“The Sword and the Stone” is written by Le Morte Darthur, Sir Thomas Malory. It is set in London, at Saint Paul in the 6th century. Here the Archbishops have summoned the nobility to prove their right of succession to the throne. The true air being whosoever pulls the sword from the stone.
The story revolves around King Arthur and his ascent to becoming the king of Britain. The story tells of how Arthur removes the sword from the stone, despite the attempts of the nobles.
Arthur, Sir Ector, along with Sir Kay, rode to the tournament, to discover that Sir Kay had forgotten his sword. Arthur sent to retrieve it; could not do so. Arthur then took the sword from the stone which was unguarded. Upon discovering that Arthur had removed the sword, Sir Kay gave the sword to Sir Ector.
The three rode to the church yard where Sir Kay admitted that Arthur had given the sword to him. Arthur then proved himself once again, by removing the sword a second time. Sir Ector then confessed to Arthur that his true father was King Uther.
The nobles would not accept that Arthur was the true king, but the commoners accepted him as king, and the nobles could no longer deny it. Arthur declared that he would rule justly, and the nobles swore him their allegiance.
I think the story of “The Sword and the Stone,” is a classic tale of chivalry. Its strengths lie in the characters of Arthur, and the responsibility of being king, which was cast upon him. I think the weakness of the story came from the nobles themselves. Their inability to believe that only noble blood could achieve greatness is contrary to our government today. I would recommend it to others because of its historical value.
