Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s post is going to be all about the sword Excalibur and the Scabbard of Invulnerability! As we all know, one of the most iconic items in all of the Arthurian legends is the sword Excalibur.
Excalibur is the famed sword of King Arthur, which was given to him by the Lady of the Lake. It also has a scabbard, often known as the Scabbard of Invulnerability. When Arthur was first gifted the sword, Merlin asked him which he liked better the sword or the scabbard. Being a warrior King, Arthur answered that he preferred the sword to the scabbard. Merlin told him that was the incorrect answer, as the sword was a weapon of great power, but the scabbard prevented the wielder of the sword from being harmed in any way in battle!
Now, I want to take a moment to explain that Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone were not originally the same sword in earlier versions of the legends. That is something that has been portrayed in later variants of the legends. The original Sword in the Stone was not magickal in any way, it was simply a symbol declaring that Arthur was the prophecized King! It was Excalibur that was forged in Avalon by magickal Elven Smiths and held by the Lady of the Lake until it was gifted to Arthur after the Sword in the Stone broke.
The Lady of the Lake is the keeper of Excalibur and it was to her that the sword had to be returned upon the death of Arthur. That is why Arthur begged the last of his Knights to throw the sword back into the lake he was dying beside. This is the famed scene often depicted in Arthurian films where a woman’s hand comes out from the water to catch the sword! She who bestowed Excalibur onto the rightful King received the sword back into her care when he lay dying. The only reason Arthur was able to be harmed is that by the time of his final battle of Camlann, he has lost the Scabbard of Invulnerability, usually stated to have been thrown into a body of water by Morgana some time earlier in vengeance for the story I will relay below!
The sword and scabbard also play an important role in one of the most famous plots of Morgan le Fay against Camelot. When Arthur was at the height of his power, he gave Excalibur to his beloved sister Morgana to keep it safe when he was not in battle. However, Morgana had come to hate Arthur and his Kingdom, desiring nothing more than to make sure Camelot would fall! So, she used enchantment to craft an identical sword and scabbard, entrusting the real Excalibur and Scabbard of Invulnerability to her lover Sir Accolon.
Accolon was then pitted against Arthur in a duel, and neither of them knew who their opponent was until it was too late. Sir Accolon came to actually injure Arthur, which is how Arthur found out that he did not have his own sword and scabbard, since the Scabbard of Invulnerability would not have allowed him to be harmed! Arthur managed to get the real Excalibur and Scabbard of Invulnerability back and killed Accolon, only revealing his face after his death! He had Accolon’s body sent back to Morgana, letting her know he was now wise to her treachery.
At the end of the day, Excalibur and the Scabbard of Invulnerability were an integral aspect of the Arthurian mythos. I hope you have enjoyed reading this short post going in-depth about the importance of the sword and scabbard. What is the most interesting thing about Excalibur in your opinion? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Excalibur caught by the Lady of the Lake. I found the image on https://maryanneyarde.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-lady-of-lake.html.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading/Watching
- Le Morte D’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
- Mists of Avalon Oracle by Rose Inserra
- Excalibur (1981)