Public Domain Artifact: Difference between revisions

[[Genie in a Bottle|The Magic Lamp/Bottle]]—sure to contain a djinni that will grant wishes to the holder, usually with a [[Literal Genie|weird]] or [[Jackass Genie|sadistic]] twist, inspired by of course, Aladdin's lamp. Ironically, the original point of this trope was that the magician who trapped the djinni (who are really good at magic) would have had to have been ''extremely'' powerful to do so, and the djinni would be so happy to be freed they would use their magic to reward the holder.

 

* The country of Chizeta in ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'' was inspired by the [[Arabian Nights]] motif, so of ''course'' it had to include these. Turns out their starship had the shape of an oil lamp, and of course two djinn could be commanded to appear from the spout when needed.

 

==== [[Literature]] ====

* Also seen in [[Patricia C. Wrede]]'s ''Dealing With Dragons'', albeit comedically.

 

* ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]'', for one.

 

[[Excalibur]] is the prototypical "special sword". It may be called "The Sword In The Stone" which often has purists in a tiff; sometimes Excalibur and the Sword In The Stone are different swords, [[Excalibur in the Stone|sometimes they're the same sword]]. [[King Arthur|Arthurian legend]] is a ''very'' sketchy [[Canon]]. Occasionally called Caliburn or Caladbolg (when ''those'' aren't different swords) from the (possibly original) Welsh name Caledfwlch (literally 'hard gap/space', pronounced Cal-ed-voolkh, roughly). It's rarely called that, because Caledfwlch is hard to pronounce and looks rather scarily Welsh.

 

* [[Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan|Excalibolg]] is said to be a portmanteau of Excalibur and Caladbolg.

* In ''[[Fate/stay night]]'', Servant {{spoiler|Saber's}} primary weapon is Excalibur, {{spoiler|[[Samus Is a Girl|as she is actually King Arthur]].}} It can even be used as a [[Wave Motion Gun]].

* Excalibur is actually the name of the Sword Impulse Gundam's Anti-Ship Swords in ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]''. Interestingly, this was used by Shiin Asuka back when he was still the main hero.

 

* [[Marvel Comics]] has had entire stand-alone comic series named after [[Excalibur (Comic Book)|Excalibur]], about several UK-based teams of mutants. ''New Excalibur'', the characters even come in contact with the real deal when they travel back to Arthurian times.

** The current wielder of the sword is Dr. Faiza Hussain, a doctor of the Muslim faith with the strange mutant ability to pretty much dissect anyone non-magical to heal them! How did she find out? Randomly grabbing it to try to arm the Black Knight.

* Unsurprisingly, Excalibur puts in an appearance in Peter David's ''Knight Life'' trilogy (King Arthur in the modern world). Its origin and nature turn out a bit more ... complicated than usual. {{spoiler|The sword itself has no magic; the horn of the Unicorn King, concealed in the hilt, is a different story.}}

 

* In ''[[Charmed]],'' Excalibur actually is a super magical sword that can only be controlled by the most powerful magical being around. (Makes one wonder what Merlin was doing.) Anyone less magical who wields the sword would turn evil. In fact, the Lady of the Lake stayed in the lake to defuse the sword's power, allowing her to stay in control.

* Inevitably, Excalibur ends up on ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'', what's interesting is that so far it hasn't been ''identified'' as Excalibur. Merlin has had it forged in dragon's fire, watched it defeat a wraith, thrown it in the lake, ''retrieved'' it from the lake, used it to kill an undead army, and stashed it safely in a stone, but for the most part just thinks it's a really neat sword.

 

==== [[Video Games]] ====

* In a couple of the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games, Gilgamesh roams the land seeking Excalibur, but often winds up getting stuck with (and occasionally dropping) a 1 damage-dealing counterfeit known as "Excalipoor". When available as a summon, however, Gilgamesh tends to include the real Excalibur as part of his effect roulette.

* In ''[[City of Heroes]]'', Ms. Liberty (not to be confused with her mother, Miss Liberty) holds Excalibur on her belt. The sword was entrusted to her by Hero 1 (not to be confused with his father, Hero One) before he left Primal Earth as part of the [[Suicide Mission|Omega Team]]. Ms. Liberty is incapable of wielding Excalibur, but she carries it with her waiting for Hero 1 to return. {{spoiler|Players who run the Lady Grey Task Force learn that Hero 1 ''has'' returned... as a Rikti.}}

* Excalibur and Caliburn are one and the same in the [[Sonic Storybook Series]] game ''Sonic and the Black Knight''. Caliburn is his natural form and, through the power of three other swords and Sonic's own awesome willpower, becomes Excalibur. This also counts as one of Sonic's transformed states as he gains gold armor through it. {{spoiler|He's also revealed to be King Arthur, too...}}

* Excalibur is a name of a sword found in ''[[Castlevania: Chronicles of Sorrow|Aria of Sorrow]]''. However, the actual weapon is the Sword in the Stone (since Soma isn't the destined King of England, he ''can't remove it from the stone'' but still wields it), causing it to act like a hammer instead.

