Magical Objects Series - Part Four: Arthurian Mythology
'And when they came to the sword that the hand held, King Arthur took it up' - NC Wyeth 1922 - 'The Boy's King Arthur' (WCommons)
I dithered about which Western mythology to feature this week, and, predictably, decided on the mythology surrounding King Arthur.
Some may think this post is filled with too much detail, but this is just a tiny amount of what’s contained in the stories, and I thought it would be handy to add those details for a better understanding of some of the objects.
The Arthurian literary cycle can be confusing with its contradictory themes and details.
The stories we’re familiar with were taken from works known as the ‘Vulgate Cycle’ (from the Latin ‘editio vulgata’ or ‘common version’), originally written in Old French in the early 13th century.
Known as the ‘Lancelot-Grail Cycle’, the stories focus on the forbidden love between Lancelot and Guinevere, the Quest for the Holy Grail, and the death of Arthur as a way of relating the legend of King Arthur.
The unknown authors of the Cycle expanded the hitherto unrelated 12th century works of the French poet, Robert de Boron, and another French poet and writer, Chrétien de Troyes, adding more details and stories to bring it all together into one consistent tale.
Sometime in the mid-13th century, the Vulgate Cycle underwent a major rewrite, known as the Post-Vulgate Cycle, which put more emphasis on the Quest for the Holy Grail while downplaying the love affair of Lancelot and Guinevere.
While the Post-Vulgate Cycle omitted much, it added other details and more characters including Tristan and Iseult, tying their story to Arthurian literature.
Both the Cycles greatly influenced Sir Thomas Malory’s ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’, written in the mid-15th century.
Having said all that, here are the 10 objects, starting with Arthur’s swords.
Caliburn or the Sword in the Stone.
How Arthur drew forth ye sword - Howard Pyle 1903 (WCommons)
Caliburn is sometimes referred to as Excalibur, a perfect example of the confusion I mentioned at the start of this post.
It was Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Welsh cleric, who first introduced the sword of Arthur as ‘Caliburnus’ (Caliburn) in his ‘History of the Kings of Britain’, written in 1136.
When the French poet, Wace, translated Geoffrey’s work into Old French, he renamed the sword ‘Chaliburn’, after which Chrétien de Troyes changed it to ‘Escalibor’.
It was Robert de Boron who wrote of the Sword in the Stone in his poem, ‘Merlin’, heavily inspired by Wace’s translation of Geoffrey’s material on Merlin, although de Boron had the sword in an anvil.
In ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’, Malory names the sword that Arthur draws from the stone, Excalibur.
But it becomes apparent that this is not the actual Excalibur when it is broken in Arthur’s fight with King Pellinore.
Excalibur.
After Arthur’s sword, presumably Caliburn, is broken, Pellinore tells the young king to yield but he refuses.
To save both men, Merlin puts Pellinore to sleep and takes Arthur to a mystical lake where the Lady of the Lake offers him the true Excalibur, the otherworldly sword forged in a magical realm.
The power of the sword is unleashed when, back at the battlefield, Arthur is attacked by King Lot:
‘Therewith King Lot smote down King Arthur. With that, his four knights rescued him and set him on horseback; then he drew his sword Excalibur, and it was so bright in his enemies’ eyes that it gave light like thirty torches. Therewith he put them back and slew many people.’ – ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’.
'How Arthur drew his sword Excalibur for the first time' - Arthur Rackham 1917 - 'The Romance of King Arthur' by AW Pollard (WCommons)
Years later, when a defeated Arthur lies dying, the reason he exhorts Bedivere to return Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake is because it wasn’t made in this world but in hers and, so, must be returned to its source.
As with all swords wielded by true kings in other mythologies, Excalibur is a sword of power.
But Excalibur is different in that its power symbolises justice and what best serves the people, not the king.
Excalibur’s scabbard.
Although Excalibur is perceived to be of great importance, it is the scabbard that holds more value for it kept the bearer of the scabbard alive no matter the injury.
As Merlin tells Arthur, “… the scabbard is worth ten of the sword. While ye have the scabbard upon you, ye shall never lose any blood, be ye ever so sorely wounded. Therefore always keep the scabbard with you.” – ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’.
In ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’, Morgan le Fay, Arthur’s sister, gives her lover, Sir Accolon, the true Excalibur in the hopes that he will kill Arthur who has been given a fake.
When Arthur’s sword breaks, he realises it is not Excalibur but still manages to defeat and kill Sir Accolon.
Morgan then steals the scabbard in revenge and throws it back to the Lady in the Lake, dooming Arthur in his final battle with Mordred.
Queen Morgana loses Excalibur his Sheath - Howard Pyle 1903 (WCommons)
Mantle of Arthur.
Named as one of Britain’s Thirteen Treasures, King Arthur’s ‘llen’ or mantle made whoever was underneath it invisible though he could see everyone.
