Caliburn
From TYPE-MOON Wiki
| Noble Phantasm | |
| Caliburn | |
| |
| Japanese name: | カリバーン |
|---|---|
| Title: | Golden Sword of owed Victory |
| Japanese title: | 勝利すべき黄金の剣 |
| Owner: | Saber |
| Type: | unknown |
| Rank: | unknown (assumed A or above) |
| Range: | unknown |
| Maximum number of targets: | unknown |
Caliburn is a Noble Phantasm sword associated with the Servant Saber, but it is not one of the three Noble Phantasms in her possession.
Contents |
[edit] History
Also known as the sword-in-the-stone, Arthur Pendragon was chosen as the king of all Britain when he pulled this weapon from the stone of selection under the guidance of the magus Merlin.
According to legend, Caliburn was broken during a battle in which King Arthur strayed from the principles of chivalry.
Although similar to Excalibur in appearance, Caliburn was reduced to a simple symbol of the king's authority. As an ornament, it is less effective than Excalibur in actual combat, although it remains extremely powerful.
[edit] Real History and Etymology
In reality, Caliburn is only an other name for the same sword as Excalibur. This can be easilly seen by looking at the similarities between "Caliburn" and "Excalibur".
The first name of Excalibur was "Caledfwlch", the Welsh origin for the legend, and presumedly based off of the legends of Caladbolg. It was latinized to "Caliburnus" and the Latin "-us" was dropped in translation. When it entered French legend, it became "Escalibor" or "Excalibur" which was popularized and is known today.
Caledfwlch (archaic spelling Caledbwlch) --> Caliburnus --> Caliburn --> Excalibur
In many legends, the "Sword in the Stone" and "Excalibur" are the same. However, in the most well known of them, the "Sword in the Stone" is a seperate sword that as stated above broke in battle against King Pellinor. King Arthur recieved Excalibur from a hand sticking out of a lake.
The "Sword in the Stone" in these legends is often left unnamed, but there have been refenences to it that called it "Clarent". However, it is unsure if this was the coveted "Sword in the Stone" or mere a ceremonial sword inherited from his ancestors. The "Sword in the Stone" was either put there by a dying Uther and the stone enchanted by Merlin, or put there by Merlin himself. It depends on the legend which is true. If Uther put the sword in the stone himself, then it may have been "Clarent" as it was technically an inheritance for Arthur.
If one wanted felt compelled to name the Sword in the Stone, and wished to be as accurate as possible, the real name of the "Golden Sword of Owed Victory" would be "Clarent"; not "Caliburn", as Caliburn and Excalibur are two names for the same sword.
[edit] Fate/stay night
Caliburn makes its appearance in the Fate/stay night game when Emiya Shirou traces this holy sword in the Fate route during his fight against Berserker. When Shirou traced Caliburn in the story line, he used it to strike a joint blow against Berserker along with Saber. This thrust was apparently so powerful that it killed Berserker seven times, thus depleting Berserker's stock of lives (see God Hand) and defeating him. Because God Hand nullifies attacks below rank B, and because weapons that Shirou trace are lowered by one rank, some fans reason that Caliburn is at least rank A.
Saber, whose true identity was King Arthur, seems fonder of Caliburn than its replacement, Excalibur.
[edit] References
Sources: the Tsukihime Laboratory entry and the weapon status screen, translated by Mirror Moon.
