Caliburn

Arturus [L., Geoffrey of Monmouth];
Artus [OF., Wace];
Arður(e) [ME, Layamon]; Arthure [ME, Robert of Gloucester] ; Arthorghe [ME, Robert Mannyng of Brunne] ; Arthur(e) [ME, Allit. Morte Arthure];
Arthyr [W., Tysilio];
[SWORD]

Caliburn [normalized E.]

[OWNER]Caliburnus, Caleburno[ablative][L., Geoffrey of Monmouth]
Calibore, Calibourne, Caliburn(e), Calibuernem, Caliborc, Chaliburne, Calibuerne, Escalibor[OF., Wace]
Caliburne[ME, Layamon]Calybourne(Calẏbourne)[ME, Robert of Gloucester] Caliborne[ME, Robert Mannyng of Brunne] Caliburne, Calyburn, Collbrande[ME, Allit. Morte Arthure]
Kaledvwlch[W., Tysilio]

The name by which the sword of King Arthur, better known as ⇒Excalibur

, is spelt in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and its derivative texts ("chronicle group") which include Middle English chronicles, metrical romances (excluding translations from Vulgate), and the Alliterative Mort Arthure.

According to Geoffrey the sword was fashioned in the Isle of Avalon (Insula Auallonis, Aualonis, Avallonis [L.])

Other equipment of Arthur are named in translations of the chronicles, as follows:

[SHIELD]
Pridwen [L., Geoffrey of Monmouth]; Priven [OF., Wace];
Pridwen [ME, Layamon]; Prydwen [ME, Robert of Gloucester] ; ?? [ME, Robert Mannyng of Brunne] ; -- [ME, Allit. Morte Arthure];
Prydwenn ["blessed form" W., Tysilio];
[SPEAR]
Ron [L., Geoffrey of Monmouth]; Roit [OF., Wace];
Ron [ME, Layamon]; Ron [ME, Robert of Gloucester] ; ?? [ME, Robert Mannyng of Brunne] ; -- [ME, Allit. Morte Arthure];
Rongymyniad [W., Tysilio];
[HELMET]
Goswhit [ME, Layamon];
[ARMOR]
Wigar [ME, Layamon];

§ Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136)

In Geoffrey's account, a description of Arthur's armaments occurs after the Archbishop Dubricius speak words of benediction so they can harden their resolve to drive out the heathen Saxons.

Ipse uero arturus lorica tanto rege digna indutus, ‘auream galeam simulacro draconis insculptam. capiti adaptat. Humeris quoque suis clipeum uocabulo pridwen. in quo imago sanctae mariae dei genitricis impicta, ipsum in memoriam ipsius saepissime reuocabat. Accinctus ergo caliburno gladio optimo, & in insula auallonis fabricato: lancea dexteram suam decorat. quae nomine ron vocabatur. Hæc ardua erat lataque lancea, cladibus apta.

— Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae, §IX.4.
in Griscom's edition, Ms. Cambridge No. 1796, fol. 90v
Also see U.Ottawa's online excerpt

Arthur himself put on a leather jerkin worthy of so great a king. On his head he placed a golden helmet, with a crest carved in the shape of a dragon; and across his shoulders a circular shield called Pridwen, on which there was painted a likeness of he Blessed Mary, Mother of God, which forced him to be thinking perpetually of her. He girded on his peerless sword, called Caliburn, which was forged in the Isle of Avalon. A spear called Ron graced his right hand; long, broad in the blade, and thirsty of slaughter.

— Geoffrey of Monmouth,

The history of the Kings of Britain,
tr. Thorpe, Lewis G. M., 1913- ,
(Baltimore; Penguin Books 1966)
[excerpted in White's King Arthur in Legend and History]

In his ongoing fight against the Saxons, Arthur goes on to "dispatch four hundred and seventy men with his sword Caliburn".

