Arthur was not just handed the kingdom. The odds were against him to become king however he did not give up and became a man of legend.
The legend of King Arthur is a legend that has been told countless ways. As with most legends there is a debate as to whether or not he actually existed. These timeless stories hold a wealth of knowledge that people can find beneficial. One such story is King Arthur and the sword. One such story is the Arthur and the sword as translated by Sidney Lanier in 1917.
Arthur was the son of the King. However, when Arthur was born his father didn't want him. So he handed him to Merlin and said to give the child to whatever fool he may happen to meet at the castle gates. Merlin did as he was told. He gave the child to a knight by the name of Sir Hector. After Sir Hector took in the boy the King died. Since there was no known heir to the throne his sword was placed in a stone in the church courtyard. Who ever pulled this sword from the stone would become the new King.
Sir Hector raised the boy as his own. When Sir Hector's biological son began to fight as a knight Arthur acted as his page. Which in those days was the assistant to the knight. Typically these were boys that were too young to be knights in the first place.
It is important to note here that many men attempted to pull the sword from the stone on several occasions. All of them failed. So for many years it sat in the church courtyard. On one day Sir Hector's son was fighting in a major tournament. When he got there he realized that his sword was left at home. To save the day Sir Hector sent Arthur home to get the sword. As it turned out the only sword Arthur could get his hands on was the sword in the stone, which was unattended at the time.
Arthur rode to the church and pulled the sword from the stone. When he brought the sword to the brother he was questioned as to why he had gotten a different sword and where it was that he found this one. To astonished ears he told them where he found the sword. They could not believe that a child was able to pull the sword from the stone. So they went back to the church with Arthur. They put the sword back in the stone. Each of the men attempted to pull the sword from the stone but each failed. Arthur then attempted yet again and it came out easily.
They would not accept that Arthur would be the King. As far as they all knew he was a boy and of common birth. No one knew the King had given him up. So they told him to back again at Christmas and allowed other men to try. They all failed but Arthur came at Christmas and pulled out the sword yet again. They made him come back two other times before the officials relented realizing that Arthur was meant to pull the sword out and no other man would succeed.