 

* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', part of Dave's quest in Sburb is to get Caledfwlch (or the [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004729 Legendary Piece of Shit]). But Alternate Future Dave had already gotten it and upgraded it to become the Caledscratch, so it wasn't really very useful.

 

==== [[Western Animation]] ====

 

 

 

* ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', [[Trope Maker|naturally]].

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prospero's Daughter]]'', Eramus carries it.

* The holy sword ''Esperacchius'' in ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' is Durandal, albeit reforged to look like a cavalry saber. Like the previous example above, it also has one of the Nails of the True Cross worked into it.

 

* ''[[Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger]]'': A duplicate of Durandal is forged for [[Monster of the Week|Dora Knight]]. The process requires some of the hammering to be done by a child whose birthday it is (Bandora had him kidnapped, of course), which becomes important later because the sword can't harm its maker. The sword is incredibly powerful, able to damage the Zyurangers' Legendary Weapons and even the sword of their [[First Church of Mecha|god]] [[Humongous Mecha]].

 

* In ''[[Marathon Trilogy|Marathon]]'', Durandal is a ship AI. ''Marathon's'' [[Spiritual Successor|spiritual prequel/sequel]] ''[[Halo]]'' features an AI named Cortana.

* In ''[[Fire Emblem]]'''s [[Fire Emblem Elibe|Elibe canon]], Durandal is the [[BFS|absolutely enormous]] sword used by the legendary hero Roland in the Scouring. In 6 it serves as the [[Infinity+1 Sword]] and can be used by any sufficiently skilled swordsman, while in 7 it's a [[Sword of Plot Advancement]] usable by [[The Hero|Eliwood]] in the final battle.

* You get this sword by supporting the French forces in Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War.

 

Aro[[Spell My Name with an "S"|(u)]]ndight, which may or may not have been Lancelot's sword.

 

* {{spoiler|Servant Berserker}} from ''[[Fate/Zero]]'' is revealed to hold the sword Arondight. It was formerly a holy sword, similar to Excalibur, but after his betrayal, Arondight became a demonic sword.

* Arondight is the name of the Destiny Gundam's Anti-Ship Sword in ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]''. Like how Excalibur belonged to Shiin Asuka when he was the hero, when he was shunted into antagonist mode by Kira Yamato's return, he was given this to hammer in that fact.

 

 

Less frequently, you will see other legendary Western swords such as Cortana (which actually exists as part of the Regalia of Great Britain), or Joyeuse. They do show up in ''[[Castlevania]]: Symphony Of The Night'' and all the portable 2D Castlevanias that follow it. You can find a huge amount of named armor, swords and artifacts—from Joyeuse to the Masamune to Death's Scythe. The most powerful sword in ''[[Castlevania: Chronicles of Sorrow|Aria/Dawn of Sorrow,]]'' the Claimh Solais, apparently comes from Irish mythology... odd for a Japanese game about vampires.

 

* ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' does this to ridiculous extremes, what with [[All Myths Are True|all myths being true]], so not only were there Excalibur, Caliburn, Durandal, and Gram (and plausibly, everything else), there's also that minor event known as the Holy Grail War—it's not the ''actual'' Holy Grail though. Almost as soon as it's mentioned, it becomes [[Moral Event Horizon|glaringly obvious]] that it's not the real Holy Grail, and it only gets worse from there...

** Taking it even further than that is the character [[The Epic of Gilgamesh|Gilgamesh]], whose ability is basically that he owns the originals of [[Superpower Lottery|every]] Public Domain Artifact ever.

** Of course, Gilgamesh himself is a [[Public Domain Character]].

 

==== [[Myth and Legend]] ====

 

=== Stonehenge ===

 

 

==== [[Film]] ====

* ''Angus, the First Warrior'' has Gaoth Cerridwen, the Sword in the Stone, being forged by Druids on the Stonehenge using a nail of Jesus' cross melted with the metals.

 

* In the first part of the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' season 5 finale, [[Doctor Who/Recap/S31/E12 The Pandorica Opens|The Pandorica Opens]], Stonehenge is {{spoiler|the location of the Pandorica}}. It also mentioned much earlier in [[Doctor Who/Recap/S2/E09 The Time Meddler|The Time Meddler]], where a Time Lord, the Monk, claims to have used anti-grav machines to help the construction of it.

 

==== [[Video Games]] ====

* ''[[Ancient Domains of Mystery]]'' uses it. You can't go seven leagues in a single step though, but it does improve your movement a bit.