Spear of Longinus, the Bleeding Lance.
Statue of St Longinus, the Centurian who Pierced Jesus' side with a Spear, St Peter's Basilica - Gary Todd (WCommons)
The spear that Longinus, a Roman soldier, used to pierce the side of Jesus when he was on the cross.
Also known as the Holy Lance, it is the blood of the Lamb that issues from its point and eternally drips into the Grail.
It is said to have healing powers.
Ring of Dispel.
This ring, given to Lancelot by the Lady of the Lake, could dispel any enchantment.
The next 4 items are all tied to the Quest for the Holy Grail.
'How at the Castle of Corbin a Maiden Bare in the Sangreal and Foretold the Achievements of Galahad' - Arthur Rackham - 'The Romance of King Arthur' by AW Pollard (WCommons)
The original hero in this story was Perceval, but the Post-Vulgate Cycle, with its spiritual emphasis, replaced him with Galahad while also changing the adventures of the knights.
The Shield of Joseph of Arimathea.
Joseph of Arimathea, stained glass window, Chichester Cathedral (WCommons)
The Bible states that Joseph of Arimathea was the one responsible for preparing the body of Jesus for burial after his crucifixion.
The role of Joseph in the Arthurian legends originally came from a poem written by Robert de Boron titled ‘Joseph d’Arimathie’, in which he imbued elements of the Christian faith to create a history of the Grail.
In the poem, Joseph of Arimathea used Jesus’ cup from the Last Supper to catch Christ’s blood at the crucifixion.
It’s likely de Boron named the cup as the Grail as Jesus had used it to share wine with his disciples.
Joseph and his family, including his sister and brother-in-law, Bron, and others eventually left in search of a better land, and settled somewhere in Egypt.
In time, Joseph entrusted the Grail to Bron who travelled with his family to the valleys of Avaron in Britain where they remained, guarding the Grail until the reign of Arthur and the coming of Perceval; later writers changed Avaron to Avalon.
It was said that three maidens brought the Shield of Joseph of Arimathea to King Arthur’s castle and left it there for Perceval who used it in his fight against the Knight of the Burning Dragon.
This knight was so named because his shield was emblazoned with a magic dragon’s head that could breathe fire.
It was said that only the Shield of Joseph of Arimathea could protect against it.
Protecting himself with the shield, Perceval managed to cut off the knight’s sword hand then thrust his own sword into the mouth of the dragon.
Enraged, the dragon turned on its owner, burning him to death.
The Shield of Evalach.
Galahad with the Shield of Evalach - stained glass window (tamueng1330.wordpress)
The story to do with this shield is in the Vulgate ‘Quest for the Holy Grail’ (‘Queste del Saint Graal’) which shifts the focus from Joseph of Arimathea to his son, Josephus.
Not long after leaving King Arthur’s court on his quest for the Grail, Galahad came across a shield with a device of a red cross at an abbey.
The shield could not be removed from the abbey without being challenged by a White Knight.
King Baudemagus, who was travelling with Galahad at the time, decided to test the claim and took the shield.
Once he was in the forest, he was challenged by the White Knight who seriously wounded him.
The White Knight reprimanded Baudemagus for taking the shield and handed it to Baudemagus’ squire, Melias, ordering him to return to the abbey and give the shield to Galahad.
Once they were back at the abbey, Melias handed the shield to Galahad.
The White Knight then appeared and told Galahad why he was the one fated to take the shield by relating its history.
The shield had been used by Evalach, a pagan king of Sarras, a city in Egypt.
It was here that Joseph of Arimathea, his son Josephus, and their families had arrived after leaving their land.
They helped Evalach defeat his enemy, Tholomer, after which the king converted to Christianity, changing his name to Mordrain.
His loyal seneschal who was his wife’s brother, Seraphe, also converted and changed his name to Nascien.
In time and after many adventures, Mordrain and Nascien and their families came to Britain.
When Nascien died, Mordrain placed the shield at his burial site, and an abbey was built around the grave.
It was declared that no man could take the shield from the abbey without being harmed until the coming of the one prophesied to do so, and he would be a descendant of Nascien.
Galahad was then told he was Nascien’s descendant.
Sword with the Strange Hangings or Sword with the Strange Belt.
This sword was first mentioned in Chrétien de Troyes’ ‘Perceval’, written around 1190.
The Vulgate ‘Quest for the Holy Grail’ gives a fuller account of the sword and its origins.
Known as the Sword of David, it had originally belonged to King David of Israel, and, when he died, was passed to his son, Solomon who succeeded him as king.
The sword was adorned with precious jewels, and its scabbard was called Memory of Blood.
It’s belt or girdle, however, was plain, woven from hemp by one of Solomon’s favoured wives.
It was she who thought of building a ship that would last many, many years.
'The Ship' by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, John Henry Dearle (WCommons) - part of the Holy Grail tapestries
A magnificent bed was placed on the ship, and on either side of the bed were posts made from the Tree of Life.
