Magic sword

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This article refers to a type of fictional weapon in mythology and popular culture; for other uses see Magic sword (disambiguation).

The term magic sword refers to any kind of mythological or fictional sword imbued with magical power to increase its strength or grant it other supernatural qualities. Although the archetype originated in myth and legend, it has been utilized countless times over in modern fantasy fiction.

[edit] In Mythology

The trope of weapons imbued with supernatural power has been around since at least the early bronze age, a time when all metal was thought to be "magical" in nature.

In Norse mythology, the god Frey "possessed a magic sword that struck out at Jotuns of its own accord." [1].

Tyrfing appears in the Hervarar Saga and in the Eddic poems The Waking of Angantyr and The Battle of the Goths and Huns. Svafrlami was the King of Gardariki, and a grandson of the god Odin. He caught the dwarves, Dvalin and Durin, and forced them to forge a sword with a golden hilt that would never miss a stroke, would never rust and would cut through stone and iron as easily as through clothes. The dwarves made the sword, and it shone and gleamed like fire. However, in revenge they cursed it so that it would kill a man every time it was used and that it would be the cause of three great evils. They finally cursed it so that it would also kill Svafrlami himself. It would cost the life of not only Svafrlami, but also the life of the Swedish hero Hjalmar.

A similar sword to Tyrfing is Dainsleif, a sword from the legend of Hedin and Högni, made by the dwarf Dain. Like Tyrfing, Dainsleif gave wounds that never healed and could not be unsheathed without killing a man.

There is also Mistelteinn, a sword from the Hrómundar saga Gripssonar, which could never go blunt and which Hrómund won from the undead witch-king Þrainn. Like Tyrfing, it was taken from a barrow-wight.

Ancient Chinese mythology relates the tale of Lü Dongbin, who "slew dragons with a magic sword",[2] and also performed "freak feats" with it.[3]

In Japanese mythology, there is a magical sword called Kusanagi, as well as a repeated tradition that the katanas of Masamune and Muramasa were of such high quality as to be near-magical.

In Greek mythology, Theseus was given a magic sword with which to kill the Minotaur by Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos.

The Bible of Abrahamic faiths relates in the Book of Genesis how God, seeking to deter Adam and Eve from returning to the Garden of Eden "placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way." By some accounts, the Cherubim are replaced with the Archangel Michael, but whom welds a similar weapon.

Excalibur, from the legend of King Arthur, is arguably the most famous of magic swords, although it is not clear from the various accounts of the Arthur legend whether the sword itself was possessed of magical powers or merely had a magical origin (i.e., the legend of "The Sword In the Stone)," though its scabbard protected its bearer from physical harm. Many interpretations of the legend appear to endow the sword with a cutting strength and durability beyond that of ordinary weapons, making it unbreakable by anything but wrongful acts of its user. Excalibur's primary power was apparently spiritual, as it served to identify the chosen king and instill loyalty to him, as given to him by The Lady of the Lake.

In the Matter of France, Roland possessed an indestructible sword, Durendal, which he could not destroy but threw into a poisoned stream to prevent its capture. In the same legends, Charlemagne owned a notable sword, Joyeuse, while Bishop Turpin had Almace.

[edit] In fiction

In the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, many magical swords, usually with powers for good, are wielded by important characters. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf uses his sword Glamdring in his battle with the Balrog. In The Two Towers, Frodo and Samwise carry the sword Sting which glows blue when orcs are near. In The Return of the King, Aragorn bears the sword Andúril, a potent weapon against the evil of Mordor and a symbol of his right to rule.

Michael Moorcock created a sinister magic sword in Stormbringer, wielded by Elric of Melniboné. This black sword has the power to suck out the souls of its victims and transfer their energy to its holder. It also appears to have a mind of its own, sometimes striking against its "master's" will. Mercedes Lackey's creation, the sword Need, is similarly independent although along less sinister lines.

Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" features a magical vorpal sword that possesses the power to decapitate those against whom it is wielded.

In the Star Wars saga, which employs many themes of classical mythology, the lightsaber can be seen as a science fiction or science fantasy analogue of the magic swords of myth – the device itself appears to defy the laws of physics, bringing to mind Arthur C. Clarke's third law of prediction, the observation that a technology that is sufficiently advanced would be indistinguishable from magic.

The He-Man cartoon series more directly mixes magic and technology, with the title character deriving his power from a magic sword, but living in a world where the traditional gadgetry of science fiction is as commonly employed as the magical arts.

The Twelve Swords of Power are the primary plot device in Fred Saberhagen's Books of the Swords.