 

== Egyptian ==

 

=== Book of the Dead ===

 

==== [[Film]] ====

 

==== [[Video Games]] ====

 

== European Middle Ages ==

The Philosopher's Stone, an item or substance of alchemical legend reputed to allow one to turn base metals into gold and possibly create an Elixir of Life, allowing one to become immortal. Incidentally, some historians believe that the "Philosopher's Stone" was actually ''Zinc''... when they initially discovered it they found what they had was something that could turn a worthless, dull metal (Copper) into a shiny golden one (Brass). By the time anyone realized that Zinc wasn't going to be lead-into-gold stuff nobody cared because, hey, ''now we can make brass so keep doing that.''

 

* It may be misnamed in Japanese media if the translators missed the reference: for example, the "Crimson Tear" from ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'' or the "Ruby Prism" from the ''[[Atelier Iris]]'' series.

* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', a Philosopher's Stone can allow you to perform alchemy without worrying about its rules. Unfortunately, as the heroes discover, the only way to create a Philosopher's Stone is to kill dozens of people (at the very ''least''), and condemn their souls to [[And I Must Scream|eternal torment]].

 

* In the [[DC Universe]] the stone is in the possession of [[The Flash]] villain Doctor Alchemy; not only it can change any substance into any other, it can even do so without touching it.

 

* The first ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' book (though they changed its named to "Sorcerer's Stone" for the U.S. release because they thought [[Viewers are Morons|Americans are stupid]] and would be confused as to why philosophers would have anything to do with magic).

 

* Appears in an episode of ''[[Honey I Shrunk the Kids (TV series)|Honey I Shrunk the Kids]]'', in which it bore a striking resemblance to "the guy from ''[[Film/Bosom Buddies|Bosom Buddies]]'' who wasn't [[Tom Hanks]]" (ironically, the wacky scientist/dad doesn't see it despite being played by that guy). It apparently grants wishes, as long as your wish can be misconstrued as "turn everything I touch into the substance I just mentioned." The climax of the episode has a guy who turns stuff to stone fighting a guy who turns stuff to cheese.

 

* In ''[[The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]]'' there is an episode centered around the stone. The bad guy wants to use it for his own greedy purposes, but fortunately there are other mystical forces around to help the Quest Team stop him.

 

The Voynich Manuscript, an untranslated medieval manuscript of a seemingly occult nature, sometimes appears in fiction as a [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]]. A list of some works featuring it can be found [http://www.ciphermysteries.com/the-voynich-manuscript/big-fat-list-of-voynich-novels here].

 

 

== Finnish ==

* [[wikipedia:Emil Petaja|Emil Petaja]] wrote a series of stories based on the ''Kalevala''. I believe ''The Star Mill'' relates to the Sampo.

 

* The Sampo was a major plot point in the featured film from the ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' episode ''[[The Day the Earth Froze]]''. Again, the artifact is continuously mentioned, and even used, without it ever being explained just what the hell it's supposed to ''be'', leading the Satellite of Love crew to have endless fun with the concept, culminating in a fan contest asking people to send in their own ideas of what a "sampo" is. The winner: a photo of a small TV set with the brand name "Sampo" showing a frame of ''MST3K''.

 

The Fountain Of Youth, which differs from most of the other artifacts on this page in that it can't be transported from place to place. Nevertheless, just about every fantasy story that runs long enough will eventually address it. Historical explorer, Juan Ponce de León went looking for it and instead got famous for exploring Florida.

 

* It's only natural for [[Man-Thing]] to stumble across it in his home in the Florida swamps (and some conquistadors along with it).

 

* The Fountain appears memorably in [[Tim Powers]]' ''On Stranger Tides''.

* The novel ''Tuck Everlasting''.

 

* In ''[[Charmed]]'' The Fountain of Youth was like a normal fountain in a city only underground and could be accessed using a magical grail. It was located in San Francisco in a cave.

* In season seven of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', Daniel goes searching for the Fountain of Youth, or, more specifically, a powerful [[Precursors|Ancient]] healing device capable of, besides healing, reviving the dead and extending life. Its effects came to anyone who was near it when it was on. It was hidden in a temple near a waterfall, thus originating the "Fountain of Youth" myth.

* In ''[[Power Rangers Zeo]]'', after Billy begins suffering from rapid aging he has to go to Aquitar in order to drink from that planet's Fountain of Youth. He has to drink it fresh from the source, because otherwise it isn't strong enough. He decides to [[Stay with the Aliens|stay on Aquitar]] after being restored because he [[Interspecies Romance|falls in love]] with an Aquitian scientist named Cestria.

 

* An artifact card in the ''[[Magic: The Gathering|Magic the Gathering]]'', ''The Dark'' expansion, which also popped up in the book based on it. It's randomly located in some village. The main character hides in it from some goblins and so unwittingly gains immortality.

