in Brittany. However, he had to stop the siege when he found out that during his absence Mordred and Morgane took possession of Camelot. Mordred even forced Guinevere to marry him after he circulated the rumour, that the King was killed in the battle. Back in his kingdom Arthur gathered his knights in order to fight against the rebels. But before the battle began, the King and Mordred accepted the proposal of a last encounter for leading peace negotiations.
Because they didn’t trust each other, both commanded their armies to attack at the slightest movement of a sword. As a knight pulled his weapon to kill a serpent, both armies started a terrible battle. Only one of Arthurs’ knights and Merlin survived and carried their deadly wounded King from the battlefield that was strewn with dead bodies. When his end came near, Arthur begged to throw Excalibur into the Holy Lake, where - at the same moment – a hand appeared and pulled the sword into the depths.
Shortly afterward Arthur was brought onto the magical barque of Viviane, Lady of the Holy Lake, and he disappeared. His last words were that he would retreat to Avalon (another term for the Gallic counterworld “Anwynn”, which suggests that it was an island full of apple trees) in order to heal his wounds and that he would come back one day to reign again over the united folk of the Celts.