Over the years of the Middle Ages the average person was either a peasant or not much more than one, which made a majority of population rather unintelligent. Thus, as in all cultures, legends and myths arose to form explanations of things that most people didn’t understand. And, as luck has it, one of the things most people didn’t understand was exactly how swords were made.  They had no idea of how there were forged, or how they would go about forging them. Basically the only people who knew this were the blacksmiths and sword smiths and possible armor smiths. The fact that a majority of the populous didn’t know the first thing about forging a sword gave the people who did know how all the more reason to keep it secret. By giving the secrets of sword making away they would be giving away their source of income, or sharing it rather.  
            Some people thought it was logical that because the sword makers would not share their secrets, that the swords were forged with magic. This thought gave rise to many things, as well as the notion that some swords, Excalibur for instance, were blessed by the gods. Magical or supernatural swords appear in many legends and in many culture’s mythology, including Greek and Norse mythology among others. And even though in some cases the swords were not specifically “magical” there was supposedly something special about it that set it apart from other swords of its type.
            One of the greatest origins of sword legends was the city of Damascus, the capital of modern day Syria.  The swords of Damascene steel were the strongest of their time, and very difficult to break. As a result, these swords were the source of many legends. And for a time, that was all the stories were thought to be, just legends. In 2000, however, the secret of Damascene steel was discovered. The reason that the swords were thought to be so strong is because at the time the furnaces were able to be heated to 2500 degrees Fahrenheit, which was hotter than any other place in the world. This higher level of heating allows for low carbon and high carbon steels to mix, which is called cofusion. When the high carbon steel mixes with low carbon steel, the blade becomes extremely strong. In addition to the temperature the swords were heated at, the sword smith’s technique was also different than of others at the time. They would heat the metal up to six times, and when the blade is heated and shaped again and again it becomes less brittle.
            Overall swords throughout history have taken many legends upon themselves, but many are false, or at least as of yet unproven…