 

* ''[[Colonization]]'' lets you discover it as one of random bonuses. It makes several units of eager colonists appear in European port. Amusingly, it doesn't limit how many times you can discover it, so a player who explores thoroughly can find dozens of Fountains of Youth scattered all over the Americas.

 

 

==== [[Western Animation]] ====

A lost city that sank under the sea.

 

* Atlantis is also, of course, the respective home of [[DC Comics]]'s [[Aquaman]] and [[Marvel Comics]]'s [[Sub-Mariner]].

 

* The Lost City of Atlantis itself, as seen in ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'', where it had been moved to another galaxy, submerged, resurfaced in the first episode, then moved to another planet.

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' had several depictions of Atlantis over the years: one was in the Second Doctor serial ''The Underwater Menace'', and the other was the Third Doctor serial ''The Time Monster''.

 

==== [[Video Games]] ====

A box that was given to a girl named Pandora, and that she was [[Schmuck Bait|told to never open]]. Obviously she opened it, and within it were all the horrors and woes of life, now unleashed upon the earth. She was made as dumb as she was beautiful by Zeus as punishment to humanity - his plan worked.

 

* In ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', Pandora's box contained Hypnos and Thanatos, where they had been initially sealed by Athena. Pandora, of course, released them.

 

* The box (as an urn) is the major lynchpin of the [[Project Superpowers]] comic book series

 

==== [[Film]] ====

 

* In ''[[Percy Jackson & the Olympians|The Last Olympian]]'', Prometheus gives Percy the urn of Pandora and tells him that if he opens it, he will free Hope and so surrender. It turns out to be a [[Clingy MacGuffin]]—it keeps showing up after being locked in a safe. Percy finally hands it to Hestia, who can keep it safe.

 

* Pandora's Box also showed up in a last season episode of ''[[Charmed]]'', with a superpowered Guardian ([[Viewers are Morons|named "Hope"]]) who was to protect it so that demons (or anyone really) would not be able to open it and release the ills within. Naturally said Guardian knew nothing about all this and had to go through a (relatively short) [[How Do I Shot Web?]] bit before she could save the world. Interestingly, since the Box had already been opened long ago to originally release its contents, doing so now merely intensified the bad traits of humanity—which, aside from the obvious negative consequences, helped to tilt the balance of power toward evil.

* Pandora's Box is in ''[[Warehouse 13]]''.

 

==== [[Western Animation]] ====

* The Box Ghost gets his [[Day in The Limelight]] with this in [[Danny Phantom]].

 

Asian media, especially in Japan, has the Treasures of Amaterasu, aka the "Imperial Regalia of Japan": the sword ''Kusanagi no Tsurugi'', also known as ''Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi'', the mirror ''Yata no Kagami'', and the necklace ''Yasakani no Magatama''. All three actually exist, and are stored in three different temples. However, they have never been shown in public and some may be copies of lost or stolen originals. Interestingly, the Kusanagi is rarely actually depicted in the straight, double-edged, longsword-like style and bronze composition it probably should be, [[Every Japanese Sword Is a Katana|but often as]] a [[Katanas Are Just Better|katana]]. The Magatama is often represented by its [http://cabekeriting04.blogspot.com/2008/03/magatama.html signature comma-shaped beads] rather than the whole necklace. The Kusanagi was found in the tail of the [[Orochi]] after its death.

 

* The titular ''[[Blue Seed]]''s that are the souls of the Aragami are single magatamas, one of the main characters is named Kusanagi Mamoru, and there is a villain named Murakumo {{spoiler|who is actually Yamata no Orochi}}.

* ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'''s protagonist, Motoko Kusanagi, is named after the sword. (It sounds roughly as natural to a Japanese speaker as "Jane Excalibur" would sound to an English speaker... which is probably why Masamune Shirow lampshaded it with a comment in his narration about it being "obviously a pseudonym".)

*** The sword is also correctly depicted as double edge, straight blade. Stan Sakai the writer and artist literary [[Shown Their Work|shows his work]] with a few paragraphs on whatever the comic was based upon in the letters section.

** Also in the fourth color special Usagi is forced to recreate the incident that gave the sword the Grasscutter name - a group attacking Usagi sets the grass around him on fire and he slashes the grass around him to create a safe area from the fire.

 

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prospero's Daughter]]'', the sword is one of many that the Prosperos has.

* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', the holy sword ''Fidelacchius'' is Kusanagi. It being a katana (or more precisely, a sword-cane with a katana blade) is Justified by it having been reforged in the past.

The Masamune and Muramasa. Historically, they were popular, really good swordsmiths. According to legend, however, they were swordsmiths that made swords ideal to avert and perform cutting, respectively. In every place they're mentioned today, though, the Masamune and Muramasa are both swords, not swordsmiths, indicating that no one ever [[Did Not Do the Research|does the research]]. Though plenty of fiction will refer to a given weapon as ''a'' Masamune, indicating the weapon was crafted by him. Compare to the ''Stradivarii'' (plural for Stradivarius), stringed musical instruments of extreme quality made by Antonio Stradivari. As the techniques of both craftsmen died with them, and the specific qualities of their works have yet to be reproduced, surviving pieces have become legendary to the point of magical. Or consider modern weapons manufactured by the Smith and Wesson or Glock companies; often the weapons will be called by the company name.

