Myths and legends that have come down to us from ancient times are based on some real events. Many miracles and relics described in ancient legends, to this day excite the minds of not only scientists, but also ordinary people. The sword in the stone, preserved to this day, is a direct proof of this. This relic is mentioned in the legends of the glorious King Arthur and the legends of the knight Galgano.
Middle Ages
Imagine: medieval England, gloomy London, with its dark streets, muddy waters of the Thames, rickety houses and chilly weather. The inhabitants of the city shudder at every rustle and live in anticipation of the next attack by the Romans. The severe persecution of Christians has recently ended, and the relatively young religion is gradually strengthening its position in the souls of people.
Any event that took place in that era aroused genuine interest and increased attention among the people. What can we say about the death of the monarch! Almost a national tragedy. The nobility sharpens swords and prepares armor so that, under the clash of weapons in a bloody battle, they can plant their protege on the vacated throne. Ordinary people are hiding in their homes and pray that the powerful of this world will quickly make their choice and order will return to the country, which has temporarily given way to chaos.
Seven Sealed Mystery
Another glorious ruler of England, Uther Pendragon, departed with a prayer on his lips. After himself, he left the only heir - the son of Arthur, who had no idea that his father was not Baron Ector, but the king of the Britons himself. The royal couple, like any self-respecting family, had their own secret. Many years ago the Duke of Tintagil lived in Cornwall with his beautiful and wise wife Igraine. Once the king, having learned about the beauty of the duchess, invited the duke to visit and ordered him to bring his wife with him. Seeing the young woman, Uther Pendragon lost his head. Now all his thoughts were occupied by the beautiful Igraine. But the beauty flatly refused to cheat on her husband, and then the court wizard Merlin resorted to magic: several spells, and the king took the form of a duke. An unsuspecting woman let her legitimate, as she believed, spouse into the bedroom. The result of the night spent together was a child, who, at Merlin's insistence, was given to be raised in the family of the respected Baron Ector. So, far from human eyes, the heir to the throne grew up. But the real father was in no hurry to reveal the secret of Arthur's origin, and even more so to impose royal duties on him. But before his death, foreseeing discord in the country and the struggle for the crown, he managed to give instructions to Merlin about his son: “I give him God's blessing and mine, let him pray for the peace of my soul and let him claim my crown by honor and right, otherwise but he does not have my blessing. "But the real father was in no hurry to reveal the secret of Arthur's origin, and even more so to impose royal duties on him. But before his death, foreseeing discord in the country and the struggle for the crown, he managed to give instructions to Merlin about his son: “I give him God's blessing and mine, let him pray for the peace of my soul and let him claim my crown by honor and right, otherwise but he does not have my blessing. "But the real father was in no hurry to reveal the secret of Arthur's origin, and even more so to impose royal duties on him. But before his death, foreseeing discord in the country and the struggle for the crown, he managed to give instructions to Merlin about his son: “I give him God's blessing and mine, let him pray for the peace of my soul and let him claim my crown by honor and right, otherwise but he is not my blessing.
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Legal heir
After the death of the king, the Archbishop of Canterbury, again on the advice of Merlin, sent a message to all the knights and barons of England to arrive in London by Christmas and decide the further fate of the country - without bloodshed, with the help of prayer. On this occasion, many in the audience received the remission of sins so that the prayers they uttered would be pleasing to the Lord. And a miracle happened. While the congregation was praying, in the courtyard of the temple “people saw a large stone with four corners, like a marble tombstone, in the middle on it - like a steel anvil a foot high, and a wonderful sword was stuck into it, and around it golden letters:“Who will pull this sword out of the anvil, he is, by birthright, the king over all the land of England. Many of those present tried to draw the sword, but to no avail. Then they decidedthat anyone can try their luck and try to take the English throne in this very unusual way. A tent was erected over the stone and they began to expect an heir.
