Some swords were named, most were handed down for generations. Given by a priest, angel, or other holy figure seems to generally weave itself into the legend.
As early as Biblical times there are references to named swords.
- Methuselah inscribed his sword with “God's name”, and slew an incredible number of demons with it. Even more impressive is when we hear of this sword again, it is in the hands of Abraham, who has inherited it. According to Daniel N. Rolph, "Esau thus received it, as an heirloom, from Isaac, since he was the first born. This sword passed to Jacob when he purchased the birthright."
- David, the shepherd boy, who used Goliath's own sword to cut his head off, later retrieved it from the priest Ahimelech, from behind the alter of the church. After wielding it in battle for many years, it was passed down to his son, Solomon.
- Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was a Japanese sword. It meant "the gathering clouds from heaven". In legend it was given by a goddess, to destroy an evil eight headed serpent; very similar to the Greek myth of Perseus who beheaded the serpented tresses of Medusa with his sword from the goddess, Athene.
- Joan of Arc, visited by an angel, was told of the sword God had hidden for her in the chapel of St. Catherine de Fierbois. Surprising even the monks, it was dug up behind the alter, and presented to Joan.
- The reverential Lady of the Lake presented King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, to him from the depths of a lake. In some versions, he pulls the sword from the stone, just as Sigurd in the Volsung Saga pulls his sword, “Gram” from an oak where Odin has driven it.
- "The Will of Heaven" was the name of the sword brought up from the depths of the ocean, by a fisherman, in the story of Le Loi of Vietnam. Le Loi used it to free the Vietnamese people from the Ming Dynasty of China.
- In Beowulf, the sword is named “Hrunting”, and is given by a mighty Thane to the hero to kill the mother of Grendel.
- Another of the most famous swords, is “The Answerer”, given to Cúchulainn by the god Lugh, and later gifted to Conn of a Hundred Battles by the same god.
In the stories of the Romans, of India, the Vikings, Ireland and Gaul, we find wonderful names for swords such as Leg-Biter, Moon blade, the Sword of Life, Croceas Mors or Yellow Death, and Joyeuse, The Sword of Charlamagne. Clearly these swords were meant to indicate authority, inheritances, and lasted more than just one lifetime.
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