^*1 Griscom, Acton, 1891-, ed., Jones, Robert Ellis, 1858- , tr. from Welsh, The Historia regum Britanniæ of Geoffrey of Monmouth, with contributions to the study of its place in early British history..together with a literal translation of the Welsh manuscript no. LXI of Jesus College, Oxford,(London, New York [etc.] Longmans, Green and Co., 1929.)

§ Wace, Roman de Brut (c. 1155)

Fist Artus armer ses conpaignes;; Sa gent parti et ordena,; Et il meïsmes se rarma.
9275 Ses chauces de fer ot chauciees,: Beles et bien aparelliees;; Hauberc ot bon et bel vestu,; Tel qui de tel roi dignes fu;; Calibore ot ceinte, s'espee,
9280 Qui bien fu longue et bien fu lee;: An l'isle d'Avalons fu fete;; Qui la tient nue mout s'an hete.; Hiaume ot an son chief cler luisant,; D'or fu li nasex de devant
9285 Et d'or li cercles anviron;: Desus ot portet .i. dragon;; El hiaume ot mainte pierre clere,; Il ot esté Uther son pere.; Sor .i. cheval monta mout bel
9290 Et fort et corrant et isnel.: Priven, son escu, a son col,; Ne sanbla pas coart ne fol.; Dedanz l'escu fu, par mestrie,
9295 De ma dame sainte Marie: Portrete et pointe la sanblance,; Por enor et por remanbrance.; Lance ot roide, Roit avoit non;; Acerez fu li fers an son;; Auques fu lons et auques lez,
9300 Mout ert an besoigne dotez. — ll. 9272-9300, Wace's Roman de Brut, éd. Arnold, Ivor, Le Roman de Brut de Wace (Paris, Société des Anciens Textes Français, 1er vol. 1938, 2e vol. 1940).

He saw to the arming of his meinie, 
and for himself got him into his harness.  
Arthur donned thigh pieces of steel, 
wrought strong and fairly by some cunning smith.  
His hauberk was stout and richly chased, 
even such a vesture as became so puissant a king.  
He girt him with his sword, Excalibur.  
Mighty was the glaive, and long in the blade.  
It was forged in the Isle of Avalon, 
and he who brandished it naked in his hand 
deemed himself a happy man.  
His helmet gleamed upon his head.  
The nasal was of gold; 
circlets of gold adorned the headpiece, 
with many a clear stone, 
and a dragon was fashioned for its crest.  
This helm had once been worn by Uther, his sire.  
The king was mounted on a destrier, 
passing fair, strong, and speedy, 
loving well the battle.  
He had set his shield [Priven] about his neck, and, certes, 
showed a stout champion, 
and a right crafty captain.  
On the buckler was painted in sweet colours 
the image of Our Lady St. Mary.  
In her honour and for remembrance, 
Arthur bore her semblance on his shield.  
In his hand the king carried his lance, named Ron.  
Sharp it was at the head, tough and great, 
and very welcome at need in the press of battle.

— ll. 9272-9300
tr. Mason, Eugene,

Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut ().

§ Layamon Brut (c. 1200-10)

Laymon presumably took the Old French Wace as source and composed his Middle English version, but improvises additional lore regarding Arthur's weapon and defensive equipment: a byrnie named Wygar

crafted by the elvish smith Witeʒe^*1

, and the helm Goswhit

"Goose-white," passed down from from Uther (Pendragon).

In a later passage, Layamon says that Arthur's spear, Ron

was made in Kairme[r]ðin (i.e. Caer Myrddin "Fort of Merlin" ≈ Carmarthen in Wales), by a smith named Griffin

(possibly a corruption of Gofan - Gofannon [W.]; Goibniu [Ir.] - the Celtic smith-god), and that it was previously belonged to Uther.

The following is Layamon's version of the "magical possessions" passage in earlier works. Note that the verse translator here has changed the elven smith "Witege" to "a wizard".

