While King Arthur’s miraculous sword in the stone is the stuff of legend, France’s blade of myth and legend, known as Durandal, is real and has gone missing from its rocky roost in the town of Rocamadour, a small clifftop village in south-central France.
For almost 1,300 years, this “French Excalibur” had been perched high on a rock wall, out of reach, guarded not by magic but by good old-fashioned chains fastened to the wall. However, chains were unable to stop some determined thieves.
The sword disappeared on the night of June 21-22, right after the summer solstice. Locals say that the loss of the fabled sword has left the community feeling incomplete.
The sword is believed to have belonged to Roland, a famous paladin or knight who was Charlemagne’s commander in the French epic poem, The Song of Roland.
According to the poem from the eleventh century, the blade contains one of St Peter’s teeth, the blood of St Basil, and the hair of St Denis, and possesses magical powers.
It is said that in the eighth century, an angel delivered the sword to Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, who subsequently presented it to Roland, one of his greatest knights.