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There is no anvil in Athurian myth, nor were there any anvils in Medeval period.

You may be thinking of the Stone. King Arthur extracted the sword from the stone to prove he was the true king of England.

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Q: Why does King Arthur take the sword from the Anvil?
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What does Excalibur symbolizes?

Arthur's sword, symbol of divine kingship, is as much a character in the legend as any human or supernatural being. Excalibur is a symbol of the responsibility of power. In Tennyson's Idylls of the King, one side of Arthur's sword is engraved " in the oldest tongue of all this world,/ 'Take me, but turn the blade and ye shall see,/And written in the speech ye speak yourself,/'Cast me away!'" Tennyson describes Arthur's face as sad as he receives the sword, though Merlin counsels, "'Take thou and strike! the time to cast away/Is yet far-off.'" From the very words etched on the sword, we immediately see the cyclical nature of kingship. "Take me" becomes a call-to-arms for Arthur. By grasping the sword, Arthur accepts responsibility that leadership entails, his sadness an acknowledgement that his power will inevitably wane. According to legend, Arthur also possessed a lance, Ron, and a shield, Pridwen, on the back of which was painted a portrait of the Virgin Mary. The origins of the sword date back to Celtic mythology, but are found in British, Welsh, and Irish epics. The Welsh name for the sword was Caledvwlch. Irish stories call it Caladbolg, the fairy sword of the hero Cuchulain. In various British Arthur stories, Excalibur is often referred to as "Caliburn." Loomis comments the "ex-" or "es-" prefix that was later added was a "peculiar tendency" of the time period (424). There are two explanations of the way in which Arthur acquires Excalibur. Contemporary story-tellers are fond of "the sword in the stone" narrative in which young Arthur pulls the magical sword from a rock and anvil bearing this inscription: "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is likewise King of all England." This is, for example, the main dramatic action in Disney's Sword in the Stone. Arthur's ability to pull the sword from the stone proves his worthiness as King. A second version describes Arthur and Merlin riding to a lake. Here they "see an arm clothed in white samite, rising from the water and holding a sword. Presently a damsel rides rapidly toward them, and at Merlin's bidding dismounts and walks with dry feet over the water. She takes the sword, the arm vanishes,and the damsel brings the coveted weapon back to Arthur. " Here we see the commingling of Christian and pagan motifs, the Christ-like walking on water with the fairy quality of Excalibur and the mythic making of a King. This version of the story is spoofed in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) when the peasant Dennis, working on a Marxist commune, meets King Arthur. His companion, a warty old woman, asks Arthur how he came to be king, and Arthur, looking skyward, says he received kingship through the supernatural sanction of "the Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in shining samite" who lifted Excalibur "aloft from the bosom of the lake" to bestow it upon him, this description setting up Dennis's rejoinder: "Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. You can't expect to wield supreme power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"


Where does King Arthur take place?

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Why did Merlin take King Arthur from king uther?

Arthur was the son of Uther and Ygraine - but Ygraine was NOT Uther's wife when Arthur was conceived. Had Uther and Ygraine had other legitimately conceived children, Aurthr would have been .... "inconvenient", and a potential threat to Uther's other sons. For Arthur's own safety, Merlin took the infant Arthur away to be raised separately. One more point; there is only ONE KING AT A TIME. If Uther was King, then Arthur could not be - and Arthur could not be King while Uther lived.


What task does Theseus' mother give him?

When Theseus' mother tells him that his real father is King Aegeus, she tells him he must take the sword and sandals that King Aegeus had buried for him back to the king and claim his birthright.


What did the king ask dinoysus to take back?

King Midas asked Dionysus to take back his "gift" which caused everything Midas touched to turn to gold.

Related questions

What best identifies the symbolism of the Sword in King Aurthur.?

Loyalty best identifies the symbolism of the sword in "King Arthur". The only person who can take the sword out of the stone is the person who first shows loyalty to the thrown.


What did King Arthur do everyday?

Every day, King Arthur would take lessons from Merlyn. He would also try to remove the sword from the stone, until he finally succeeded.


What is the inscription on Excalibur?

The inscription on Excalibur, King Arthur's legendary sword, is usually depicted as "Take me up, cast me away" or "Take me up, cast me away on earth." The exact wording may vary depending on the version of the legend.


What event allowed Arthur to become king in Camelot?

The Sword in the Stone. After Arthur's father died (Uther Pendgraon), it was naturally assumed that Arthur would take the throne. But there was uproar from the kingdom as other knights felt that they were far worthier to be king than Arthur. So, Merlin took Uther's sword (not Excalibur), and magically fixed it inside a stone and inscribed on the stone that whoever is able to pull the sword out of the stone, then they would be the rightful king of Camelot and assume the position. Plenty of men tried their luck, but none of them managed to succeed. Arthur pulling the sword out of the stone was actually a big coincidence. He was to help someone or enter himself, in a fighting tournament and he (or the other person) had forgotten their sword. (I think the person was Arthur's brother. I don't know. A little hazy.) Arthur spotted the sword in the stone and thought that was weird but didn't think much of it. He pulled it out with no effort and ran back to the tournament. And that is how Arthur became the king of Camelot.


What was Excalibur the sword modeled after?

king arthur had a magic sword named excalibur, but i do not think that it is illegal because i own four swords of my own. I do know you cannot take it with you in public or across state borders on your own.


What does the true king of England have to do to prove himself in the crowning of Arthur?

He had to pull the sword from the stone, then Arthur had to keep doing it again and again to proves to other leaders that he was the King.


What does Excalibur symbolizes?

