Episode 2The Day the Boy King's Sword BrokeExcalibur and the Lady of the Lake
Fresh from victory over the rebel kings, the boy king Arthur is riding high, until he learns of a terrible sin he committed without knowing it. Then, in a duel with the knight of the spring, King Pellinore, the sword from the stone shatters. The Lady of the Lake grants Arthur a new blade, Excalibur, and Merlin asks him one question: which matters more, the sword or the scabbard?
Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake: Arthur's Broken Sword Explained
The Original Story, Part 1: Victory, a Hidden Sin, and Merlin's Prophecy
This episode is based on Book I of Le Morte Darthur, the great English retelling of the Arthurian legend by Sir Thomas Malory, printed by William Caxton in 1485. Arthur has just pulled the sword from the stone and been crowned, but many lords refuse to accept him. At a Pentecost feast in Caerleon, King Lot of Lothian and Orkney and other kings reject Arthur's gifts, saying they will answer a low-born boy with swords, not thanks. Merlin, the wizard and prophet, tells them Arthur is the son of King Uther Pendragon and Queen Igraine. Most of the kings laugh at him.
On Merlin's advice, Arthur asks two kings from across the sea, Ban and Bors, for help. Together they fight eleven rebel kings in the forest of Bedegraine and win. At the end, Merlin rides up on a great black horse and tells Arthur to stop the fighting.
Soon afterward, King Lot's wife comes to Arthur's court with her four sons, Gawain, Gaheris, Agravain and Gareth. She says she comes as a messenger, but she has really come to spy. Arthur is drawn to her, they spend a night together, and Mordred is conceived. Malory then tells the reader the hard truth: she was Arthur's half-sister, a daughter of his mother Igraine. Arthur does not yet know who his mother is, so he clearly has no idea. Whether she knew, Malory never says.
Arthur then dreams that griffins and serpents invade his land and burn his people. While hunting to clear his mind, he meets the Questing Beast, a creature with the sound of baying hounds coming from its belly, and King Pellinore, who is chasing it. Merlin appears first as a boy of fourteen and tells Arthur who his parents are. Arthur does not believe a child. Merlin returns as an old man of eighty and goes further: God is displeased, because Arthur has fathered a child with his own sister, and that child will destroy him and the knights of his realm. Merlin also predicts his own end: one day he will be shut alive inside the earth.
The Original Story, Part 2: The Broken Sword and the Lady of the Lake
News comes of a knight camped by a spring who fights every knight who passes. He has already killed one knight and badly wounded young Griflet, whom Arthur has just knighted. Without telling anyone, Arthur rides out alone at dawn. The knight is King Pellinore. They fight hard, and Arthur's sword breaks in two. Pellinore pins him down, and when he learns this is the king, he decides to kill him anyway, fearing revenge. Merlin saves Arthur by putting Pellinore into a magic sleep.
After Arthur's wounds are healed, Merlin leads him to a lake. In the middle of the water, an arm dressed in white samite (a rich silk) holds up a sword. The Lady of the Lake comes walking across the water and explains that she lives in a beautiful dwelling inside a rock. She lets Arthur take the sword, in return for a gift she will ask for later. Arthur rows out in a small boat and takes the sword and its scabbard.
On the way back, Merlin asks which Arthur likes better, the sword or the scabbard. Arthur chooses the sword. Merlin calls this unwise: the scabbard is worth ten swords, because whoever wears it will lose no blood, however badly wounded. He tells Arthur to keep it with him always.
Who's Who in This Episode
Arthur is a brave but reckless young king who fights in the front line and rides off alone to face an unknown knight. Merlin is his adviser, a shape-shifting prophet who wins his battles, saves his life and warns of his doom. King Lot's wife, called Margawse in Caxton's text and usually Morgause in modern books, is Arthur's half-sister and the mother of Gawain and his brothers, and later of Mordred. King Pellinore is a powerful knight who hunts the Questing Beast. The Lady of the Lake gives Arthur his new sword, but in Book I Malory never tells us her name or what gift she will ask for.
What the Story Means: Background and Themes
Malory was an English knight who finished his book around 1469 to 1470. He asks readers at the end to pray for his release, and many scholars believe he wrote at least part of it in prison. He drew on long French prose romances and English poems, shaping them into one story from Arthur's birth to his death. Caxton divided the text into twenty-one books when he printed it.