 

* In the Zanpakutou Unknown Tales filler arc of the ''[[Bleach]]'' anime, we are introduced to a character named Muramasa, who has the power of making the Shinigami's swords materialize in their true form, and who's controlling them into rebelling against their respective Shinigami. {{spoiler|Turns out, Muramasa ''is'' a Shinigami's sword, as well.}}

* ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' has the sword correctly named as a creation of Masamune, though it is a ''wooden'' sword. It isn't given a specific name on it's own, just called '''[http://img01.nj.us.mangafox.com/store/manga/708/062.0/compressed/Hayate_v06c62_151.jpg Wooden Masamune]{{Dead link}}'''.

 

* In ''[[Wolverine]]'', the Muramasa Blade is a magical/cursed blade which cancels out advanced healing factors, like Wolverine's. In addition to being freakishly sharp. Needless to say, this is a major item in the Marvel Universe, and has been used to decapitate at least one character.

 

* [[108|108 beads]]. This is essentially the Buddhist equivalent of a rosary/crucifix. Appears a lot in videogames.

 

* In ''[[Shaman King]]'', Anna has 1080 beads, which are ten times as powerful.

 

In [[wikipedia:The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter|Kaguya-Hime, the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter]] the title character is approached by princely suitors and she provides them with five [[Impossible Task]]s, the recovery of certain mystical treasures. The five artifacts were the stone begging bowl of Buddha of India, a jeweled branch from the island of Hourai, the pelt of the fire-rat from China, a colored jewel from a dragon's neck, and a [[wikipedia:Cowrie|cowrie]] which was born from swallows. Though some of the more clever suitors attempt to pass-off normal items as the fantastic ones in question, all of the suitors are rebuffed.

 

* ''[[Inuyasha|Inu Yasha]]'' wears a robe made from the pelt of the fire-rat. Not only is it fire-proof but humans (Kagome) have actually survived the lack of oxygen and extreme temperatures while donning it and immersed in flames.

** In one of [[The Movie]]s, villains are regathering the five treasures and [[Inuyasha]] gets involved when they try to steal his robe.

 

 

==== [[Video Games]] ====

* In ''[[The Song of Roland]]'', the Durandal is said to contain numerous artefacts in this vein embedded in its hilt.

 

 

* Let's not even get started on [[Nasuverse|Kinoko Nasu's]] ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' and ''[[Fate/Zero]]''.

** Though at least in the [[Nasuverse]], it's explicitly stated that there are dozens of artifacts which claim to be the Holy Grail, and that whether that particular one had anything to do with Jesus is irrelevant considering its power. Turns out {{spoiler|it was made from scratch in the 1800s}}.

* As previously mentioned in ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' it is the Holy Grail that transforms Sailor Moon into Super Sailor Moon. That being said it may not be ''the'' Holy Grail as in the manga, and the videogame ''[[Sailor Moon: Another Story]]'', there's ''two'' of them - Sailor Chibi Moon has one as well.

 

* Also the Graphic Novel ''[[Camelot 3000]]'', in which the Grail transforms a [[Mutants|mutated]] Knight back into human form, and then, when stolen by Mordred and merged into a suit of armor, creates an armor that instantly [[Healing Factor|heals any and all damage]], no matter how fatal. Not that it really did Modred that much good...

* ''[[The Invisibles]]'' features the Black Grail, which caught the blood and excreta of Judas when he hanged himself. It bestows ignorance, rather than the enlightenment of the normal grail.

* This comes up in Peter David's ''Knight Life'' trilogy - the Grail is still in the keeping of Percival, the knight tasked with finding it. {{spoiler|Turns out it's magical from catching the blood of the Unicorn King, back when Merlin was a young man. It became linked up with Jesus when he drank from it.}}

 

* A major part of the plot in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'''s tenth season is the Sangraal, also known as the Holy Grail. As Daniel points out, the original Arthurian legend doesn't have anything do do with Christ (as that part was added in later), and the Holy Grail is depicted in multiple ways, including "a stone that fell from the heavens". This is what they need to find, as it's actually a weapon created by Merlin, who is actually a [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]], and this weapon is the only thing capable of destroying their enemy.