10535 Þa comen tidende; to Arðure þan kinge.: þat seoc wes Howel his mæi; þer-fore he wes sari.; i Clud ligginde; & þer he hine bilæfde.; Hiʒenliche swiðe; forð he gon liðe.; þat he bihalues Ba[ð]e; beh to ane uelde.
10540 þer he alihte; & his cnihtes alle.: and on mid heore burnen; beornes sturne.; & he a fif dæle; dælde his ferde.; Þa he hafde al iset; and al hit isemed.; þa dude he on his burne; ibroide of stele.
10545 þe makede on aluisc smið; mid aðelen his crafte.: he wes ihaten Wygar; þe Witeʒe wurhte.; His sconken he helede; mid hosen of stele.; Calibeorne his sweor[d]; he sweinde bi his side.; hit wes iworht in Aualun; mi[d] wiʒele-fulle craften.
10550 Halm he set on hafde; hæh of stele.: þer-on wes moni ʒim-ston; al mid golde bi-gon.; he wes V[ð]eres; þas aðelen kinges.; he wes ihaten Goswhit; ælchen oðere vnilic.; He heng an his sweore; ænne sceld deore.
10555 his nome wes on Bruttisc; Pridwen ihaten.: þer wes innen igrauen; mid rede golde stauen.; an on-licnes deore; of Drihtenes moder.; His spere he nom an honde; þa Ron wes ihaten.; Þa he hafden al his i-weden; þa leop he on his steden.

— lines 10535-10559 , Layamon's Brut,
(Brit. Lib., Cotton Caligula A.IX).

There came tidings to Arthur the king,; That his kinsman Howell^*2 lay sick at Clud^*3.; Therefore he was sorry, but there he left him.; With very great haste he tried him forth
21115 Until beside Bath he came to a held.: There he alighted and all his knights,; And the doughty warriors donned their byrnies,; And he in five parts divided his army.; When he had arrayed all, and all seemed ready,
21120 He did on his byrny, made of linked steel,: Which an elvish smith made with his noble craft;; It was called Wigar, and a wizard ^† wrought it.; He hid his shanks in hose of steel.; Caliburn, his sword, he swung at his side;
21125 It was wrought in Avalon with cunning craft.: He set on his head a high helm of steel;; Thereon was many a jewel all adorned with gold.; It had been Uther's, the noble king's;; It was called Goose-white; 'twas unlike any other.
21130 He slung from his neck a precious shield;: Its name in British was called Pridwen.; Thereon was graven in red-gold figures; A dear likeness of the Lord's Mother.; He took in hand his spear, which was called Ron.
21135 When he had all his weeds, he leapt on his steed.: — vv 21111-21135,
tr. Roger Sherman Loomis and Rudolph Willard
Medieval English Verse and Prose ,
(New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1948).

Regarding this confusion regarding the elvish smith Witege, Eugene Mason (translator of Wace and Brut) addresses it in his preface:

Layamon adds further information about Arthur‘s weapons. His burny, he says (vs. 21133-34) “was named Wygar” (Anglo-Saxon wigheard), “Battle-hard,” “which Witeze[Witeʒe] wrought,” Witeze being a corrupted form for Widia, the Anglo-Saxon name of the son of Weland, the Teutonic Vulcan, a famous maker of magic weapons in romance, with whom his son might easily become identified in legend.
This is the explanation given by Professor G.L. Kittredge of the above lines, as a correction of Sir Frederic Madden’s translation: “he [namely, the smith who made the burny] was named Wygar, the witty wight.”
—Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut tr. Eugene Mason

And yet Mason fails to reflect this information in his own translation:

When he had duly set all, and it all beseemed, then he put on his burny, fashioned of steel, that an elvish smith made, with his excellent craft; he was named Wygar, the witty wright.
—Brut by Layamon, tr. Eugene Mason

Next quoted is the later passage, some one thousand lines removed, in which Layamon has more to say about Arthur's spear/lance:

Sette he an hefde; ænne helm godne.; to his side he swende; his sweorde Caliburne.; his sconken he helede; mid hosen of stele.; and duden on his uoten; spuren swiðe gode.
11865 Þe king mid his weden; leop on his stede.: me him to rehte; anne scelde gode.; he wes al clane; of olifantes bane.; Me salde him an honde. enne scaft stronge.; þer wes a þan ænde; a spære swiðe hende.
11870 hit wes imaked; i Kairmeðin; [bi] a smið þe hehte Griffin.: hit ahte Vðer; þe wes ær king her.