This episode plants the seed of the whole tragedy. At the moment Arthur seems to have won everything, he unknowingly fathers Mordred, the son Merlin says will bring down the kingdom. Readers have long argued over whether Arthur is truly guilty or simply caught by fate, since he did not know the truth.
The sword-and-scabbard question is one of the most famous moments in the legend. A young king naturally prizes the weapon that wins battles. Merlin points instead to the thing that keeps him alive. One common reading is that it contrasts power with protection, or force with restraint. Later in Malory, the scabbard is stolen from Arthur, which gives Merlin's warning extra weight.
Malory's text is also inconsistent about names. Caxton's version already calls Arthur's sword Excalibur in an earlier battle, well before the lake scene, and the name is only explained to Arthur in Book II. This is one reason many people mix up the sword in the stone and Excalibur. The name is usually traced back to Caliburnus, Arthur's sword in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th-century History of the Kings of Britain.
What the Manga Changes
The manga shortens the long war with the rebel kings into a quick opening, so the story can focus on Arthur's fall from triumph. Malory describes the night with Lot's wife in a single short passage, so the manga's handling of that scene, including any conversation or feelings, is its own interpretation.
Malory does not say which sword breaks against Pellinore. The manga chooses to make it the sword from the stone, which gives the moment more drama. It also names the new blade Excalibur at the lake, while in Caxton's text the name is explained later. Merlin's question is rephrased as which matters more, but the core of the original is kept: the scabbard is worth far more than the sword because it stops its wearer from bleeding. The look of Merlin's boy and old-man forms, the Questing Beast and the lake setting are the artists' invention, since Malory describes almost none of them.
Where to Read It
Le Morte Darthur is in the public domain, and Caxton's text can be read free online. It is easier to start with a modern-English edition, because the 15th-century spelling can be hard going. If you want to see the boy king's broken sword, Merlin's dark prophecy and the arm rising from the lake brought to life, KING ARTHUR: Twilight of the Round Table is free to read on Manga Portal, every episode, with no sign-up. Episode 2 is a good place to see how one bright victory starts the long road to Camelot's twilight.
Characters in this episode
King Arthur
The newly crowned boy king of Britain, brave in battle but reckless, who does not yet know who his mother is.
Merlin
Arthur's wizard and adviser, who appears as a boy and an old man, saves Arthur's life and foretells the kingdom's doom.
Morgause (King Lot's wife)
Queen of Lothian and Orkney and Arthur's half-sister, who comes to court to spy and becomes the mother of Mordred.
King Pellinore
A powerful knight who hunts the Questing Beast and breaks Arthur's sword in a duel by a spring.
The Lady of the Lake
A mysterious woman who walks on water and gives Arthur a new sword and its magical scabbard.
Mordred
The child conceived by Arthur and his half-sister, who Merlin prophesies will destroy Arthur and his knights.
FAQ
How did King Arthur get Excalibur?
In Malory's Le Morte Darthur, Arthur's sword breaks in a duel with King Pellinore. Merlin then takes him to a lake, where an arm in white silk holds up a sword, and the Lady of the Lake lets Arthur take it in return for a future gift.
Is Excalibur the same as the sword in the stone?
In Malory's version they are usually understood as two different swords: one pulled from the stone, and one given by the Lady of the Lake. However, Caxton's text calls an earlier sword Excalibur too, so the sources are inconsistent and the two are often confused.
Why did Merlin say the scabbard was worth more than the sword?
Merlin says that whoever wears the scabbard will lose no blood, however badly hurt. A sword helps you win, but the scabbard keeps you alive, so he calls it worth ten swords and tells Arthur never to let it go.
Who is Mordred's mother in the Arthurian legend?
In Malory, Mordred's mother is King Lot's wife, usually called Morgause, who is Arthur's half-sister through their mother Igraine. Arthur does not know she is his sister when Mordred is conceived.
Who is King Pellinore?
King Pellinore is a strong knight who spends his life hunting the Questing Beast. He defeats Arthur in a duel by a spring, and Merlin says he will later serve Arthur well and be the father of Percival and Lamorak.
