The Story of the Real Sword in the Stone

The story of the Sword in the Stone comes from Arthurian legend. It is a well-known tale of the child Arthur, who pulls the mythical sword from the stone and becomes the future King of England. This legend may be partially based on truth. No, a boy did not pull a sword from a stone and become King of England, as far as we know. However, there is a sword lodged in a stone at the Monte Siepi Chapel in the San Galgano Abbey in Tuscany. That is Italy, not England, but it is close enough. After all, how many swords in stones can there possibly be?

The story of how the sword came to be in the stone at Monte Siepi is the story of San (Saint) Galgano Guidotti. Galgano was born in 1148. He became a knight, but not the sort of knight you would expect to see at the round table. He was ruthless and cruel. The Archangel Michael revealed himself to Galgano Guidotti when Guidotti was 32-years-old. The year was 1180. The archangel showed Galgano the error of his ways and how he could return to God.

Galgano Guidotti was skeptical at first, though he did commit to the life of a hermit after his encounter with Michael. Then, he was out riding one day, when he was led by some divine force to Monte Siepi. At that time, it was just a hill with some bedrock at the top. There, something told him again that he had to change. He replied that it would be as difficult as "splitting rock with a sword." He then tried to demonstrate the hopelessness of his situation, but instead of breaking, his sword went straight into the rock. The stone reportedly become Galgano's altar for praying and the sword's hilt the cross on his altar. He died roughly one year later.

In 1185, Pope Lucius III canonized (made him a saint) Galgano Guidotti. That same year, a group of monks was charged with building the chapel around the sword in the stone. Today, it overlooks the ruins of San Galgano Abbey from its site on the hill. The chapel still contains the sword in the stone, though it is now encased in plastic so people will not try to steal it. Legend has it that one such fellow was set upon by a pack of wolves when he tried to take the sword. A pair of mummified hands that are kept in the abbey are said to be his.

While the sword may never have belonged to a saint, one thing is certain, it is from around his lifetime. If it did not belong to him, it belonged to someone else of his era. The mummified hands are from around that time as well. Therefore, there seems to be some truth to the story of San Galgano.

Sources

The Sword in the Stone, retrieved 5/25/11, sangalgano.org

The Sword in the Stone at Montesiepi Chapel, retrieved 5/25/11, atlasobscura.com/place/the-sword-in-the-stone-at-montesiepi-chapel

Hellqvist, Bjorn, The Sword in the Stone - The Legend of Saint Galgano, retrieved 5/25/11, myarmory.com/feature_stone.html