Magic Weapons

[Megatron]

I'm writing a research paper on Magic Weapons in different cultures and I thought this might be a good place to poke around for input.
So far I've talked about Excalibur, Kusanagi, Mjolnir, Gungnir, Narsil, Glamdring, Lightsabers and The Lance of Longinus.

 

[jgbrowning]

Gandiva's a good one and not too common in this part 'o the world.

joe b.

 

[RangerWickett]

Um? The Soul Calibur and Soul Edge (from the games of the same name)?

The Golden Gun?

Any Biblical weapons I'm forgetting (the lance is not really Biblical; that mythos is almost unrelated to the books, I feel)?

 

[RithTheAwakener]

Hmm while I have no creative or helpful input, would you be so kind as to post your paper when your done with it? It sounds like it would be a very interesting read.

 

[Woas]

1) There are several "magical" swords in the story of Beowulf: Hrunting (although mainly ceremonial.. but it is named specifically). An un-named "giant" sword he finds, but leaves in the lair he finds it. And last, a third ceremonial sword with a specific name Naegling.

2) Three from Greek Myth off the top of my head:
Cronus (Saturn in Rome) had a sickle made by Gaia which was meant to cut through anything.

Zeus' lightning bolts, crafted by Hephaestus I believe? Hephaestus also made Eros' (Cupid for the Romans in the crowd) bow and arrows.

Poseidon's trident. Not 100% if it was magical or what he did with it exactly.

3) There is King Solomon's "Emeral Sword" in Persian myth. It was like a bane weapon and the only one that could kill a demon. I forget the whole story...

4) In Arthurian myth, Excalibur is Arthurs' Sword of War. Clarent is another sword, The Sword of Peace.

5) What about Thor's Thunderhammer? I'm not too sharp on Norse Myth or anything...

 

[DonTadow]

My favorite weapon, as it has made its way into many japanese legends and now, modern day rpgs, The masamune.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masamune

 

[Megatron]

1) There are several "magical" swords in the story of Beowulf: Hrunting (although mainly ceremonial.. but it is named specifically). An un-named "giant" sword he finds, but leaves in the lair he finds it. And last, a third ceremonial sword with a specific name Naegling.

2) Three from Greek Myth off the top of my head:
Cronus (Saturn in Rome) had a sickle made by Gaia which was meant to cut through anything.

Zeus' lightning bolts, crafted by Hephaestus I believe? Hephaestus also made Eros' (Cupid for the Romans in the crowd) bow and arrows.

Poseidon's trident. Not 100% if it was magical or what he did with it exactly.

3) There is King Solomon's "Emeral Sword" in Persian myth. It was like a bane weapon and the only one that could kill a demon. I forget the whole story...

4) In Arthurian myth, Excalibur is Arthurs' Sword of War. Clarent is another sword, The Sword of Peace.

5) What about Thor's Thunderhammer? I'm not too sharp on Norse Myth or anything...

Also from greek myth was the Helm of Hades. Exalibur/Caliburn and some superficial correlations to Kusanagi are already in the paper, though I saw some mentions of Clarent i could never find anything more than a line or two. Do you know of any sources for this one?

Also, thors hammer is Mjolnir.
Right now I have a lot of Norse and Greek weapons, along with a few fantasy weapons from Moorcock, Tolkien, and the Morte.
A friend who's writing a paper on Hero's in African folklore told me about the conga-scepter of Mwindo, which I've found some info on.

And while I don't want anyone to feel that I'm asking you guys to do my paper for me, any perspectives on how magic weapons are indictitive of their respective cultures and vice-versa would be useful.

Yes, I'll definitely post it, though I make no promises to the quality or insightfulness of the paper...
10 pages to go...

 

[Heckler]

Don't forget the Irish!

Cuchulain's (or Cu Chulainn) spear Gae Bulg.

Actually, I'm not sure if it's magical or just legendary. I did a google search to try and find out and came across www.606studios.com/bendisboard/ archive/index.php/t-4842.html .

It seems someone already started a thread on this very subject.

 

[JustKim]

Caesar's sword was called Crocea Mors, Yellow Death. It was reportedly made of gold and unbreakable. It was common practice for ancient leaders to have "magic" weapons because while alive, it suggested some grand destiny. It would also be possible for less charismatic people to carry on a deceased leader's legacy with that "magic" weapon, because after all, Caesar was only human, while Crocea Mors was a divine weapon. Telling people your gaudy pocket knife was a gift from the gods was a fast track to immortalizing your cause.

Hope that helps.

 

[frankthedm]

The resizing staff of the Monkey King Sun Wukong. Shrinks to fit behind your ear, enlarges mid swing to tree size to smush demons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Wukong