Paris, July 5: The legendary French sword known as the “Excalibur of France”, the Durandal, has mysteriously disappeared from its resting place in the town of Rocamadour, France, where it had been lodged in a cliff face for over 13 centuries, according to a report by The Telegraph.
According to reports, the ancient and supposedly indestructible sword, associated with the heroic knight Roland in the epic poem “The Song of Roland,” vanished sometime between June 21 and 22, 2024. The sword had been securely chained 32 feet above the ground, embedded in the rock face, making its disappearance all the more perplexing.
Dominique Lenfant, the mayor of Rocamadour, expressed deep regret over the loss of the iconic sword, stating that it had been an integral part of the town’s identity for centuries. “We’re going to miss Durandal. It’s been part of Rocamadour for centuries, and there’s not a guide who doesn’t point it out when he visits,” Lenfant told the French newspaper La Dépêche.
What do legends say about the sword?
The legend of Durandal dates back to the 11th century, with the sword said to possess remarkable powers, including the ability to cut through stone with a single blow. According to the medieval tales, as mentioned in the report by Telegraph, the sword was gifted to the legendary Emperor Charlemagne by an angel, who then passed it on to his most valiant knight, Roland.
When facing defeat at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, Roland is said to have attempted to destroy the sword to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. However, the blade proved to be indestructible, and in a desperate move, Roland threw it into the air, leading to its miraculous embedding in the cliff face of Rocamadour.
An 11th-century poem that discusses the ‘magic capabilities’ of the sword is the oldest surviving work of French literature. The only existing copy of “The Song of Roland” is currently housed at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
The disappearance of this iconic relic has left the locals of Rocamadour feeling that a part of their village’s identity has been stolen. “Rocamadour feels it’s been stripped of a part of itself,” Lenfant told La Dépêche.
“But even if it’s a legend, the destinies of our village and this sword are entwined.”
Authorities have launched an investigation into the theft, but the sheer difficulty of the sword’s location, perched high on the cliff face, has left them baffled as to how the perpetrators managed to remove it.
