Storytelling for Week 12: The Drawing of the Sword

The Drawing of the Sword

Long ago, after King Uther Pendragon died, an age of darkness filled England. People were starving, criminals were left unpunished, and there was no end in sight for there was no ruler. Then, one day a giant stone with a sword inside appeared outside of the Great Church in London. Etched on the sword was "The one who pulls out this sword shall be the new king of England." People went crazy over this, resulting in a tournament to see who could remove the sword.

Arthur, a young boy was the foster son of Sir Ector and foster brother of Kay. It was the day of Kay's knighting and Arthur had forgotten his sword. Feeling horrible, he rode home to fetch his sword. On his way, he ran into an odd looking tree that was very large and had a door on it. His curiosity led him to knock on the door to see who lived there. An old man opens the door and says hello, followed by asking what the boy wanted. Arthur explains that he was fascinated by the tree and had to meet the interesting person who lived inside. "Well thank you, my name is Merlin," the old man said. Arthur was shocked, as he has only heard stories of him. Merlin liked Arthur's enthusiasm so much that he vowed to be his mentor. Merlin sensed that this boy was special.

After meeting Merlin, he rushed off to get Kay's sword. A half of an hour later, Arthur returned with his sword and told Kay that he met Merlin and that he would be his mentor. Kay refused to believe him and told him he was stupid. The tournament to remove the sword was the next day so they went to bed early to get some rest. 

The tournament was packed. People from all over England came to try to pull out this sword. Arthur never thought he had a chance to pull the sword out, but decided to try anyways. The day went on and no one could pull out the sword, not even the biggest and strongest of knights. After Sir Ector and Kay failed to remove the sword, Arthur got his shot. He walked up to the sword and pulled as hard as he could thinking that it would require a lot of force. The sword came out of the stone as if the stone was a sheath to the sword, sending Arthur falling to the ground. All of London was in attendance and was in shock. Arthur was crowned King of England that very day. He would go on to have many adventures with Merlin and become the best king of all time.

(The Sword in the Stone)

Author's Note

My version of the story is very similar to the original version. The biggest difference in my story was that he met Merlin on his way to fetch Kay's sword. In the original, the sword said that whoever pulled out the sword was the King by birthright, meaning that they were a child of King Uther Pendragon. Arthur was given to Sir Ector by Merlin when he was a child, and Merlin told him that you would know who his father is when the time comes. The time came when Arthur removed the sword, and he realized that he was the son of King Uther Pendragon. I decided to have Arthur remove the sword in front of a huge crowd for the first time, rather than having him pull it out without anyone looking at first and having to prove to everyone that he really did it. I tried to make it similar to the movie. I chose the picture from the Sword in the Stone movie because that was how I pictured Arthur. Just ignore the fact that the sword was in an anvil instead of a stone.

Bibliography

Title: The Drawing of the Sword

Author: Andrew Lang

Year: 1902

Reading Diary A: King Arthur Pt. 1

King Arthur

The Drawing of the Sword

This was the first story and arguably the most important because the events that occur led to the coronation of Arthur. After the passing of King Uther Pendragon, Britain was left with no ruler and laws were being broken left and right with no consequence. One day appeared a sword in a stone with the words, "Whoso pulleth out this sword is by right of birth King of England," engraved on the blade. Every knight tried, but they all failed. Arthur was the foster son of Sir Ector and foster brother of Sir Kay. Merlin gave him to Sir Ector when Arthur was a child and told him that he would know who his father was when the time came. It turns out that Arthur's father was King Uther Pendragon and is why Arthur could pull out the sword. I like to think that it was Arthur's selfless act of wanting to get the sword for his foster brother, Sir Kay, which led to him being able to pull out the sword. Every knight wanted the sword for himself so that they could become King, however, Arthur just wanted to get it for Sir Kay because he was unable to retrieve his other sword. 

The Sword Excalibur

King Arthur is extremely lucky to have Merlin as such a close friend. Nearly dying in battle, he lost his sword and would need another. Merlin then led King Arthur to a lake that had a sword being held up by the Lady of the Lake's arm. His good fortune continues and he gets Excalibur. I thought it was interesting how Merlin asked him, which he liked best, the sword or the scabbard. He was going to have both regardless, but asked it anyways. Merlin disagreed when King Arthur answered the sword, saying that it is worth ten swords because it protects him. I tend to agree with him except for the fact that it is Excalibur. 

The Round Table

(King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, by Evrard d'Espinques)

The Round Table is iconic and is one of the first things I think of when I think about the stories of King Arthur. I enjoyed this story much like the others and it shows how gracious and genuine Arthur is. He also seems to be very emotional not only in this story, but the others as well. I think the people love him most for his emotion and sincere statements, such as when he stuck by his word that he would give any man the gift he should ask for, and made young Tor a Knight of the Round Table. A round table is a great way to encourage discussion because everyone can see each other and there are no ends. This makes King Arthur even more likable because he treats everyone as if they are the same level as him.