— lines 11869-71 , Layamon's Brut,
(Brit. Lib., Cotton Caligula A.IX)^*4.

He set on his head a goodly helme.
On his side he swung his sword Caliburne.
His shanks he covered with hoses of steel.
And put on his feet such goodly spurs
The king with his garb leapt on his steed.
They held out to him a goodly shield
that was all clean, of elephant-bone (ivory)
They gave him in his hand a strong shaft
at whose end was a spear so handy,
which was made in Carmarthen by a smith called Griffin, that belonged to Uther, who was ere king here.

— verse translation mine.

^*1 Layamon's spelling "Witeʒe" is actually quite close to the common Middle High German spelling, Witege for this personage (i.e., son of Wielant and companion of Heime).
"Widia" who is Weland's son (Wēlandes bearn) occurs in the Anglo-Saxon Waldere fragment, while "Wudga," the companion of Hama, is the spelling in the Anglo-Saxon lay Widsith.
^*2 Howel is called Hoelus [L.] by Geoffrey. His maternal uncle is Arthur, and his family rules over Brittany (Armorica). His relative Helen (Elaine) is slain by the Giant of St. Michael's Mount.

^*3 Clud ≈Alclud, Alcluith, Strathclyde

^*4 In ms. Cotton Otho (ll. 10990-2), the corresponding passage passage reads:"an ho(nde) ane saft stronge / þar was in þan eande; a(n) hefd swiþe hende./ hit was i-maked in Ker-merþin; [bi] a smiþ þat hehte. Griffin."

§ Robert of Gloucester, Metrical Chronicle (c. 1290)

Þe kynn, was aboue yarmed wyþ haubert noble & rẏche,
wẏþ helm of gold on ys heued, (nas nour hẏm ẏlẏche)
Þe fourme of a dragon þeron was ycast.
Hys sseld, þat het Prydwen, was þanne ẏhonge wast
Aboute ys ssoldren, and þeron ẏpeynt was and ẏwort
Þe ẏmage of our Lady, inwan was al ys þoʒt.
Mẏd ẏs suerd he was ẏgurd, þat so strong was & kene,
Calẏbourne yt was ẏcluped, nas nour no such ye wene.
In ys rẏʒt hond ẏs lance he nom, pat ycluped was Ron,
Long & gret & strong ynow, hym ne mẏʒt atsytte non.

quoted by Charlotte Guest in her notes to
the Mabinogion, "Kilhwch and Olwen"

The king was armored above with a hauberk noble and rich
With a helm of gold on his head, (there was none like it)
Cast with the form of a dragon.
His shield that hight Prydwen was hung
Around his shoulders, and painted with the image of our Lady
(Virgin Mary), so that she became all that he thought in his wits.
He was girt with a sword strong and keen,
Which was yclept Calybourne, and none like it was ween.
In his right hand he took his lance yclept Ron
Long and great and strong enow that none might resist it.

^*1 xxx
^*2 xx

§ Robert Mannyng of Brunne, Chronicle (c. 1338)

In Mannyng's chronicle, Arthur specifically uses Caliborne in his fight against the ⇒Giant of Saint Michael's Mount

^*1 of Brittany.
This is in keeping with Wace, in whose account Artus wields Escalibor l'alemele "Excalibur the stalwort" (Roman de Brut, l.11937) during his battle with the giant (ll.11560-995). In Geoffrey by contrast, the weapon Arturus uses is a sword (gladius) not specifically identified.

In addition, Mannyng provides his giant of Micheles Mount with the name Dynabrok (after Dinabuc [OF] in Wace). Most accounts don't provide this giant with a name.

^*1 Note that in the extended Estoire de Merlin (Sommer ed.) , Arthur uses the sword he won from King Rion, i.e., the sword ⇒Marmiadoise

§ Welsh Brut Tysilio (c. 15-16c.)

