The Famous Sword In Stone Has Gone Missing, And It Appears Someone May Have Stolen It
After spending about 1,300 years wedged in the wall of a cliff high off the ground, the famous Durandal sword has mysteriously vanished without a trace.
Durandal was said to have been embedded in stone roughly 100 feet above a riverbank in the French town of Rocamadour. It is linked to mythology that rivals King Arthur’s Excalibur.
The sword that recently went missing is just a copy of the real Durandal, but it holds major symbolic significance in the town. It also served as a popular tourist attraction. Now, it is gone and has been presumed stolen.
On June 21, the sword disappeared from its place above a tributary of the River Dordogne sometime after nightfall. The next day, someone reported its absence, and authorities immediately launched an investigation.
The legend of Durandal started with a poem from the 11th century. In the poem titled “The Song of Roland,” the adventures of the knight Roland were detailed.
Roland wielded Durandal, which was entrusted to him by Charlemagne, king of the Franks in the 700s A.D. Charlemagne had supposedly received the sword from an angel.
Durandal was indestructible and had a blade that was sharper than all others. It even had the ability to slice through boulders.
During the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, Roland did not want his enemies to get their hands on Durandal.
He couldn’t smash it against stone because of its strength. So, with his last, dying breath, he threw it as far as he could.
diy13 – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
The sword traveled hundreds of miles through the air and landed in the southern French village of Rocamadour, where it lodged itself in a cliff face. There, it rested for 1,250 years. Roland died a heroic death in 778 A.D. while fighting Muslim forces.
“The Song of Roland” contains the first known reference to the sword. It is also the oldest surviving significant work of French literature.
Today, the manuscript is housed in the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library in England. The town of Rocamadour, also known for its goat cheese, is grieving the loss of such a meaningful artifact.
“We’re going to miss Durandal,” said Dominique Lenfant, the town’s mayor. “It’s been part of Rocamadour for centuries, and there’s not a guide who doesn’t point it out when he visits.
Rocamadour feels it’s been robbed of a part of itself, but even if it’s a legend, the destinies of our village and this sword are entwined.”
Police have not yet been able to figure out the identity of the thief or how the sword was extracted from the cliff wall.
The motives behind the theft are also unclear. Luckily, it seems that Rocamadour won’t have to go for very long without its most prized possession.
If the stolen blade is not recovered soon, Lenfant noted that four local blacksmiths have graciously offered to create a new Durandal to replace the sword in the stone.
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