| “ | Take up Excalibur, Arthur Pendragon, and become the rightful king. | „ |
| ~ The Lady of the Lake to King Arthur, Fables #122 — "The Destiny Game, Part One" |
Excalibur is the legendary sword that once belonged to King Arthur. It first appears as a background item in Fables #1 — "Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited."
History
King Arthur
Excalibur was originally given to King Arthur by the Lady of the Lake, who rose up from the water and held up the sword for him, asking him to take up Excalibur and become the rightful King of Camelot.[1]
The good prince
Through unknown means, Excalibur was magically fixed in a stone, which was kept in the Business Office.[2] The sword in the stone remained there until the ghost of Sir Lancelot had Flycatcher pull the sword out of the stone and embark on his own destiny.[3]
After Flycatcher's heroic deeds in Kingdom of Haven, he asks Lancelot to throw Excalibur into the biggest lake he can find, and tells him to not be surprised if a "green bejeweled hand" reaches up to grasp the sword before it sinks out of sight.[4]
The bad prince
Later, in the mundane world, a mysterious old man comes out of a river in the Grand Canyon, carrying Excalibur and says that the "green woman's gift must not fall into evil hands," before thrusting the sword right into Jack Horner.[5] The man dies immediately afterward. Jack is unharmed, but can't get the sword out.[6] He is delighted when he learns that the sword was really meant for Wicked John, the "real" version of himself. Jack is able to pull Excalibur out of his chest and impales John with it, before leaving John behind.[7]
Years later, Gary the Pathetic Fallacy pulls the sword out of John in order to defend Jack from his enemies, and Wicked John dies from the injuries.[8]
Original source
According to Arthurian legend, Excalibur was the sword of King Arthur. As a young boy, Arthur was the only one able to remove the sword from the stone in which it had been magically embedded. This tale can be found in Sir Thomas Malory's 15th-century prose retelling of the legends. However, another story in the same work claims that Excalibur was given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake and that he commanded his loyal knight, Sir Bedivere, to take the sword and toss it into the water when he lay dying after his final battle. A hand reached up and caught Excalibur, swinging the sword three times before disappearing.[9]
In Irish mythology, there was a renowned sword known as Caladbolg, which is believed to have inspired the creation of Excalibur through Geoffrey of Monmouth. In his Historia regum Britanniae, Monmouth mentions Arthur's sword as Caliburn. Malory claims that Excalibur translates to "cut-steel."[9]
References
- ↑ Fables #123 — "The Destiny Game, Part Two of Two"
- ↑ Fables #1 — "Chapter One: Old Tales Revisited"
- ↑ Fables #62 — "The Good Prince, Chapter Three: Knighthood"
- ↑ Fables #69 — "The Good Prince, Chapter Nine, Conclusion: Eternal"
- ↑ Jack of Fables #12 — "The Bad Prince, Part 1: Hit the Road, Jack"
- ↑ Jack of Fables #13 — "The Bad Prince, Part 2: I Forget"
- ↑ Jack of Fables #15 — "The Bad Prince, Part Four: (Enchanted) Blade Runner"
- ↑ Jack of Fables #50 — "The Dragon, His Sidekick, a Nemesis, & Their Cows: The Final Indispensable Components in the Last Jack of Fables Story of All Time!"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Augustyn, Adam (April 7, 2024). Excalibur, Encyclopædia Britannica.