In all the many years where swords were used in combat, were legendary swords actually a real thing?
I don't mean simply named swords, but swords that carried a reputation as being exceptionally well made or somehow powerful. I'd imagine given the beliefs of the time, they probably would have been seen to be magical.
If there were, was it well known who had them, and were they feared?
Heya guys, just popping in here to issue a quick reminder as to the standards we uphold in this subreddit. Not a single one of the answers so far has measured up to those standards, including posts along the lines of:
Also, please remember the three things to ask yourself before posting:
If any one of these is answered with a "no," then please think twice about posting.
Thanks so much for your consideration! :)
I know for sure there were coronation swords - for example Szczerbiec of Piast dynasty, the only surviving part of crown jewels of Piasts, currently displayed in Kraków. The name translates to "Jagged Sword" or "Notched Sword" and the legend has it the sword was chipped by Bolesław Chrobry against Golden Gate of Kiev during his capture of the city - purely a myth, as the capture took place in 1018, and the gate was constructed in 1037. The sword is a symbol of Poland, used throughout 20th century and to this day even by nationalists.
Sorry OP: do you mean a real, existing weapons that hold high reputation, or simply a legendary or semi-legendary weapons (which existence is doubted)?
If it is the latter, I guess I'm going to mention a rather not-well known Asian weapon. The Javanese people in Indonesia has a huge fascination with keris, a dagger-like weapon. Back in the pre-modern times every Javanese man who is considered as adult, no matter whether he's rich or poor, always have at least one keris in his home. This tradition is well-documented in Tome Pires' Suma Oriental. Today we can still see the Javanese wield decorative keris in very formal events, such as weddings or, in case of Jogjakarta (a province in Indonesia which retains the autonomy for operating as sultanate), in sultanate-related events.
One famous legend is of the Keris Mpu Gandring.
It was wielded by Ken Arok, a bandit-turned-king. Once upon a time during his life he encountered Ken Dedes, a beautiful wife of Tunggul Ametung, a provincial of Tumapel. He told his mentor of this encounter, and the mentor told Arok that whoever man who took Dedes as his wife would be a king of prosperous kingdom. Arok, already infatuated with Dedes, then desired to murder Ametung, marry Dedes, and become a famous king.
In traditional Javanese belief, a man with high position such as Ametung is believed to hold a supernatural power. So Arok needed a special weapon to be able to kill Ametung. He asked Mpu Gandring, a famous keris-smith, to make such weapon. Gandring fulfilled Arok's request and asked him to wait several months. However after several months and a number of visits, Arok grew tired of waiting. So he took the keris (it's already exceptional at that time, just need some more imbuing with supernatural power), and murdered Gandring. With his last breath, Gandring cursed the keris, and told Arok that he and his seven generation of descendants will be killed by the same keris.
Long story short, Arok murdered Ametung, married Ken Dedes, and built the Kingdom of Singhasari. However his rule was short, as Ametung's son, Anusapati, murdered him during his reign. Later on, Anusapati got murdered himself by Arok's son, Panji Tohjaya. Then Tohjaya's rule ended when Anusapati's son, Wisnuwardhana, rebelled. Tohjaya was wounded severely and died while seeking refugee.
Whether they were all wounded and murdered by the same keris remains a question, but it is what the Javanese believed until today. The story of Arok's ascension, along with the murder of Ametung and the tragedy that followed are real though.
There are many other keris, like Keris Setan Kober, Keris Condong Campur, Keris Kyai Omyang, etc, but Keris Mpu Gandring is the most famous. Many are believed to have supernatural power. Keris Kyai Omyang, which was wielded by one of anti-colonial heroes in 19th century, Prince Diponegoro, now resides in Sasana Wiratama Museum, Jogjakarta.
The only source written in English I can recall dealing with this subject, albeit only briefly, is Benedict Anderson's The Idea of Power in Javanese Culture. Others I know unfortunately are in Indonesian.
Here's a prior thread that addressed this topic: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/15atks/are_there_any_examples_of_named_swords_in_history/
Hope you find something you wanted to know, I thought it was a good thread.
I really like this question - sure there have been a lot of named swords, but getting down to the reason why they're named is deeply fascinating when there's a story to be found.