 

==== [[Tabletop Games]] ====

 

==== [[Video Games]] ====

 

==== [[Web Comics]] ====

 

=== Fragments of the True Cross ===

Fragments of the True Cross—that is, the one on which Christ was crucified. This one pops up pretty often in real life as well as in fiction—many congregations around the world possess fragments, usually no more than a single splinter, of an artifact discovered in the 4th century said to be the relic. The miniature chapel of the fairy-tale castle at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, a priceless dollhouse filled with precious and historic furnishings, contains a reliquary with an alleged True Cross fragment. There's a common joke that there are enough fragments of the True Cross to rebuild Noah's Ark, but Rohault de Fleury, a 19thC French scholar, measured the total volume of all claimed fragments of the True Cross and found they added up to 0.004 cubic meters; his estimate was that the whole cross would have been 0.178 cubic meters. (This was published in ''Mémoire sur les instruments de la Passion'', 1870.).

 

* In the ''[[Hellsing]]'' manga Alexander Anderson uses in his final fight with Alucard one of the Vatican's most important relics, "Helena's Nail". According to Catholic tradition, Helena of Constantinople, mother of Emperor Constantine I, was the discoverer of the remains of the True Cross. She is said to have affixed at least one nail to the bridle of her son's horse to give him protection in battle.

 

* [[Doctor Doom]] was revealed to have splinters of the True Cross in his armour in a recent Captain Britain and the Mi13 series. Just in [[Crazy Prepared|case]] he'd run into [[Dracula]] one day.

* In the continuity of [[Vampirella]], giving a vampire a scratch with a fragment of the True Cross, even if it is a wound a normal human would ignore, causes the monster [[Ludicrous Gibs|to explode]].

Nails that punctured Jesus in the Crucifixion are seemingly less common (God's Hooks, sometimes corrupted into gadzooks), oddly enough, but not unknown, let alone in fiction: they've appeared in ''at least'' one really popular series of fantasy novels. ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' pretty early on introduces the concept of the Knights of the Cross, a trio of men who each have a sword imbued with magical anti-evil powers thanks (supposedly) to having one of the ancient Jesus nails worked into the hilt. Of course, the series also has a pretty firm (and in this context, even slightly subversive) "[[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|faith in something gives it power]]" [[Magic A Is Magic A|rule]], so there's no real way to tell if they're ''actually'' from the Crucifixion or not. In a double-whammy, one of said swords might be [[Excalibur]]. The Iron Crown of the Lombards (which was seized by Charlemagne when he defeated that Northern Italian state) is reputed to incorporate such a nail. Similarly, the Spear of Destiny in Vienna (cited elsewhere on this page) also incorporates an alleged nail of the Crucifixion. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Heilige_Lanze_02.JPG The Vienna spear] consists of a simple spear wrapped in a ridiculous amount of bling (including the supposed True Cross nail). The spear as was supposed to have pierced Christ's side is the core; the nail and everything else would have been added later.

 

* In ''[[Hellsing]]'', Father Alexander Anderson, when confronted by a fully-released Alucard, produces one of the Nails and uses it to turn himself into a holy, inhuman monster to fight the vampire.

 

The Shroud of Turin, unsurprisingly, has also appeared at least a time or two in fiction of recent years, usually with the implication that it has enormous mystical power. Test results that date it to the late [[Middle Ages]] are [[Rule of Cool|generally ignored]]. Similarly, there's Veronica's Veil—a cloth that the eponymous Veronica wiped Jesus' brow with as he was marched to Golgotha, and which was imprinted with his image. Some scholars believe the Veil may have been the Shroud of Turin, just folded so only the image of the face appeared. There's been recent evidence to suggest that the original results from 1988 were either the results of bias or poor data sampling. [[wikipedia:Shroud of Turin|See the "chemical properties of the sample site" under the "Analysis of the Shroud"]]

 

 

* It's the central object in [[Doug Ten Napel]]'s graphic novel ''[[Creature Tech]]'', in which the Shroud actually has the power to instantly heal anything, even bringing things back from the dead, such as {{spoiler|GIANT SPACE EELS.}}

 

==== [[Literature]] ====

* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' ([[Trope Overdosed|somewhat unsurprisingly]]) the entirety of ''Death Masks'' is centered on the theft of the Shroud of Turin, in which it's ''heavily'' implied (and occasionally all but outright explicitly stated) that said Shroud has some ''crazy'' mystical strength owing to many years of being an object of faith. Interestingly, the usual assumption that it could [[Healing Hands|heal]] (as is a common assumption with pretty much anything that ever touched so much as Jesus' toenail clippings) is addressed, but the book in question leaves it open as to whether or not it actually ''can'' heal to the level hoped for. It does, however, hold up improbably well despite taking a beating (and a soaking followed by a pulling), and it may or may not have contributed to a fight, if you don't believe in coincidence. Oh, and it was about to be used as part of a mystical doomsday plot at one point, too... need I go on?

** Fun fact: The working title of that particular book was ''Holy Sheet'', but the [[Executive Meddling|publishers demanded a change]]. One instance where they couldn't [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|get crap past the radar]].

