Excalibur

Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur. In some accounts it is the same as the sword that Arthur alone was able to draw from the stone, thus denoting his kingship. In other cases, it is a different sword, given him by the Lady of the Lake. On his death, it was eventually returned to the Lady of the Lake by Sir Bedivere[?].

In Welsh legend, Arthur's sword is known as "Caliburn", which is thought by some to be a corruption of the name "Caledvwlch", a magic sword in the Mabinogion. Geoffrey of Monmouth also calls Arthur's sword "Caliburn" in his "History of the Kings of Britain", and it is thought that the name Excalibur is a corruption of this usage. Sir Thomas Malory says that Caliburn was the original name; when Caliburn was broken, it was re-forged into the sword and the new name Excalibur was bestowed upon it. However, the name is also close to the Latin phrase for 'out of the stone'.

In the later versions of the legend, Excalibur's scabbard has the magical power to protect its bearer from harm (and to prevent the bearer from suffering further harm from wounds he might already have received). It is the theft of the scabbard by Morgan Le Fay[?] that leads to Arthur's eventual death.

---

Excalibur is the name of a film directed by John Boorman[?], soundtrack by Trevor Jones, concerning the legend of King Arthur. The motion picture is sometimes referred to as "The Boorman Family Project" since most members of the Boorman family starred in the picture.

External Link: The Internet Movie Database information on Excalibur (http://us.imdb.com/Details?0082348).

---

Excalibur is an older Marvel comic about a group of cross-dimensional travelers. The leader of the group is Captain Britain[?] from which the comic's name is derived.