I have a feeling that many legends could actually be literal. In modern times many of us have closed our minds to the prospect of magic. The more I learn the more I believe that anything is possible.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” Arthur C Clarke”
I know that they say King Arthur and Merlin were not real rather an archetype. There was potentially a warrior who fought against the Saxons in the 5th or 6th century, who it could have been? Also his adventures could have been an amalgamation of a few people. Much like with Christianity, it is thought that Jesus wasn’t born and did not die on the dates we celebrate but rather they were ancient religious holy days that got interwoven into the Christian faith.
The Legend of King Arthur
The legend of King Arthur tells of a young man who was the bastard son of Uther, born of magic as Uther had a thing for the Duke of Tintagel’s wife Ygraine. The Duke rather liked his own wife and denied Uther access to her, there was even a battle to retrieve her to no avail.
Uther asked Merlin to shape shift him to look like the Duke of Tinagel . Uther snuck into their castle and spent a passionate night with her disguised as The Duke, her husband. The deal was that any child born of this union was to be given to Merlin. Shortly after the Duke was killed in battle, Uther then took Tintagel and Ygraine as his wife. A baby was born who they called Arthur, they reluctantly gave Arthur to Merlin. Merlin gave Arthur to Sir Ector to raise but he was thought to be a bastard (which he was) so he was looked down upon and teased. Shortly after Uther Pendragon fell ill and died, there was chaos throughout the land as no-one knew he had a son and everyone wanted the throne. Merlin was asked to help out, so embedded an enchanted sword into a stone with the inscription:
‘Whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone, is the right wise King born of all England’
For years many tried to remove the sword as England fell into greater and greater ruin, no one was able to budge it. Merlin befriended Arthur, tutored him. He explained that knowledge was a greater power than force. When Merlin was convinced that Arthur was wise and ready to rule at the ripe old age of 15, he assembled a crowd to the sword in the stone. Sir Ector’s son went first, but the sword remained firmly lodged. Then came Arthur’s turn, the sword was easily freed and Arthur was crowned king of England, or so the legend goes.
So swords in stones, is that even possible? It sounds implausible I know. This is where we need to get into quantum physics, really the magic of science where much of the weird and wonderful stuff happens.
To find out how this could be possible please read next weeks blog!
Love and peace
Antonia