Swords are interesting things. You can learn a lot about a culture by examining its swords.

  • The Celtic legendary sword Caladbolg was supposed to be able to cut a hill in half. This is rather illuminating of Celtic mythology. Their legends have a tendency to be exaggerated to the point of being almost comic. One Celtic legend speaks of a hero whose sword was so huge that when he drew his sword and crossed a river, his massive scabbard filled with water and he drowned.
  • In contrast, the Japanese have a story about their most legendary swordsmith Masamune. It’s said if one of his swords were placed in a stream and a leaf floated down, the leaf would stray away from the blade it was headed towards. This reflects the true nature of the sword: not to destroy but to preserve life. The Japanese like to use poetic imagery like that to illustrate their values.
  • The most famous sword in English legend is obviously Excalibur. One of the most revealing aspects about Excalibur is that it could only be wielded by the true King. The one who took Excalibur would be the one who was ordained by God to be the ruler of England. Their tale about the sword reflects their preoccupation with divine right to rule. Reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth or Julius Caesar as well as studying the history of England’s monarchs makes it clear that they put a great deal of thought into the divine right of kings to rule.
  • American mythology doesn’t have any notable swords to my knowledge. American mythology is relatively lame.

Buster Sword

All that to say, swords are cool, and not just because they cut things.