** For all of this, the jury actually stays out on whether the thing really ever came within a thousand miles or years of touching Jesus. In fact, Harry (as both protagonist and narrator) comes down on the side of "probably not." It turns out, though, that when millions of people in the Dresdenverse venerate something as an artifact of power, they [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|literally can't be wrong]].

 

* There was an episode of ''[[The Outer Limits]]'' revival where a Christian [[The Fundamentalist|fundamentalist]] was using [[Lego Genetics|DNA samples]] from the Shroud of Turin to clone himself a new [[Clone Jesus|baby Jesus]].

 

The Lance of Longinus / Spear of Destiny / Holy Lance / Spear of Longinus / Spear of Christ / Holy Spear: The spear which supposedly pierced Jesus' side during the crucifixion, reputed to have all kinds of crazy powers ranging from healing to the ability to destroy the whole world in one shot. Three known items are sometimes claimed to be the Holy Lance; One resides in the Vatican, one in the Hofburg Museum in Vienna (having been moved from Nuremberg during the Napoleonic Wars) and one in Krakow, Poland. The Catholic Church has made no statements as to the authenticity of any of them—perhaps wisely as the latter two have been shown by recent research to be of a later origin. It's used everywhere from video games, to ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Evangelion]]'' (although there it had no relation to the mythological lance, and was instead a powerful artifact of extraterrestrial origin) and even the first of those campy flicks from ''[[The Librarian]]'' series (where it was inexplicably in three parts, and became a set of [[Plot Coupon]]s necessitating a whole lot of traveling and avoiding of Mayan [[Death Trap]]s). Also appears as a plot coupon in the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' Movie, which allows the [[Big Bad]] to open a portal between the worlds. Almost any work of fiction dealing with [[Those Wacky Nazis|The Nazis']] [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|top secret paranormal experiments and super-weapons]] will mention the Spear at some point.

 

* Used in DC comics set during WWII. Hitler had it, as the [[Justified Trope|justification]] why [[Superman]] or others [[Reed Richards Is Useless|didn't just fly over and beat the snot out of him and his army]]. This is a decades-later [[Retcon]], the actual [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] comics didn't bother to explain.

** The Spear has been shown to be one of the few things effective against the otherwise near-omnipotent hero, [[The Spectre]].

* The Spear appears, naturally, in Barry Sadler's "Casca" series, since the main character is the soldier who stabbed Christ with it. The Spear is in the possession of a cult who persecute Casca throughout history and reappears periodically throughout the series.

 

* The short-lived [[Nineties Adventure Show]] ''[[Roar]]'' was entirely based around this - the [[Big Bad]] of the show was Longinus himself, who was [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|granted immortality as a curse]] after [[Did Not Do the Research|killing Jesus.]] The super power of the Lance was supposedly the ability kill anyone - that's how it killed Jesus, an immortal god. It somehow made its way to Britain, and Longinus was trying to get it back in order to kill himself with it.

* The spear shows up in an episode of, of all things, ''[[The Unit]]''. Normally a show about the All-State guy and a bunch of badasses fighting terrorists, this particular episode has him an injured man stranded behind enemy lines. When they report their location and it turns out to be near a monastery suspected of guarding the spear, an affluent group of men who throw around a lot of money to influence the government call in some favors to have their rescue conveniently delayed until Jonas takes the spear from the monastery. Some [[Lampshade Hanging]] is done at the expense of the "committee;" the character who relays their wishes notes that they may very well be raving mad to think owning the spear will magically expand their influence. Jonas and his injured team member each have a [[Mind Screw]] during the ordeal, though.

 

==== [[Tabletop Games]] ====

* The plot of ''[[Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis]]'' is based around the race to find this, as it is the [[MacGuffin]] that can resurrect the fallen angel... or kill him. It also makes a decent melee weapon.

** Best spear in the game, and second only to the [[Game Breaker|Snapdragon]] [[Infinity+1 Sword|swords]].

 

 

 

 

==== [[Film]] ====

* In ''[[The Librarian]]'': The Judas Chalice, they had been forged into a silver equivalent to [[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade|the Holy Grail]] for vampires.

==== [[Literature]] ====

* Show up in ''[[The Dresden Files]]''. Each one contains a [[Sealed Evil in a Can|fallen angel]], the lot of whom are collectively referred to as the Knights of the Blackened Denarius (or as Harry calls them, [[Deadpan Snarker|the Nickelheads]])

* In Kathryn Smith's ''Brotherhood of Blood'' romance novel series, the 30 pieces of silver were impregnated with Lilith's spirit and passed from man to man, the most famous being Judas, and eventually melted into a cup, the Blood Grail, which turns anyone who drinks from it into a vampire. This goes badly for the guys who find it thinking it's the ''other'' Grail.

