Known as Durandal, France’s equivalent of King Arthur’s Excalibur, the sword was reported missing from the clifftop village of Rocamadour on Monday, July 1st.
Legend has it that Durandal belonged to Roland, a renowned knight in French literature, who possessed the “indestructible” sword, making it an iconic part of the region.
Authorities are treating the disappearance as theft and have initiated an investigation. They are puzzled by how the sword could have been stolen given its difficult location next to a sanctuary with restricted access.
Previously, the small medieval sword, famed for its ability to cleave through giant boulders with a single stroke, was lodged securely into the wall and tethered with a metal chain.
The village, according to Dominique Lenfant, mayor of the commune, is deeply shaken by the loss of this historic landmark, which served as its primary tourist attraction.
“Rocamadour feels stripped of a part of itself,” he told La Depeche. “Even though it is a legend, the destinies of our village and this sword are intertwined. We will miss Durandal. It has been part of Rocamadour for centuries; every guide includes it on their tours.”
The sword, considered a national treasure, was so valuable that when displayed at the Cluny Museum in Paris — dedicated to medieval artifacts — it was accompanied by a local councilor and a security guard.
Lenfant emphasized, “Durandal is public property belonging to the state. This sword was embedded shallowly in the rock face near the Chapel of the Black Virgin. It measures 80cm, making it a small medieval sword crafted not for killing but to stun people or horses.”
The sword’s mystical attributes are chronicled in the 11th-century epic poem “The Song of Roland.” This poem, written in Old French, is the oldest surviving major work of French literature, with the sole surviving manuscript housed at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, as reported by the Telegraph.
According to legend, Emperor Charlemagne received Durandal from an angel before gifting it to his bravest soldier, Roland. Roland, in a heroic act before his demise at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, attempted to break the sword on rocks to prevent its capture by enemies, but even he could not destroy it.
The myth further recounts that when Roland tossed it into the air to protect it, the sword miraculously traveled hundreds of kilometers before embedding itself in the rock face of Rocamadour.
Authorities are now grappling with the puzzle of how someone could scale 100 feet of sheer rock face to snatch the sword.
