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King Arthur’s Sword, Excalibur
Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur’s lineage) are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was associated with the Arthurian legend very early; in Welsh, the sword was called Caledfwlch. link
Wallace’s Sword
The Wallace Sword is an antique claymore purported to have belonged to William Wallace (1272 – 1305), a knight and Scottish patriot who led a resistance to the English occupation of Scotland during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
The sword is huge. It’s 1.63m long and weighs almost three kilos. It’s designed to be used two-handed, but even so, Wallace would have had to be around six feet seven inches to use it. In 13th century Scotland, the average man was just five feet tall so either Wallace was a giant or the sword wasn’t really his.
The earliest record of a Wallace Sword dates from 1505 – when Wallace had been dead for 200 years. The records of King James IV show that he paid for a new hilt and other fittings to be fitted to the sword. It was moved from Dumbarton Castle to the Wallace Monument in 1888. More recently, it was taken to New York as the centrepiece of the 2005 Tartan Day celebrations. link
Stars Wars Lightsaber
Designed as much for elegance in combat as for ceremony, the lightsaber, also referred to as the “laser sword”by those who were unfilmiliar with it, was a distinctive weapon, the very image of which was inextricably bound with the mythos of the Jedi Order and their polar opposites, the Sith. The lightsaber also became synonymous with the Jedi Order’s values to uphold peace and justice throughout the galaxy. This perception endured, despite the many conflicts with lightsaber-wielding Sith and Dark Jedi.
The weapon consisted of a blade of pure plasma energy emitted from the hilt and suspended in a force containment field. The field contained the immense heat of the plasma, protecting the wielder, and allowed the blade to keep its shape.
The hilt was almost always self-fabricated by the wielder to match his or her specific needs, preferences and style. Due to the weightlessness of plasma and the strong gyroscopic effect generated by it, lightsabers required a great deal of strength and dexterity to wield, and was extremely difficult—and dangerous—for the untrained to attempt using. However, in the hands of an expert of the Force, the lightsaber was a weapon to be greatly respected and feared. To wield a lightsaber was to demonstrate incredible skill and confidence, as well as masterful dexterity and attunement to the Force. link
Sword of Damocles
Some of you have asked “What is the Sword of Damocles?” Here is an explanation of the story of the sword and the relevant passage from Cicero.
Dionysius (II) was a fourth century B.C. tyrant of Syracuse, a city in Magna Graecia, the Greek area of southern Italy. To all appearances Dionysius was very rich and comfortable, with all the luxuries money could buy, tasteful clothing and jewelry, and delectable food. He even had court flatterers (adsentatores) to inflate his ego. One of these ingratiators was the court sycophant, Damocles. Damocles used to make comments to the king about his wealth and luxurious life. One day when Damocles complimented the tyrant on his abundance and power, Dionysius turned to Damocles and said, “If you think I’m so lucky, how would you like to try out my life?”
Damocles readily agreed, and so Dionysius ordered everything to be prepared for Damocles to experience what life as Dionysius was like. Damocles was enjoying himself immensely… until he noticed a sharp sword hovering over his head, that was suspended from the ceiling by a horse hair. This, the tyrant explained to Damocles, was what life as ruler was really like.
Damocles, alarmed, quickly revised his idea of what made up a good life, and asked to be excused. He then eagerly returned to his poorer, but safer life. link
Sword of Elendil / Narsil sword from the Lord of the Rings
Narsil Sword, the ancient sword of the King Elendil. It was the Narsil sword that severed the ring of power from the hand of Sauron. Engraved on the pommel are runes in the Elven language of Sindarin that say: Narsil is my name, a mighty sword; Telchar made me in Nogrod.
Narsil is perhaps the most famous sword in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. At the end of the second age of Middle-earth, Narsil’s blade was shattered as Elendil fell during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men in the great battle of Sauron. Isuldur, Elendil’s son, then used the broken hilt of Narsil to cut the One Ring from Sauron’s finger, breaking the bonds of his power, banishing his evil shadow into the darkness. link
Godric Gryffindor’s Sword
The Sword of Gryffindor was a goblin-made sword that was owned by the famed wizard Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was a masterpiece made by the goblins, with a silver blade and a handle with egg-sized rubies gleaming upon it. The name Godric Gryffindor was engraved just below the hilt.
The Sword and the Sorting Hat (both belonged to Gryffindor) are the only known relics of the four founders of Hogwarts not turned into a Horcrux. It was later used as one of the means to destroy Lord Voldemort’s Horcruxes by Harry Potter and his friends.link
Kill Bill Sword – Hanzo Sword
kingofswords.com, sells a replica of the Hattori Hanzo sword in the Kill Bill 1 & 2 movie.Used by Uma in Kill Bill to avenge her “death”!! The Scabbard is engraved with three leaves as seen in the movie and wrapped with a cast metal collar and pommel. A Hattori Hanzo Lion symbol is engraved carefully on the blade. link
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