The man who could draw the bright sword out of the anvil of iron in which it was embedded halfway to the hilt would be the rightful King of all Britain. This was the test devised by Merlin, the wise sorcerer, at the behest of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Whoever succeeded in this trial would be judged worthy to rule the land and put down the disorders that afflicted that realm. After the proud kings and dukes had failed, an eighteen year old lad, comely but unproven, was reluctantly allowed a trial. How Arthur met this challenge and what befell him afterwards is told here in this recording of the first part of Howard Pyle's The Story of King Arthur and His Knights.
The man who could draw the bright sword out of the anvil of iron in which it was embedded halfway to the hilt would be the rightful King of all Britain. This was the test devised by Merlin, the wise sorcerer, at the behest of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Whoever succeeded in this trial would be judged worthy to rule the land and put down the disorders that afflicted that realm. After the proud kings and dukes had failed, an eighteen year old lad, comely but unproven, was reluctantly allowed a trial. How Arthur met this challenge and what befell him afterwards is told here in this recording of the first part of Howard Pyle's The Story of King Arthur and His Knights.