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== Forms and etymology == The name ''Excalibur'' ultimately derives from the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] {{lang|cy|'''Caledfwlch'''}} ([[Breton language|Breton]] {{lang|br|'''Kaledvoulc'h'''}}, [[Middle Cornish]] {{lang|cnx|'''Calesvol'''}}), which is a [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] of {{lang|cy|caled}}, {{gloss|hard}}, and {{Lang|cy|bwlch}}, {{gloss|breach, cleft}}.{{sfn|Bromwich|Simon Evans|1992|pp=64–65}} Caledfwlch appears in several early Welsh works, including the prose tale ''[[Culhwch and Olwen]]'' ({{c.|11th–12th century}}). The name was later used in Welsh adaptations of foreign material such as the {{lang|cy|Brut}}s (chronicles), which were based on [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]. It is often considered to be related to the phonetically similar {{lang|cy|[[Caladbolg]]}}, a sword borne by several figures from [[Irish mythology]], although a borrowing of {{lang|cy|Caledfwlch}} from the Irish {{lang|ga|Caladbolg}} has been considered unlikely by [[Rachel Bromwich]] and D. Simon Evans. They suggest instead that both names "may have similarly arisen at a very early date as generic names for a sword".{{sfn|Bromwich|Simon Evans|1992|pp=64–65}}{{sfn|Green|2007|p=156}} In the late 15th to early 16th-century Middle Cornish play {{lang|cnx|[[Beunans Ke]]}}, Arthur's sword is called {{lang|cnx|Calesvol}}, which is etymologically an exact Middle Cornish cognate of the Welsh {{lang|cy|Caledfwlch}}. It is unclear if the name was borrowed from the Welsh (if so, it must have been an early loan, for phonological reasons), or represents an early, [[Common Brittonic|pan-Brittonic]] traditional name for Arthur's sword.<ref>Koch, John. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia'', Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 329.</ref> Welsh author Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his Latin chronicle {{lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}} (''The History of the Kings of Britain'', {{c.|1136}}), [[Latinisation (literature)|Latinised]] the name of Arthur's sword as {{lang|la|'''Caliburnus'''}} (possibly influenced by the Medieval Latin spelling {{lang|la|calibs}} of [[Classical Latin]] {{lang|la|chalybs}}, from the Greek {{transliteration|grc|chályps}} ({{lang|grc|χάλυψ}}), {{gloss|steel}}). Most Celticists consider Geoffrey's {{lang|la|Caliburnus}} to be derivative of a [[Lost literary work|lost]] [[Old Welsh]] text in which {{lang|owl|bwlch}} (Old Welsh {{lang|owl|bulc[h]}}) had not yet been [[Lenition|lenited]] to {{lang|wlm|fwlch}} ([[Middle Welsh]] {{lang|wlm|vwlch}} or {{lang|wlm|uwlch}}).{{sfn|Ford|1983|p=271}}{{sfn|MacKillop|1998|pp=64–65, 174}}{{sfn|Bromwich|Simon Evans|1992|pp=64–65}} [[Geoffrey Gaimar]], in his [[Old French]] chronicle {{lang|fro|[[Estoire des Engleis]]}} (1134–1140), mentions Arthur and his sword: "this Constantine was the nephew of Arthur, who had the sword '''Caliburc'''" ("{{lang|fro|Cil Costentin, li niès Artur, Ki out l'espée Caliburc}}").<ref>Hardy, T. D. and Martin, C. T. (eds./trans.), Gaimar, Geoffrey. ''L'Estoire des Engles'' (lines 45–46), Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1889, p. 2.</ref><ref>Wright, T. (ed.); Gaimar, Geoffrey. ''Gaimar, Havelok et Herward'', [[Caxton Society]], London, 1850, p. 2.</ref> In [[Wace]]'s {{lang|fro|[[Roman de Brut]]}} ({{c.|1150–1155}}), composed in Old French, the sword is called {{lang|fro|'''Caliburn'''}} ({{lang|fro|Chaliburne}}, {{lang|fro|Caliburne}}, {{lang|fro|Calibuerne}}),{{Refn|Chaliburne v. 9279, Caliburne v. 10083 Caliburn 11547 Calibuerne 12891 12910 12926.<ref name="arnold-t2-1940"/>}}{{Refn|Ivor Arnold's edition uses 22 manuscripts including fragments, and as to base text, considers the continental ''N'' (BnF français 1454) best, and ''D'' (Durham, Cathedral Library, C. IV. 27) and ''P'' (Penrose) best among the insular (Anglo-Norman) copies.<ref name="arnold-t1-1938"/>}} {{lang|fro|'''Calabrum'''}}, {{lang|fro|'''Callibourc'''}}, {{lang|fro|'''Calabrun'''}}, {{lang|fro|Chalabrun}},{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Zimmer omits "Chalabrun" counting it as inclusive in 3 occurrences of "Calabrun ".<ref name="zimmer1890"/>}} and {{lang|fro|'''Escalibor'''}} (with additional variant spellings such as {{lang|fro|Chalabrum}}, {{lang|fro|Calibore}}, {{lang|fro|Callibor}}, {{lang|fro|Caliborne}}, {{lang|fro|Calliborc}}, {{lang|fro|Escallibore}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Misspelt "Escaliborc" (at v. 13330) by Zimmer.<ref name="zimmer1890"/>}} found in various continental manuscripts).<ref name="lerouxde_lincy1838"/><ref name="zimmer1890"/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Le Roux de Lincy relied on continental manuscripts,<ref name="lerouxde_lincy1838-mss"/> but there were insular (Anglo-Norman) copies as well.<ref name="blacker1996"/>}} Various other spellings in the later medieval Arthurian literature have included ''Calibourch'', ''Calibourn'', ''Calibourne'', ''Caliburc'', ''Escaliber'', ''Escalibur'', ''Excalibor'', and finally the familiar ''Excalibur''.<ref>Zimmer, Heinrich. "Bretonische Elemente in der Arthursage des Gottfried von Monmouth", ''Zeitschrift für französische Sprache und Literatur'', Volume 12, E. Franck's, 1890, p. 236.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LF4EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT178|title=The Roman King Arthur?: Lucius Artorius Castus |first=Tony |last=Sullivan |date=14 July 2022 |publisher=Pen and Sword Military |isbn=9781399084031 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
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