Lawrence Watt-Evans's The Misenchanted Sword (1985) revolves the difficulties of dealing with the sword of the title; the protagonist must kill a man when he draws it, can only kill one, will die if he ever kills a hundred men with it – and will not die without killing them, but will ceaselessly age.

In Samurai Jack, Jack's father was given a magic sword (katana), from the Gods to defeat Aku. Regular katanas had no effect but the magic sword could harm Aku, although it won't kill him completely. The magic sword had the ability to obey to its rightful owner. This means the sword only harms the enemy of Jack, but it doesn't harm Jack himself, even when the enemy wields it. When Aku used the magic sword against Jack, it had no effect.

Similar to Excalibur is the sword Callandor in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time. Protected within the only fortress created by man that has never fallen to an army, the taking of Callandor is said to be one of the most important signs marking the return of the Dragon, the greatest hero of the Ages. Taken by protagonist Rand al'Thor in The Dragon Reborn, it is revealed to be one of the most powerful magical objects ever created. After using it to bind a nation to his cause, Rand later uses it to drive an army of invaders into the ocean, but at the price of killing many of his own men. Afterwards it is revealed that Callandor is incomplete; lacking the buffers that prevent the user from wielding too much of the One Power.

[edit] In Videogames and Role-Playing Games

Computer and video games, and fantasy role-playing games feature a great variety of magical armaments, most commonly represented by swords and similar archetypal weapons. Unlike most of their legendary and literary forebears, these swords are rarely unique, and in many role-playing settings or scenarios, magical weapons are so ubiquitous that the player characters are expected to come into possession of them as a matter of course.

Some examples (from a great and diverse wealth of those available):

The Legend of Zelda has the Master Sword, a sword with properties that enable it to shoot beams, repel evil, and travel through time.

Dungeons and Dragons has swords such as a "+1 sword" which gives a simple attack bonus, flaming swords which can set enemies alight or inflict extra damage against cold-based creatures, and swords based on other swords from myth and fiction, such as Blackrazor (a Stormbringer analogue – see above) and the Vorpal Blade from the Lewis Carroll poem, Jabberwocky (again, see above). Some, such as the Holy Avenger, are used for good, but there are also evil, sentient swords, such as the Sword of Kas.

In Warcraft III, the sword Frostmourne steals the soul of Arthas Menethil, and drives him insane.

Many of the Final Fantasy games possess magical swords. For example, a sword called the Ice Brand, a sword "as clear as ice" (quoting from Final Fantasy Tactics) that is an ice-elemental weapon – effective against fire-type enemies, for instance.

In Final Fantasy IX, the team's Mage can enchant the team's Warrior's sword with spells, making a temporary Magic Sword.

The keyblade in the Kingdom Hearts series.

In the Soul Calibur series, the entire plot focuses on two magic weapons; an evil, soul-devouring sword named Soul Edge, and its holy counterpart, Soul Calibur.

The Sega Genesis game Landstalker featured several magical swords, including a fire-elemental that was simply called "Magic Sword." You would have to charge up enough energy to use the magical effects – causing a major earthquake with the "Sword of Gaia," for instance.

In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Alucard makes use of literally dozens of magical swords, among which a fire-elemental type sword reputed to have been owned by Oberon, and a lightning-elemental sword with a similar association with Indra. The game itself is rife with Tolkien references, not the least of which is present in another magic sword, said to be the hereditary sword of the House of Hador, as well as actual swords from mythology, such as the Tyrfing as mentioned above.

Dragon Warrior III (and the entire Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest series, for that matter) has several swords that can be used in battle to produce various effects, such as the "Sword of Illusion" (equippable only by women) casting the "Confusion" spell. This is one of numerous examples from both that game and other games from the series.

In Phantasy Star IV, the sword Elsydeon, wielded by Chaz, is given to him by the spirit of the heroine of the first Phantasy Star, Alis, (who is subsequently the first protector of the Algol solar system). The sword is used as part of a variety of weapons (another of which is Rika's Silver Tusk, given to her by an aged Myau) to defeat the collective entity of all evil, the Profound Darkness. In the death-throes of the latter, Elsydeon shatters into a cloud of crystals, protecting the party from the collapsing time warp that the Profound Darkness has opened.

In the Prince of Persia trilogy, there is a blade called the Dagger of Time, which gives its wielder many time-based powers, and in the third game, The Two Thrones, the Dark Prince uses a bladed whip called the Daggertail.

Such examples from video games and role-playing games are, without exaggeration, countless.