This is a work sometimes represented as Geoffrey's earlier source or an independent work deriving from pre-Geoffrey. The attribution of its authorship to the 7th century Saint Tysilio is apparently without any foundation. The passage that is quote shortly hereafter is Jones' translation from the Welsh^*1, in Griscom's edition^*2 .

There is another translation of Tysilio in print by Peter Roberts^*3, but the statement that "This copy is taken from the Red Book of Hergest, and is that of the Library of Jesus College, Oxford.", has been pointed out as erroneous by Griscom^*4.
There are several "Bruts" in the Red Book of Hergest differing from Tysilio, including one desgignated the "Geoffrey's Brut" in Welsh (Ystoria Brenhined y Brytanyeit)^*5.

I hope I got these textual accounts correct, but I am admittedly short on researching this.

What follows is translation by Rev. Robert Jones, Brut Tysilio, for the "magical possessions" passage:

And then Arthyr put on a breast-plate worthy of a King; and on his head was a golden helmet with the likeness of a dragon of fire on it, and another image called prydwenn [blessed form], and on its inner side was carved the likeness of Mary. And this Arthyr bore with him when he went into battle-peril. And he took a sword, called kaledvwlch, for it was the best in all ynis Brydain. It was made in ynys afallach. And in his hand he took the spear caled Rongymyniad. And when all were harnessed, with the Arch-Bishop's blessing, (f. 107 rec.) fiercely they fell upon the enemy, and killed them until night. And towards night the ssaesson made for the top of a high hill, thinking they could take shelter there. And when the next day came, Arthyr took the mountain from them; in spite of this they fought fiercely. And then in a rage, Arthyr drew his sword kaledvwlch, and remembering the name of Mair [Mary], manfully rushed upon his enemies* and whoever met him he killed with a single stroke; nor did Arthyr rest till he had slain four hundred and seventy of the ssaesson.
— Jones tr. of the Welsh "Brut Tysilio"
Oxford U., Jesus College ms. No.LXI., fol.106v-107r
in Griscom ed. The chronicle of the kings of Britain pp.438-9

^*1 Welsh text printed in the large compilation, The Myvyrian archaiology of Wales (1801, repr. 1870). Apparently entitled Brut Gruffudd ab Arthur there, rather than (Brut Tysilio), and Charlotte Guest quotes from it in her notes to Kilhwch and Olwen

^*2 An English translation from the Welsh Brut Tysilio, by Robert Ellis Jones, is found in the Griscom ed. of Historia regum Britanniæ (op. cit.)

^*3 Roberts, Peter, tr. The chronicle of the kings of Britain / translated from the Welsh copy attributed to Tysilio; (London : Printed for E. Williams, 1811)
The chronicle declares the author(or translator) to be Deacon Walter (from whom Geoffrey says he received his historical source): "I, Walter, Archdeacon of Oxford, translated this book from the Welsh into Latin, and have agin translated it from the Latin into Welsh." It is only a supposition that St. Tysilio wrote the first-draft Welsh text that pseudo-Walter says he used.

^*4 Tysilio is in "MS. LXI of Jesus College", not in Hergest (which is also in the Jesus College collection.)

^*5 Rhys, John, Sir, 1840-1915, Evans, J. Gwenogvryn, ed., The text of the Bruts from the Red book of Hergest (Oxford, J.G. Evans [1890])
Introduction to Geoffrey's Brut, by John Rhys.--Dares Phrygius.--Ystoria Brenhined y Brytanyeit.--Brut y tywyssogyon.--Brut y Saesson.--From Gwrtheyrn Gwrtheneu to King John.--Cantreds and commotes of Wales.--Palæographical notes.

§ prose Middle English Merlin (c. 1450)

Since it is described as a "slavishly faithful" English translation of the French Vulgate Estoire de Merlin tradition, it does not belong with the above group of works (the Geoffrey of Monmouth / chronicles group). It uses both "Escaliboure" and "Calibourne" forms to translate the French form "Escalibor."