Excalibur Sword

Excalibur Sword Ornament

s I was considering different subjects that would capture the interests of little boys, I decided to research iconic medieval characters. Thus, I discovered the character richness of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Certainly, these characters would, for sure, appeal to boys, and girls too. Indeed, an era where princesses, and knights with magic swords ruled the world was the perfect theme for my ornaments. Hence, I chose to embark on a special journey to the medieval ages. Therefore, much research went into the design of these ornaments. Consequently, I incorporated lots of details that make these ornaments extraordinarily memorable. And so, this Excalibur Sword ornament came about. Pair this ornament with others in this King Arthur’s ornaments collection, like King Arthur, Sir Lancelot and The Sword in the Stone!

Excalibur Sword Ornament Design Process

Excalibur is one of the most legendary swords of all times. Quite possibly, more legendary than Narsil, the sword of King Elendil of the Dúnedain (Tolkien, J R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of the Lord of the Rings. , 2020. Print. ). Or even Anduril, the sword reforged from Narsil. Or even more the Lightsaber from Star Wars. It was clear that Excalibur was as important as any of the other main characters of the Arthurian legends so I decided to add the Excalibur Sword ornament to complete the legend of King Arthur’s collection.

The Legend of the Sword

King Arthur’s kingship is revealed when Arthur pulls the enchanted sword in the stone, and this sword becomes King Arthur’s sword. Unfortunately, King Arthur breaks his sword during the battle against King Pellinore. Moreover, King Pellinore gravely wounds King Arthur. While recovering, Arthur wants to “battle with him once more” (Pyle). Thus, fearing a deathly wound, Merlin tells Arthur about a magical sword named Excalibur. So, Arthur and Merlin set off to find Excalibur.

After travelling through the forest, they enter the faerie realm. And reach the margins of a silvery lake and Arthur is bewildered by the scene in front of him. Undoubtedly, a “fair and beautiful arm, as of a woman, clad in all white” rises above the waters. The Lady of the Lake appears to King Arthur and offers him a magical boat. Drifting towards the sword, Arthur takes it and heads back to shore.

The Arthurian Legend tells us that Excalibur was unbreakable. And that its scabbard protected King Arthur from harm on the battle ground. Also, the legend says that Lady Morgana Le Fay, replaces the scabbard with a fake one. And throws the magic scabbard back into the lake where it had come from. Years later, men of the kingdom of Rheged fatally wound King Arthur in the Battle of Camlann because he was not wearing the magic sheath.

The Design

The image of the Lady of the Lake’s arm rising from the lake’s waters was vivid in my mind. So I wanted to capture this precise moment in my ornament. Therefore, I used arms of old dolls for the arm of the fae. And clothed the arm on a white and gold fabric based on Howard Pyle’s book (Pyle, Howard. The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. , 2016. Print.). I added some bracelets as depicted in Pyle’s illustrations. Moreover, Pyle describes Excalibur as being “beset with jewels of several sorts.” So, I added plastic jewels to the sword and embroidered the scabbard with sequins and glass beads. Next, I set the arm with the sword on a blue circle that represents the lake. Finally, I added polished stones, lily pads and glitter to symbolize the enchantment of the moment.

Specifications

Year Designed

2018

Size

Actual size may vary, approximately 3.5” x 3.5” x 5.0”

Materials

Fabric, cardboard, ribbons, jewelry links, silk flowers, beads, plastic gemstones, leather, doll parts, glitter, stones.

Note: Given the handmade nature of the ornament, all ornaments are different. The pictures depict just one sample of the ornament.