Since we were children, our parents have enthralled us with mythical fairy tales and stories full of dragons and fearless knights. Their deeds thrilled us, and we longed to be in those distant lands, where the princesses had to do nothing but fall asleep to find true love. One of the most famous legends is certainly that of the famous one Excalibur! Well, the story we are about to tell you is set in Tuscany, where it seems there is a real ...the sword in the Stone!
The sword in the stone exists, and is found in Italy
Although it concerns a significant episode in the Arthurian cycle, the story of the sword in the stone is closer to us than we can imagine. According to the literary tale, this blade with magical powers had been driven into a rock, and extracted precisely by King Arthur himself. Beyond the imaginative narratives that hover over this peculiar weapon, it should be remembered that in Italy, more precisely in Toscana, there is a real sword in the stone. Don't believe it? Well, suffice it to say that the interesting story took place a long time ago in the municipality of Chiusdino, in that of Siena. The Cistercian abbey of San Galgano, an evocative place of worship, was built around 1185 by the will of the then bishop of Volterra Ugo Saladini. The structure was erected after the death of the saint, whose life was quite controversial.
The hagiographic sources of San Galgano contain various information. His conversion was the result of a long life of debauchery and unbridled passions. By now tired of earthly pleasures, San Galgano realized that the life he had led had not made him happy, much less serene and satisfied. The crucial moment of his consecration to God was the day of Christmas of 1180, when Galgano headed towards the Montesiepi hill, and there he stuck his knight's sword. That weapon, symbol of the renunciation of his past life, became a cross, the effigy of a renewed charitable and Christian spirit. In the chapel of Montesiepi, nicknamed roundabout due to its circular shape, there is still an ancient rock, with an iron sword inside. The mystery is definitely deepening ...
Truth or legend? the documentation speaks for itself
There is no doubt about the existence of San Galgano. He is a person who really existed, and was born in 1148 in Chiusdino and died in 1181, according to sources. In the work Vita Sancti Galgani de Senis, the author also reveals that the saint was somehow linked to the hermitage of Saint William of Malavalle, in the province of Grosseto. This circumstance would therefore see San Galgano similar to the figure of San Guglielmo, since both were valiant knights, and both abandoned their weapons to devote themselves to the hermit's life. According to ancient popular rumors, San Guglielmo is actually William X of Aquitaine, Eleonora's father. He was also at the queen's court Chrétien de Troyes, author de Le Roman de Perceval ou le count du Graal, where the Holy Grail and the stories of the Breton cycle are mentioned for the first time.
Although William X of Aquitaine officially died in 1137 (during a pilgrimage in Santiago de Compostela), his body was never found. In short, there are extremes to connect the figure of the two saints with the ancient stories of Brittany. In addition, according to the scholar Moiraghi, the name of Galgano would be nothing more than a vulgarization of the name galvano, one of the knights of the Round table. It is then said that many tried to draw the sword, but without succeeding, causing serious damage to the sword itself. The myth of the sword in the stone, reading these words, seems more and more realistic, doesn't it? Unfortunately we have no certainties, but only hypotheses, that there is a long and intricate bridge between the ancestral Breton mythology and the cult of our saints. Myth or reality, this peculiar testimony fascinates anyone, be it scholars or aspiring King Arthur!
