San Galgano

Tuscany is truly a beautiful region, especially when viewed from one of the mountain villages. There are many fascinating landmarks, many dating to the middle ages and earlier.  One of the places we visited was the chapel and the ruins of the Abbey of San Galgano.  

Did King Arthur Come From Italy?

A mysterious "sword in the stone" said to have been thrust into a rock near Siena by a medieval knight proves that the legend of King Arthur, Excalibur and the Holy Grail originated in Tuscany, not Cornwall or Brittany, an Italian scholar claims. The sword, of which only the hilt and an inch or two of blade is visible, is preserved at the Gothic abbey of San Galgano at Montesiepi, about 19 miles (30 km) southwest of Siena. The Cistercian abbey, now ruined, was built to honor St Galgano, a 12th-century Tuscan nobleman named Galgano Guidotti who renounced a life of "arrogance, lust and violence" to become a hermit after seeing a vision of the Archangel Michael.

To symbolize his rejection of war, he supposedly plunged his sword into the rock, which miraculously "parted like butter", leaving only the hilt exposed to form the shape of the Cross.

It has been assumed that the Tuscan "sword in the stone" was copied to echo the Celtic legend of King Arthur as told by Geoffrey of Monmouth and Chretien de Troyes and by Thomas Malory in his celebrated 15th- century Le Morte D'Arthur. But a study by the medieval historian Mario Moiraghi suggests that the story of St Galgano and his sword was the origin of the myth of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, embellished by medieval troubadours as it spread from Tuscany.

It was here at this chapel, that Fr. Voigt offered Mass on May 1st.  It turned out that a chapel full of Italian tourists and their priest was coincidentally visiting at the same time our Mass was to be offered.  Fr. Voigt gave a talk on the Seven Seals binding the Seven Capital Sins as Dr. D'Amico translated the sermon into Italian for the group.  It was obviously the first time many had seen the Traditional Latin Mass and many offered their approval afterward.

Mass in the San Galgano.

Just a few feet from the altar in the center of the chapel under a protective Plexiglas cover, the sword of San Galgano embedded in the stone.

The ruins of the Abbey built by San Galgano after an apparition of St. Michael.

This is a view of the surrounding countryside.  I have also included a short video of a group of children playing outside the chapel after Mass.