In the Battle of Carlion in 510 it states:



Round 6: Arthur draws Excalibur, Sword of Victory,
and its flash of magical power blinds nearby foes and awes
the rest of the enemy.


How does that work? Arthur gets Excalibur in 512 after the duel with Pellinore?


Witness, perhaps from the far side of the misty
lake, Arthur regaining Excalibur at the lake. He and
Merlin pole out amidst the fog, and at mid-lake a hand
rises from the water, brandishing a sheathed sword.
Arthur receives it gently, brandishes it, and poles back
to the far side of the lake with the treasure.


am I missing something?

You're quoting the scene where he regains Excalibur, after breaking it in the duel with Pellinore.

Short Story:
Malory screwed up, there should have been two swords, the Sword in the Stone and the Sword from the Lady of the Lake. Alas, he calls both Excalibur.

The Movie Excalibur does the same mistake, following Malory and including the fact that Uther already carries Excalibur when facing down Gorlois (doesn't happen in Le Morte).

KAP decided to run with it, gives Excalibur (The Sword of Victory) already to Uther, and then Merlin sticks it into the Stone in front of St. Paul's, in Londinium. Arthur pulls it out and uses it in the battles against the rebellious kings. He breaks it in a duel against Pellinore 512 (as in the movie; in Le Morte, it is not stated that the broken sword is Excalibur, quite the opposite, the implication is that the Excalibur is a totally new sword), and like luckythirteen said, the pieces are then thrown into the lake and the Lady of the Lake mystically fixes the sword in an eyeblink, returning it to Merlin & Arthur.

Interesting ... my knowledge is limited to the movie.

But what you appear to be saying is that there are potentially three swords then ...

The one Merlin gives Uther in the GPC.

The Sword in the Stone.

The one the Lady of the Lake gives Arthur.

Interesting ... my knowledge is limited to the movie.

But what you appear to be saying is that there are potentially three swords then ...

The one Merlin gives Uther in the GPC.

The Sword in the Stone.

The one the Lady of the Lake gives Arthur.


No, what I am saying is that:
1) In the GPC, there is just ONE Sword throughout. It is the same Excalibur.
2) In legends, Uther never gets a sword from Merlin. The Sword in the Stone is not (usually) Excalibur (it is in some legends, but in those stories, Lady of the Lake doesn't appear). In Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin, Arthur gets Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Malory puts both traditions in, and hence Excalibur appears twice.

Also: https://xkcd.com/1521/

You're quoting the scene where he regains Excalibur, after breaking it in the duel with Pellinore.


Nah.. in the duel with Pellinsnore he beakes the Sword in the Stone, as far as I've understood they are two seperate swords..

Uther had excalibur, the GPC says, then when he dies Excalibur disapearres. The the Sword in the stone comes, Arthur pulls it. Then it is broken with Pellinore. Then right after Merlin retrives Excalibur..


So.. was it the Sword in the Stone Arthur used in 510?

Nah.. in the duel with Pellinsnore he beakes the Sword in the Stone, as far as I've understood they are two seperate swords..


In KAP, the Sword in the Stone = Excalibur = Sword of Victory. It is the same sword from Uther to the Stone to Arthur.

Now, in your own campaign, feel free to do what you want. Making the Sword in the Stone a separate sword works fine.

I was, as many other it seems. Taken aback by all the swords.

In my campaign setting, I decided to separate them. Not really "canon", but it seems such thing is less important. :D I decided to go with the confusion, and make it a part of the game. Knights and bards in my setting is as confused as I was.

In my campaign the sword Excalibur takes many forms, depending on the time, need and age. Uther DID indeed get Excalibur, but it's magic is a bit different than what Arthur later gets. The sword in the stone is indeed magical, but not excalibur. In the scene where Arthur draws the sword in 510, it is the magical sword of the stone. And aided by the magic of Merlin, it "shines" and awes all in the battle. But it was not Excalibur. Indeed, there was a rumour in game that it was.

But again, this was just my twist on the tale.

In Boorman's Excalibur, isn't the duel where Arthur breaks his sword (for Pride) against Lancelot? And since the film is named after the sword, it would seem a bit strange for the King-choosing-sword to not be the eponymous one, given that it's pretty much the most important thing the sword does in the movie (except break and be remade, because it's so important...).

But if you combine all the myths, yes, there's potential for three pivotal magic swords for Pendragons: Uther's one, the King-choosing sword that breaks and the one that the Lady of the Lake replaces it with that gets lobbed into the lake at the end. At least... :)