I always expect to see your names in one of these...

[Drunk Monk]

FTW

[Greg]

Sword maiden.

[Drunk Monk]

This story has two of my fav things - swords and butter

Italy's Sword In The Stone Isn't A Fake, According To Chemical Analysis

According to an analysis of the artifact, it is probably the real deal.

JAMES FELTON

Senior Staff Writer
PublishedMay 3, 2023
1.2kShares



Analysis confirmed it is from the right time period. Image credit: Fabio Gismondi/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

At the Montesiepi Chapel in Siena, Italy, there is a strange artifact that will be instantly familiar to fans of Arthurian legend and anybody who has watched Disney's The Sword in the Stone, being that it is a literal sword embedded inside a stone. According to a chemical analysis of the artifact, it is probably from the right time period rather than a recent fake.
The legend around the sword says that it was the weapon of Galgano Guidotti, a ruthless knight born in 1148 who went on to become a Catholic saint. According to the story – which largely comes from the canonization process which took place shortly after his death – Galgano's father died early in Galgano's childhood.
A rebellious child, Galgano fell in with a bad crowd. In today's terms, that might mean people doing drugs, but at the time this meant participating "very eagerly in internal wars led by local lords of Gherardesca, Pannocchieschi and others, shedding blood of his neighbors". 
Galgano continued in this way for years, relishing the violence, before one day falling off his horse and having a religious revelation, converting shortly afterward to Christianity. According to legend, he abandoned his fiance and began a hermit's life, all the while being served visions nagging at him to build a hermitage of his own.
Galgano was said to have thrust his old sword into the stone, a symbol of how he was abandoning his violent life. Rather than acting like a rock, it "yielded like butter" according to versions of the legend, leaving the hilt protruding from the top and the tip poking out the other end of the rock. Since then, the sword has remained in the stone, now housed inside the Rotunda in Siena, Tuscany.
As nonsensical as that sounds, there is a bit of a curveball coming up – in the form of scientific analysis. In 2001, chemist Luigi Garlaschelli examined the artifact and found a number of surprising details, while dispelling the myth that the sword was a recent fake.
"The style of the sword is consistent with that of other similar weapons from the same time," Garlaschelli wrote at the time, "we can even label it as an Xa-type sword, typical of the late twelfth century".
Garlaschelli retrieved samples of the sword from within the rock via a hole drilled into it and submitted them for analysis.
"Although iron artifacts cannot be unequivocally dated," he wrote, "the composition of the metal did not reveal that modern alloys had been used, and so it is fully compatible with a medieval origin".
Further analysis added weight to the sword being an authentic artifact from the time of Galgano's life.
"We compared the 'fingerprints' of trace elements within the sword’s metal with that of pieces of iron slag that can still be found around the great abbey of St. Galgano. This slag is the waste from the small foundries used by the monks to manufacture their small iron objects, using local iron ore," Garlaschelli explained.
Weirder still, a pair of mummified arms held near the sword – said to be those of thieves who had tried to take the stone, before being struck down by god ~ were also carbon-dated back to the 12th century. Meanwhile, it was also determined that the hilt protruding out of the rock and the sword blade underneath are one piece. 
As annoying as it is, it remains a mystery precisely how the sword got in there, beyond vague legends that the stone somehow turned into butter.

[Drunk Monk]

Lights, Sabers, Action: USA Fencing to Welcome Lightfencing as Summer Nationals Demonstration Event

06/28/2023, 10:45AM CDT

BY BRYAN WENDELL

From July 5 to July 7, fencers and fans at the Phoenix Convention Center will be treated to an electrifying series of high-tech, high-energy lightfencing matches.


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fans of all things Star Wars won’t have to travel to a galaxy far, far away to experience lightfencing. In fact, those attending the 2023 Summer Nationals in Phoenix won’t even have to leave the exhibition hall.
For the first time ever, USA Fencing is thrilled to welcome Terra Prime Lightfencing as a demonstration event at Summer Nationals. From July 5 to July 7, attendees at the Phoenix Convention Center will be treated to an electrifying mix of high-tech, high-energy lightfencing matches.
With a schedule filled with matches, discovery sessions, and Q&A time, there's plenty of opportunity to learn about this exciting sport, watch exhibition bouts and even try your hand at wielding an LED saber! Athletes from Terra Prime will be stationed right at the heart of the action, near Pod G, to ensure no one misses out.
Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing, was among those who had the bright idea to welcome Terra Prime to Summer Nationals and take this opportunity into hyperdrive.
"We are absolutely thrilled to bring Lightfencing to Summer Nationals,” he says. “It's a fantastic opportunity for us to celebrate and showcase the sport of fencing in a new and exciting light! I think our fencers will find themselves entertained and pulled in by the fascinating force of this emerging sport."
So, here's what's on the agenda:

Terra Prime Lightfencing

Phoenix Convention Center, main competition hall near Pod G
July 5
11 a.m.: Introduction and demonstration
11:30 a.m.: Lightfencing matches
12:30 p.m.: Q and A (lunch time)
1:30 p.m.: Discovery session for public
2 p.m.: Lightfencing matches
2:30 pm: Q and A
3 p.m.: End of the day's events
July 6
11 a.m.: Lightfencing matches
11:30 a.m.: Discovery session 1
12:30 p.m.: Q and A (lunch time)
1:30 p.m.: Discovery session 2
2 p.m.: Lightfencing matches
2:30 p.m.: Q and A
July 7
11 a.m.: Lightfencing matches
11:30 a.m.: Discovery session 1
12:30 p.m.: Q and A (lunch time)
1:30 p.m.: Discovery session 2
2 p.m.: Lightfencing matches
2:30 p.m.: Q and A

So, when does Victory start carrying Lightsabers?

One of my fav memories of AFS was when ED came by and was greeting unwittingly by Glenn 'take no crap' Farr. ED went into this long babbling improv rant about finding AFS ending with the question 'Do you have any swords that light up?'

[Drunk Monk]

Random favor ask:

I've been asked to produce an article for DoG of the Top 10 cinematic sword fights. I've got like 20+and I'm narrowing it down. What are some of your fav sword fights in the movies? I'm looking for affirmation about what I'm already thinking about as well as ones I might have missed.

[Greg]

So many. Hopefully Scott Glenn in The Challenge makes the cut.

[Drunk Monk]

So many indeed. You see my dilemma.

I didn't have that one on my list but I will consider it for the stapler fu. Thanks!

I've been pondering how to tackle the Three Musketeers - I considered a comparison between Gene Kelly’s, Michael York’s and the new Vincent Cassel's.

Also I could make an argument for The Acolyte or Kenobi besting Phantom Menace & Revenge of the Sith. Gotta have a lightsaber fight - but which is the best one now?

[Greg]

Seven Samurai. The Princess Bride.

[Drunk Monk]

I’m planning to go with Rashomon instead of Seven Samurai. That final fight is my #1. Most realistic sword fight ever.

Princess Bride for sure.

[Greg]

Cyrano de Bergerac with Ferrer against Roxanne and the tennis racquet scene.

[Drunk Monk]

Hadn’t considered that one, but it won’t make my list. Good one tho.

[Greg]

I hope you get a Basil Rathbone fight in there somewhere. He was supposed to be the best fencer in Hollywood.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

The Court Jester fight is good. 4 Musketeers final fight at the convent is great. Darth Maul final fight is best lightsabre fight. The knife fight from Saving Private Ryan is great. Princess Bride is always on the list.

[Drunk Monk]

Hmm, what's the best Rathbone sword fight? My first thought is Captain Blood.

The 4M convent fight is great - I was leaning to the frozen lake fight or the laundry fight because those were funny. Still debating on how to approach this. 

Have you seen Kenobi v Darth in Kenobi or any of the Acolyte fights? Those are all solid. The go-tos are the Maul fight (which I'm very partial to) and Kenobi v Ani in part 3 but I don't want to go there, as it's been done.

Knife fights don't count.

Princess Bride definitely. 

Others I'm thinking about are The Duellists (not sure which one), Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (final bamboo forest fight), Jackie Chan’s Young Master (cross-eyed sheriff fight), Scaramouce (theater finale fight), The Swordsman (maybe the first one - need to rewatch), maybe Rob Roy (final chest cut)...

Thanks for your continued input. I appreciate all your suggestions.

[Greg]

Any love for Kill Bill with Uma?

Of course my go to sword fighting quip is "Never fight fair when you're fighting for your life, girl" from Swashbuckler with Robert Shaw and Genevieve Bujold