Some time later, the unsuspecting Arthur, along with his brother Kay, went to London for a tournament dedicated to the celebration of the New Year. For good or bad luck. Arthur forgot his brother's sword and, in order not to dishonor Kay, having arrived at the place, he rushed in search of a worthy replacement. Then the following happened. The young man came across a tent, which was not guarded by anyone, went in, saw a sword. He easily pulled it out and rushed to the tournament to deliver the trophy to his brother. Imagine the surprise of the knights gathered there when a young man came out to the duel, tightly gripping a weapon that gave him every right to be called the King of England. After questioning, it turned out that it was Arthur who pulled out the famous sword. So, with a great miracle, the era of the reign of the legendary King Arthur began in England. It is believed that this sword, alas, has not survived,valiant Arthur just broke him during the next battle.
Abbey of San Galgano
The ruins of the once richest abbey of San Galgano rise majestically in a picturesque corner of the Italian city of Tuscany. Back in the 17th century, the abbey ceased to exist, but the building, still destroyed, attracts tourists from all over the world. The reason for this is a sword stuck with some superhuman strength into a piece of rock. Italians are very fond of telling impressionable tourists that this particular sword once belonged to King Arthur, and the legend about the great ruler and his knights originated in Italy, not in England. It is useless to argue with emotional Italians, they are not even embarrassed by the fact that, according to legend, Arthur broke his weapon, and the sword from the abbey is safe and sound.
The Legend of the Righteous Villain
The abbey was founded in 1218 on the burial place of the remains of St. Galgano Guidotti (1148-1181). In his youth, he was a knight who, by his actions, terrified the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. His life could hardly be called righteous: dissipation, drunkenness and unimaginable cruelty. This continued exactly until the Archangel Michael appeared in a dream to Galgano, mired in sins, and tried to instruct the bloodthirsty knight on the right path. The dream impressed Galgano so much that the knight's desire to brawl completely disappeared. He settled in a cave and began to fast strictly. The amazed relatives, having learned of such a change, tried to dissuade the unreasonable, in their opinion, Galgano, but to no avail. After a while, he again had a vision: a beautiful temple, and on the steps are Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and the twelve apostles. And a voice from heaven tells the knight to give up worldly life, become a hermit and devote himself to serving the Lord. Galgano objected that it was as difficult to do as to thrust a steel sword into a stone, and tried to prove that the task was impossible. The knight swung his sword and tried to hit the rock, in full confidence that the sword would break or bounce off it, but the steel weapon went into the stone like melted butter. Only a small part of the sword, together with the hilt, remained sticking out of the rock. From the outside, this composition was very much like a cross standing on a stone. Not daring to contradict the higher powers any longer, the knight settled in solitude and subsequently performed many miracles.and tried to prove the impossibility of completing the task. The knight swung his sword and tried to hit the rock, in full confidence that the sword would break or bounce off it, but the steel weapon went into the stone like melted butter. Only a small part of the sword, together with the hilt, remained sticking out of the rock. From the outside, this composition was very much like a cross standing on a stone. Not daring to contradict the higher powers any longer, the knight settled in solitude and subsequently performed many miracles.and tried to prove the impossibility of completing the task. The knight swung his sword and tried to hit the rock, in full confidence that the sword would break or bounce off it, but the steel weapon went into the stone like melted butter. Only a small part of the sword, together with the hilt, remained sticking out of the rock. From the outside, this composition was very much like a cross standing on a stone. Not daring to contradict the higher powers any longer, the knight settled in solitude and subsequently performed many miracles. Not daring to contradict the higher powers any longer, the knight settled in solitude and subsequently performed many miracles. Not daring to contradict the higher powers any longer, the knight settled in solitude and subsequently performed many miracles.
Galgano's sword is still stuck into the stone, but so far no daredevil has been found to, like Arthur, pull out the weapon of the valiant knight from the stone. According to legend, whoever touches the relic will dry up his hands.
Inexplicable but the fact
Many researchers from different countries are studying the mysterious sword. In 2001, scientists managed to establish the date of manufacture of the weapon. Imagine their surprise when the research results showed that the sword was made … in the XII century. Now, despite all attempts to declare the relic a fake, fabricated using new technologies, skeptics will have to admit that the age of the sword in stone is nine centuries.
Source: Magazine "Secrets of the XX century" № 34. Olga Ermakova