Arthurian & Chivalric
Excalibur
Excalibur
Cuts through enemy armor, and whoever wears its scabbard does not bleed.
WeaponFirst recorded 1136
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Photograph: The hilt of an English basket-hilted sword of the early seventeenth century. Steel bars embossed with silver scrolls are woven into a basket around the hand.
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ArchiveArthurian & Chivalric · Weapon
Curtana
Curtana
The broken-tipped “sword of mercy,” signifying a king's power to forgive rather than punish.
- Owner
- Kings of England (in legend, Tristan or Ogier)
- Maker
- Unknown
- First record
- Record of the coronation of Queen Eleanor of England1236
- Gallery
- Arthurian & Chivalric
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
Curtana is a sword borne at the coronation of English monarchs; its name first appears in the record of the 1236 coronation of Eleanor, queen of Henry III. Its tip is cut blunt, and so it is also called the "sword of mercy."
Legend says it originally belonged to Tristan of the Round Table or to Ogier, a knight of Charlemagne. When Ogier in fury was about to strike Charlemagne's son, an angel came down from heaven, broke off the tip and told him mercy was better than justice.
The Curtana now in the Tower of London was remade in the seventeenth century, but it still keeps the form without a point.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Basket-Hilted Sword(British, 1600–1625), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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VesselFirst recorded 1180
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