The "sword in the stone" as a test of lineage was first introduced by the 12th-century French poet Robert de Boron in his work Merlin .
In these early versions, the sword often appears miraculously in a churchyard on Christmas Eve, indicating that Arthur’s power is a gift from God rather than just political might. The sword in the stone
In 1180, a violent knight named Galgano Guidotti renounced war to become a hermit. Legend says he thrust his sword into a rock to form a cross for prayer, and the blade sank into the stone as if it were butter. The "sword in the stone" as a test