Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur the historic 6th Century King of England.  According to a mixture of legend and  medieval history, King Arthur led the defence of the realm of Britain against the Saxon invaders with his trusty sword.

The story of Arthur's battle against these invaders is based mainly on folklore rather than solid foundation historical records and consequently the actual existence of Arthur is debated and disputed by today's historians.

The earliest Arthurian stories give the name of King Arthur's sword as Caladfwlch, a Welsh word derived from Calad-Bolg meaning " Hard Lightning ".  Whereas in Geoffrey and Monmouth's The History of the Kings of Britain, King Arthur gets a sword called " Caliburn " which was made on the Isle of Avalon and finally the version with French overtones Excalibur that we know today.

King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, is almost as legendary as the King himself,  Excalibur was supposedly attributed with magical and mystical powers.  Arthur's sovereignty of Great Britain was apparently affirmed when he pulled a sword from a stone or anvil as set by the wizard Merlin.  This sword was not Excalibur, but an inferior one that later broke during battle.

Excalibur was acquired by Arthur after Merlin got concerned that Arthur would be killed in battle, so he took the King to a magical lake where a mysterious hand thrust itself up holding the legendary sword. It was the Lady of the Lake who was actually offering the sword to Arthur, a magical and unbreakable sword that was supposedly created by an Avalonian Elf.  The scabbard that the sword was offered with was supposed to protect Arthur as long as he wore it.

Towards the end of Arthur's reign, which was during the troubled times of Medrod's rebellion, Excalibur was stolen by Arthur's wicked half sister, Morgan le Fay.  It was recovered, but the scabbard was lost thought to have been thrown into a lake by Le Fay.  Thus Arthur later became mortally wounded at the Battle of Camlann.  The King then instructed Bedwyr to return Excalibur to the lake from whence it came.

However, when  questioned about the circumstances of its return, Bedwyr claimed that nothing unusual happened.  Arthur therefore knew that Bedwyr had kept Excalibur for himself, so he sent him back to the Lake once more.  Hurling the sword into the quiet, misty waters this time, Bedwyr saw the mystic hand appear to catch Excalibur and draw it beneath the rippling waters , to be gone for ever more.