The Once and Future King

Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, is intimately associated with the legend as both a weapon and a symbol. It is a totem validating Arthur’s legitimacy as king—only the rightful heir to the throne can pull Excalibur from the stone—and a powerful tool in his quest to overthrow the old order. Although White doesn’t dwell on the specifics of Excalibur, the narrative suggests it has certain magical properties, such as giving its bearer a decisive advantage in battle. Wielding Excalibur, Arthur and his knights defeat armies three times their size. It symbolizes Arthur’s new order: his (flawed) strategy to reconcile Might Versus Right by using force to institutionalize peace. As a broadsword, Excalibur also epitomizes the age of chivalry as popularly conceptualized: Knights do not carry rapiers or cutlasses but the more powerful broadsword, a symbol of strength and justice as they embark on their mythic quests.

The Holy Grail—the cup (in earlier versions, a platter) used by Christ at the Last Supper—has achieved mythic status as the ultimate quest undertaken by Arthur’s knights. In White’s retelling, when Arthur sends his knights in search of it, his reasons are twofold: to give purpose to their restless energy and to instill a fresh dose of religious virtue into his Round Table.