So to answer directly - yes! There absolutely were swords that had reputations to go along with their names. The vast majority of them would qualify as being 'well made' or at least perceived so even if they failed and broke in some way. The truly legendary swords though, were believed to have something special about them though - whether some magic, an other-worldly quality or a personality all their own.
One such sword was Skofnung - the sword of the Danish King Hrolf Kraki. The sword in Kraki's time was revered for it's hardness, sharpness and was said to have been imbued with the spirits of twelve of his Berserks. It was also said to give a loud cry whenever it saw wounds. It had quite a reputation, and when Hrolf Kraki died, the sword was entombed with him in his burial howe.
Now, in Scandinavian tradition it wasn't uncommon for valued possessions to be put to rest with it's owner rather than handed down. This led to a habit of retrieving weapons and armour from graves that is documented in a number of Norse sagas. These tales are often embellished with battles against the previous owner for the item, but they are at least rooted in factual history.
Skofnung shows up in tales well after the time of Hrolf Kraki - notably in the hands of Skeggi of Midfjord who is said to have recovered the sword. It's at this time that we hear more about what makes Skofnung so special, and the particular way in which it has to be handled.
Skofnung has with it a 'Life-stone' and it's said that a wound inflicted with the sword can only be healed if the life-stone is rubbed on the would first. Life-stones are mentioned in conjunction with a handful of other historical swords so while it isn't a unique feature, it does mark it as a special blade believed to have an otherworldly power about it.
Then there are the rules to handling the sword. Skofnung came with a small bag on the pommel and it was said to never allow the sun to shine on the pommel directly. Also it was never to be drawn unless the wielder was ready for a fight. Then there was the little snake - when drawn the wielder should blow gently on the blade just below the guard and a little snake with creep out. When that happens the blade is to be inclined to allow the little snake to creep back in again.
As a side-note, the bit about the blade-snake isn't as crazy as it might sound. Skofnung was pattern welded from a number of metal rods, and made in several sections (typically three - a longer central section that was tempered to be softer and springier, and two hardened outer edges that were welded on). The metal rods were twisted and folded in the forging process which imbued a pattern in the blade. It is this pattern that, on Skofnung in particular, made a little 'snake' when the warm breath of a person in the cooler climate of Scandinavia, contacted the blade. Note: Googling 'pattern welded blade' will give you an idea of how the effect looks on a blade.
This is all very well explained because these are the things that weren't done when the famous sword was lent to a man named Kormac to fight a duel with a man named Bersi (who also had a sword, Hviting, which had a life-stone as well). Kormac ends up losing the duel and it's his failure to follow the sword's rituals that are blamed (which are believed to have imparted bad luck as he lost the fight when he cut the point off Hviting and it flew onto his hand, cut him and caused him to bleed first). Failing to observe the rules of the sword (and doing pretty much everything wrong) Kormac is forced to wrench Skofnung out of the scabbard and the sword was said to have come unwillingly and howling. It's also said that the luck of the sword was changed, which didn't work out so well for Kormac. It's worth noting however that the sword served both Skeggi and his son for many years after this, with no mention of it's luck being damaged or changed in any way.
So, a long, somewhat rambling answer, but I think it covers off most of the points and shares a bit of an interesting story as well. I'd highly recommend checking out the sources I've listed below here - in particular Oakeshott's book is excellent.
Sources & Further Reading: The Archaelology of Weapons, R. Ewart Oakeshott
Skofnung on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skofnung
Related question if anyone knows: Is Kusanagi (the Japanese national treasure) thought to still exist, or is it more likely to have been lost?
Does the Sword of Goujian count? It probably dates to 500-300BC, was owned by a king (since engravings on the sword itself says so), and is remarkable for being a copper/bronze-age sword that remains untarnished. Maybe this one doesn't count as legendary because it's an archaeological artifact and not mentioned in legends.
On Tiger Hill in Suzhou, China, there is a boulder called "Sword Testing Stone" and legend says that the boulder was split in half by one of the emperors who lived there using his legendary sword.
Secondly, Guan Yu was a legendary General who wielded a legendary pole-arm. I'm not sure if this is only legend or historical. I was taught that it was real, but Wikipedia says that there's no historical evidence either way.
I'm not a Chinese historian, but mention these as they either haven't been mentioned below or in similar threads. Hopefully a Chinese historian will be able to fill in the details and mention any other legendary Chinese weapons.