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Arthur Pendragon, ruler of the Britons, was said to have drawn this legendary sword from a stone and anvil when no one else could — at least in most tellings of the legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s work is the most well-known source from which modern retellings of the Arthurian tales stem. Other versions of the story portray Excalibur as a gift from the Lady of the Lake and the sword in the stone as another weapon entirely.
The Volsunga Saga of Icelandic lore tells of a warrior named Sigmund. At his sister Signy’s wedding, Odin appeared as he was wont to do and thrust a sword, Gramr, into a tree. He declared that anyone who could remove the blade would find no better weapon in all his days. All the guests tried and failed to remove the sword, all save Sigmund. The king wished for the sword, but Sigmund refused to part with it because it was a gift from Odin.
This legendary sword, given to the Prophet Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel, passed to Ali ibn-Abi Tahib, the Prophet’s first cousin/successor according to Shia Islam. Ali had struck both the helmet and shield of Talhah ibn Abi Talhah al-Abdari, the best warrior from Mecca during the Battle of Uhud, breaking his own weapon in the process.
This legendary sword features prominently in the stories of the legendary warrior Roland. This military general was in service of the Frankish/Lombard ruler Charlemagne (r. 768 – 814 CE) His most notable excursion was the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778.
This Greek weapon had several wielders: Kronos, Zeus, and Perseus. It was a short, curved blade with a sickle-like protrusion, originally used by Kronos to kill his father Ouranos for his cruelty, at the behest of Gaea.
This sword was used by the Shinto kami of storms, Susano-o, when killing the serpent Yamata-no-Orochi. The most common variant of the story appears in the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters). Susano-o was always envious of his elder sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu. In a fit of pique one day, he flayed a horse and threw its body into a weaving loom before excreting on the floor of the palace.
This legendary sword is part of the three imperial regalia of Japan, along with the Yata-no-Kagami (mirror) and the Yasakani-no-Magatama (jewel). As discussed above, this sword was a gift from Susano-o to Amaterasu. She passed it, along with the sacred mirror and jewel, to her grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto.
Unlike most of the other swords we’ve discussed here, Asi is purely from the realm of myth. Its story is detailed in the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata from ancient India. Before humanity was created, the universe was in chaos — a common theme in many ancient myths. The gods, or deva, were in a struggle against the demons, or asura.