 

==== [[Video Games]] ====

 

==== [[Web Comic]] ====

* In [[Thunderstruck]], Judas Iscariot is the progenitor of all vampires, his condition being the result of a curse put on him due to his traitorous intentions as he drank of the blood of Christ at the Last Supper. The thirty pieces of silver became a talisman holding absolute power over his soul; whoever possesses the silver pieces has total control over Judas (but only if they have all 30).

 

 

=== Judas' Noose ===

 

==== [[Tabletop Games]] ====

 

 

From Jewish folklore, the seal ring that allowed Solomon to cork up spirits in bottles. May feature only in finding such a bottle with the impress.

 

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prospero's Daughter]]'', this is used on various spirits.

* In [[Poul Anderson]]'s ''[[Operation Chaos]]'', the genie came from such a bottle.

Ragnarok is also a common name for swords in RPGs, and there's also Lævateinn, the [[Flaming Sword]] of Surtr.

 

* ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'': Most of Dukemon's arsenal consists of weapons named after legendary weapons of Norse mythology. In his base form he wields a lance called Gram, and as [[Eleventh-Hour Superpower|Crimson Mode]] he wields dual [[Energy Weapon|energy weapons]] named Blutgang and Gungnir. In [[All There in the Manual|expanded universe material]], his [[Evil Counterpart]] [[Palette Swap]] ChaosDukemon instead calls his lance Balmung.

* Marie Mjolnir from ''[[Soul Eater]]'' is a Death Scythe whose weapon form is a hammer.

 

** Sure it is. The wielder has to be worthy of the power of Thor. It's a dual-purpose enchantment by Odin to both make sure that power doesn't fall into the wrong hands, but also to make sure that there is a Thor who will ''act like Thor'' once Ragnarok comes around. Superman isn't worthy to lift Mjolnir because he's actually a little too heroic. A proper Thor needs to think like a warrior when the situation calls for it, which means being just a little bit more willing to use lethal force when necessary. That's no slight on Superman, it just means that Superman would make a poor viking, which is as it should be.

** Once, Thor had a rescue worker hand his hammer back to him. [[The Real Heroes|He took a minute to realise the implications.]]

==== [[Film]] ====

* One of the ships in ''[[The Matrix]]'' was technically called Mjolnir, but everybody called it "The Hammer". Probably because, as the special features on the ''Revolutions'' DVD demonstrate, [[Did Not Do the Research|nobody involved in the production could figure out how to pronounce it]].

 

==== [[Literature]] ====

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prospero's Daughter]]'', one of the swords the Prosperos own comes from Norse mythology.

 

* Mjolnir shows up in ''[[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]]''. Along with the real Thor and Loki. There's also the Spear of Neptune, although Neptune himself is not encountered

** All the more interesting since one of the villains seven seasons earlier (''[[Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue]]'') was a demon named Loki, and King/Lord Neptune himself appeared in that same season. How Overdrive's long-abandoned city of Atlantis squares with ''[[Power Rangers Time Force]]'''s ancillary materials placing Atlantis in the South China Sea is unknown..

==== [[Western Animation]] ====

* In ''Atlantis II: Milo's Return'', Gungnir is the artifact the third leg focuses on. It is in fact of Atlantean origin. A crazed shipwright named Eric Helstrom, under the delusion he was Odin, stole it from Mr. Whitmore's collection and attempts to use it to cause Ragnarok. He is prevented from doing so and the spear is instead used to raise Atlantis back above the surface of the ocean.

 

== Other ==

 

==== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ====

 

* The ''Darkhold'' is [[Marvel Comics]] analog of the ''Necronomicon''. The ''Darkhold'' started out as a set of scrolls written in Antedeluvian times, referenced in their ''Conan the Barbarian'' adaptations.

* [[Evil Sorcerer|Felix Faust]] is sometimes seen reading from the Necronomicon. When reading the literature of Tartarus in ''[[Justice League]] Unlimited'' he refers to dark tomes that make the Necronomicon look like a children's book.

 

 

* Nowadays we have U.F.Os, Area 51 and [[The Greys]], which seem to qualify as the latest Public Domain Artifacts.

** Or, as the quote from ''Angels of Light and Darkness'' states, half of what they say was owned by [[Godwin's Law|Hitler]].

* Lemuria and Mu. Mu is a mistranslation of a Mayan codex. Lemuria was a land bridge by Ernst Häckel to explain similarities in the ecosystems of Madagascar and Indonesia [[Science Marches On|before plate tectonics]].

* Some public-domain fictional characters' bits of associated items have attained this status, such as Dr. Jekyll's Hyde-transformation elixer or Dorian Gray's youth-sustaining portrait.

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Prospero's Daughter]]'', there are more public domain artifacts per square inch in the Prosperos' mansion than anywhere else. Several are mentioned above. But they were collecting them.

* The tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Some [[expy]] versions use artificial lake of mercury or terracota figurines alone.