The sword was placed at the foot of the bed.
Once everything was completed, inscriptions appeared on the scabbard, hilt, and blade of the sword, and on the side of the ship.
The inscription on the hilt stated that none save the Chosen One should wield the sword, and his would be the only hand able to fully encircle the hilt.
The inscription on the blade warned any other than the Chosen One who dared unsheathe the sword would be either killed or maimed.
On the scabbard, the inscription stated that only a virgin maiden of royal birth could replace the belt made of hemp with a new belt she herself had made.
And on the side of the crewless ship, it was stated that no man without strong faith in God and Jesus would be able to board the ship.
While journeying through Britain on his quest for the Grail, Galahad was approached by a maiden who asked him to follow her.
She led him to the shore where he met his fellow knights, Perceval and Bors.
As they greeted one another, a mysterious ship arrived at the shore with not a single person on board.
The maiden told Perceval she was his sister, the daughter of King Pellinore, and she led them onto the ship, which was the Ship of King Solomon, and she told them of the history of the sword and its prophecies.
The three Grail knights each tried to hold the sword, but it was Galahad whose hand was able to fully encircle the hilt.
Galahad receives the Sword with the Strange Hangings (explore-parliament.net)
Perceval’s sister then replaced the hemp belt with one she had made, woven from her own golden hair, and threads of fine gold and silk, and studded with precious stones.
Galahad unsheathed the sword, admired it, and returned it to its scabbard, suffering no harm and confirming, beyond any doubt, that he was the one fated to wield the Sword with the Strange Hangings.
The Holy Grail.
Stained glass window depicting the Grail at 'La cathédrale St-Corentin á Quimper' photo by Thesupermat (WCommons)
Different authors have described the Holy Grail as a cup or chalice, a dish or platter, a crown or circlet, a stone with miraculous healing powers, and even a severed head on a platter.
Some say it provides eternal youth or a never-ending abundance of sustenance.
A ‘grail’ is first mentioned in Chrétien de Troyes’ ‘Perceval’ as something wondrous but not obviously holy.
By portraying the Grail as Jesus’ cup from the Last Supper in his ‘Joseph d’Arimathie’, Robert de Boron conferred an undeniable holiness to it.
The authors of the ‘Lancelot-Grail Cycle’ in the Vulgate Cycle presented the Grail as a symbol of Divine Grace.
On the eve of Pentecost, at the behest of a young woman, Lancelot goes with her to a nunnery where he is asked to knight a young man and he agrees.
When Lancelot returns to King Arthur’s court, he joins his fellow knights at the Round Table, and notices an inscription has appeared above the Siege Perilous, which reads:
‘Four Hundred and Fifty Years have passed since the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ And on the Day of Pentecost This Seat Shall Find Its Master.’
The Siege Perilous was a vacant seat at the Round Table reserved for the knight who would, one day, be successful in the quest for the Holy Grail; the word ‘siege’ originally meant ‘seat’ or ‘throne’.
An elderly knight enters the hall with the young man whom Lancelot had knighted the evening before.
The young knight is Galahad, the son of Lancelot and the Grail bearer, Elaine.
Sir Galahad by George Frederic Watts (WCommons)
Galahad takes his rightful place at the Siege Perilous and is unharmed.
Then an image of the Holy Grail appears, floating over the Round Table, signalling it is time to seek the Grail.
Arthur is pleased when many of his knights take up the quest, but he is saddened also, for he believes he will never see many of them again.
In his adventures, Galahad proves himself to be the greatest knight, his spiritual purity making him greater even than his father.
As the end of the Grail Quest draws near, Galahad is joined by Sir Perceval and Sir Bors, and they are the only ones to complete the quest with Galahad being the only one to achieve the ultimate spiritual enlightenment of the Grail mystery.
'The Attainment - The Vision of the Holy Grail to Sir Galahad, Sir Bors, and Sir Perceval' by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, John Henry Dearle (WCommons) - part of the Holy Grail tapestries
Galahad then has a vision in which he is told to take the Grail from Britain to the holy city of Sarras, the same city that had been ruled by Evalach in the time of Joseph of Arimathea.
This he does, accompanied by Perceval and Bors, and they sail there in the Ship of Solomon.
The story ends with the death of Galahad at Sarras, and Perceval who had chosen to live out his days as a hermit in Sarras.
The only survivor, Sir Bors, returns to King Arthur’s court to tell of all that has happened.
The Grail being taken from Britain meant that God’s grace had been withdrawn from Britain, and this leads to the final work of the Vulgate Cycle, ‘The Death of King Arthur’.
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And that covers the first part of the ‘Magical Objects Series’, centred around European mythologies.
I’ll be taking a breather next week and, fingers crossed, next month will be starting the second part, focussing on Eastern mythologies and Ancient Egypt.