In Arthurian romance, a number of explanations are given for Arthur's possession of Excalibur. In
Robert de Boron's
Merlin, the first tale to mention the "sword in the stone" motif, Arthur obtained the British throne by pulling a sword from an anvil sitting atop a stone that appeared in a churchyard on Christmas Eve.
[13][note 1] In this account, as foretold by
Merlin, the act could not be performed except by "the true king," meaning the divinely appointed king or true heir of
Uther Pendragon. As Malory writes: "
Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born."
[14][note 2] The identity of this sword as Excalibur is made explicit in the later Prose
Merlin, part of the
Lancelot-Grail cycle (the Vulgate Cycle).
[15]
However, in the most famous English-language version of the Arthurian tales, Malory's 15th-century
Le Morte d'Arthur, early in his reign Arthur breaks the Sword from the Stone while in combat against King
Pellinore, and is given Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake in exchange for a later boon. Similarly, in the
Post-Vulgate Cycle, Excalibur was given to Arthur by the
Lady of the Lake sometime after he began to reign. In the
Vulgate Mort Artu, Arthur is at the brink of death and so orders
Griflet to throw the sword into the enchanted lake; after two failed attempts (as he felt such a great sword should not be thrown away), Griflet finally complies with the wounded king's request and a hand emerges from the lake to catch it. This tale becomes attached to
Bedivere instead of Griflet in Malory and the English tradition.
[16] Malory records both versions of the legend in his
Le Morte d'Arthur, naming both swords as Excalibur
