Excalibur, King Arthur’s magical sword, is said to symbolize both destruction and fertility. In one version of the legends of Arthur, the future king proved his right to rule by pulling Excalibur out of a stone, which no other man could do.
Arthur as proof of his birthright and of his nobility draws the Sword in the Stone, sometimes referred to as a sword in an anvil. It is both a test and a miraculous sign of his royalty.
The Welsh name for Excalibur was Caladvwlch and the Irish called it Caladbolg, the name of the sword used by heros in Irish legends derived from the calad (hard) and blog (lightning).
