The Sword And The Stone

Joss Stone narrowly escapes samurai sword

Crime duo Junior Bradshaw, 30, and Kevin Liverpool, 33, appeared at Exeter Crown Court today to face charges of conspiracy to commit robbery and grievous bodily harm against Joss Stone. The pair was arrested in June outside of the soul-singer’s secluded house in Devon, England.

Police apprehended Bradshaw and Liverpool, both from Manchester, after receiving an alert of suspicious activity. Authorities found a samurai sword and several notes mentioning Stone’s name in their vehicle, reports the Guardian .

According to Reuters , neither of the offenders entered a plea, and will remain in custody until their scheduled October 24 court date. It is yet reported if either of the men suffers from mental instability, and the motive of the duo’s plot remains unclear.

Contact Music reports that Stone, who has an estimated fortune of over $15 million, issued a statement at the time of the arrests.

"I'd like to thank everyone for their concern but I'm absolutely fine and getting on with life as normal while the police continue with their inquiries.

The Sword in the Stone at the Monte Siepi Chapel | Historic Mysteries

The Sword in the Stone is a story with ties to Arthurian legend. It is the tale of the future King Arthur, who pulled the embedded sword from the stone when no other man could. It is a legend that displays the mythical qualities bestowed on Arthur — his ability to do the impossible — and it is not the only Arthurian legend involving the seemingly unlikely retrieval of a sword. Of course, there are other legends that display Arthur’s weaknesses — particularly, Guinevere and Morgan le Fay.

Judging by a real artifact, the sword in the stone legend may be partially based on true events. No one pulled a sword from a stone and went on to become a king, as far as we know. In fact, the sword that exists in reality rather than legend is still stuck in its stone. However, there is no denying that such a sword exists. The stone and sword in question are located at Monte Siepi Chapel in the San Galgano Abbey in Tuscany. The abbey is in Italy and the history of it has naught to do with England. However, it may be the inspiration for this popular story. After all, how many swords in stones can there possibly be?

San (Saint) Galgano Guidotti was born in 1148 is allegedly the man behind the real sword in the stone at Siepi Chapel. Guidotti was a knight that was far removed from the knights of Arthur’s Round Table. He was a brutal and cruel knight, but he turned his life around in the end and become a saint. At the age of 32, Guidotti saw the Archangel Michael, who told him that he must end his life of sin and showed him the path to god. The year was 1180.

Galgano Guidotti did not initially abide by the angel of Heaven. He did not do as the angel suggested and commit to god. It was not until he was out riding one day that he was faced with the place of his salvation — Monte Siepi. Monte Siepi did not include the impressive abbey and chapel that grace the landscape now when Galgano found it. In fact, it was just a hill with some bedrock in it. There, something — a voice from Heaven, perhaps — told him again that he had to change. He replied that it would be as difficult as “splitting rock with a sword.” He then tried to demonstrate the hopelessness of his situation, but instead of breaking, his sword went straight into the rock. The story goes that Galgano used the rock with the sword in it as an altar for praying from that day forth. He died roughly a year after sinking his sword into the stone at Monte Siepi.

The sword in the stone

The sword and the stone

The sword and the stone

Sword in the Stone

Sword in the Stone