"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!"

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.

"Exactly the same low quality disfunctional wall hanger piece of junk" - Skallagrim 2020

8:04 no, Everyone knows that the true excalibur's blade shines with the light of the promised victory

But how realistic/accurate is Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

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.

Shad: Lets talk about Excalibur! Fate fans: *The Expert*

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.

But what about pen-dragons?!

At 4:00, you can see the iconic mural of the legendary King Arthur preparing to go snow boarding.

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.

The Modern Excalibur 1:14 The Legendary Excalibur 8:06 The Real Excalibur 9:40

It was sword without a blade. It was a double sided pommel.

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.

Seal thirteen, decision start. Approved, Bedivere, Gareth, Lancelot, Mordred, Galahad. This is the battle to save the world, EXCALIBUR

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!

"...low quality, disfunctional, wall hanger, piece of junk..."

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 :)

Who else got bumped this into their recommendations again after the infamous Skallagrim incident?

I am so tired right now that I read the title as “The King of Sword Arthur”

" 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! "

2:10 Awesome how their user names were there in that painting.

King Arthur is my favorite waifu.

My favorite depiction of King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, would have to be from fate zero. All hail Artoria Pendragon.

Can't the British just send a wizard to travel back in time to retrieve the blade?

Were the knights who say NI real?

Hey, isn't that the low-quality wall hanging sword pls don't kill me :0

So in other words, the early 2000s king arthur movie is actually pretty damn historically accurate. If he did indeed exist of course

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.

It looks like Beowulf killed a Spinosaurus at 00:26

Love how 90% of the comments are pretty much Fate references!

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.

Everyone knows Excalibur is bright gold and King Arthur is actually a girl

Well of course Camelot isin't real, it's only a model!

Caliburn: Am I a joke to you?

Saber, destroy the grail..

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

Told my Grandfather about your channel and your Dragons! Shirt, he immediately picked up his phone and ordered one.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

The version of Excalibur in the 1998 Merlin miniseries by Hallmark was very similar to this, so they got the closer than most versions.

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.

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.

But was it possible to unscrew the pommel? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Actually King Arthur is an anime waifu named Arturia Pendragon.

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.

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.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DRAGONS?!! WHAT ABOUT THEM?!!

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 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.

Psh, Excalibur obviously was a level E tome for wind magic. It would look like a spell book! Or was it a prototype starship?

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!!!"

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.

This was super helpful as part of my research for my upcoming book. Thank you so much for the great information.

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.

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.

Love your vids man, I learn so much every video!

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!

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.

Camelot was a real place though. There was a Roman city founded in 1st century BC in southern England called Camulod or Camulodunum

7:49 Nice approach to steering clear of that age-old philosophical question.

so i'm getting that Charlemagne's sword is acting a lot like the Ship of Theseus

I am adoring your most recent videos, you are quickly becoming my favorite channel on youtube.

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.

Lol. This man talking about history but the whole comment just mention an anime character.

Galahad:"Ooh that chair looks comfy!"

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.

EKSU- KARIBAAAA

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.

We all know that Excalibur really looked like a space ninja with a horn. WARFRAME INTENSIFIES

thank you for that video. I have been wanting some one to cover this concept for a long time. I think you coverd it perfectly. I am also a weapon enthusiast and history teacher and you hit the nail on the head. well done!

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.

I love these, thanks for all the information!

Ah yes, King Arthur, my favorite waifu

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.

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.

Lovin your work Shad. 👌

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.

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.

Hey Shad, what's your opinion about Mount & Blade?

I always wondered if Excalibur existed maybe it wasn’t magical but rather the first steel sword in the Iron Age.

Thanks, Shad! Always great to hear about Arthur and his real-world basis. ^_^

congratulations for the video man, onde of the most interesting ones of this year in my opinion

Video topic:Would damascus steel be SUITABLE for making full plate armor? (See what I did there?)

who else is here because of shad's 2020 video about skal burning him

If you asked my 6 year old self it was the cool stick I found on my way to school

King of knights

Only stopped watching so I can read the tales of Beowulf and King Arthur first, sorry Shad! :D

Loved the video and the logic, thank you

Well, thanks to fate I could see excaliburn and king arthur only in one way...

the man. the legend, Shadiversity

Why does The painting with Arthur as a king have The classical three crowns of sweden on his chest and flag?

1981, Boormans Excalibur is THE best Authurian retelling ever, EVER!!

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.