Arthur's sword, symbol of divine kingship, is as much a character in the legend as any human or supernatural being. Excalibur is a symbol of the responsibility of power. In Tennyson's Idylls of the King, one side of Arthur's sword is engraved " in the oldest tongue of all this world,/ 'Take me, but turn the blade and ye shall see,/And written in the speech ye speak yourself,/'Cast me away!'" Tennyson describes Arthur's face as sad as he receives the sword, though Merlin counsels, "'Take thou and strike! the time to cast away/Is yet far-off.'" From the very words etched on the sword, we immediately see the cyclical nature of kingship. "Take me" becomes a call-to-arms for Arthur. By grasping the sword, Arthur accepts responsibility that leadership entails, his sadness an acknowledgement that his power will inevitably wane. According to legend, Arthur also possessed a lance, Ron, and a shield, Pridwen, on the back of which was painted a portrait of the Virgin Mary. The origins of the sword date back to Celtic mythology, but are found in British, Welsh, and Irish epics. The Welsh name for the sword was Caledvwlch. Irish stories call it Caladbolg, the fairy sword of the hero Cuchulain. In various British Arthur stories, Excalibur is often referred to as "Caliburn." Loomis comments the "ex-" or "es-" prefix that was later added was a "peculiar tendency" of the time period (424). There are two explanations of the way in which Arthur acquires Excalibur. Contemporary story-tellers are fond of "the sword in the stone" narrative in which young Arthur pulls the magical sword from a rock and anvil bearing this inscription: "Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is likewise King of all England." This is, for example, the main dramatic action in Disney's Sword in the Stone. Arthur's ability to pull the sword from the stone proves his worthiness as King. A second version describes Arthur and Merlin riding to a lake. Here they "see an arm clothed in white samite, rising from the water and holding a sword. Presently a damsel rides rapidly toward them, and at Merlin's bidding dismounts and walks with dry feet over the water. She takes the sword, the arm vanishes,and the damsel brings the coveted weapon back to Arthur. " Here we see the commingling of Christian and pagan motifs, the Christ-like walking on water with the fairy quality of Excalibur and the mythic making of a King. This version of the story is spoofed in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) when the peasant Dennis, working on a Marxist commune, meets King Arthur. His companion, a warty old woman, asks Arthur how he came to be king, and Arthur, looking skyward, says he received kingship through the supernatural sanction of "the Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in shining samite" who lifted Excalibur "aloft from the bosom of the lake" to bestow it upon him, this description setting up Dennis's rejoinder: "Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. You can't expect to wield supreme power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"


Why does the wart attempt to pull the sword from the stone?

In the Disney animated movie The Sword in Stone, Arthur, nicknamed Wart by Merlin, is accompanying Kaye to a joust as his squire. Wart forgets Kaye's sword and is headed back to fetch it when he comes across a sword embedded in stone. Wanting to get back to the tournament as soon as possible he decides to pull the sword from the stone and take it back to Kaye. What Wart didn't realize was that this sword was placed in the stone to be pulled from the stone only by the "rightwise born King of England." Others had tried but not been able to remove the sword. Wart easily pulls the sword from the stone and is acknowledge by everyone as Arthur, King of England.


Why did King Arthur mark the history?

King Arthur is a character from a legend called the Sword in the Stone. The legend goes something like this: The King asked Merlin to go take his son someplace safe, because there was some sort of curse on the family, and he thought he was going to die soon. He didn't want his son, currently an infant, to be harmed, so Merlin took him to a poor country side family, and put a sword in a stone with words carved into the sides. I can't remember the exact words, but it proclaimed that whoever draws the sword from the stone was to be the new king. There was a ceremony on New Year's Eve every year where they would hold a jousting contest. If you won the jousting contest, then you would try to pull the sword from the stone. For many years, they found nothing, and Arthur grew up with a family that disliked him, and was frequently harsh on him. One year, Arthur's older brother was entering the competition, and stayed at a nearby inn. When they got there, the brother had forgotten his sword, so they had Arthur go fetch it. Arthur ran to the inn, which he found locked because of the ceremony-the innkeeper went to the ceremony like everyone else-and panicked. Arthur saw another sword protruding from a stone. He easily pulled the sword out of the stone, and ran back to give it to his brother. His family questioned where he got it, and Arthur told them about the locked inn and the sword in the stone, and the entire village ran back to the stone, where they replaced the sword, and had the older brother try, to no prevail. Arthur tried again, and is slid out of the stone easier than one would think a sword coming out of a stone would be. Merlin proclaimed him king, and everyone lived happily ever after. So really, King Arthur didn't mark history, because he was a character from a legend, but if he were real, he would've been marked for a fair king and being able to pull the sword out of the stone.


How is Kay in the sword in the stone described?

He is described as a young knight who is quite selfish putting the sword under his pretense for he did not actually take out the sword - Squire Arthur did


What is the setting for the sword in the stone?

Disney's The Sword in the Stone is set in England during the Middle Ages at the home of Sir Ector. Arthur has been sent to live with them so that he can become a squire for Ector's son, Kaye. During a hunt with Kaye, Arthur falls through the ceiling of a cottage in the woods to land at Merlin's table. The wizard decides to take on the education of Arthur that he now nicknames "Wart". The movie takes place in the castle of Sir Ector and the surrounding lands as Merlin instructs Wart. The story reaches a climax when Wart attends a joust with Kaye as his squire and forgets the sword. Stumbling across a sword in stone, he pulls it out planning to take it to Kaye. What he didn't know was that he has pulled the sword that only the "rightwise born King of England" could pull this sword from this stone. King Arthur is anointed and the young Wart and his wizard Merlin begin their time in Camelot.


Where does King Arthur take place?

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