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France: ‘Magic’ sword vanishes after being stuck in stone for 1300 years
The Durandal, which is France's version of the Excalibur sword, has gone missing after being stuck in stone for 1300 years.
France's answer to the Excalibur, the Durandal, has mysteriously vanished, after being stuck in stone for over 1,300 years in the village of Rocamadour. The French police are investigating the loss of the 'magic' sword, according to the Telegraph UK.
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The sword was stolen on Monday, from Rocamadour, where it serves as a major tourist attraction. The ancient weapon was the favoured weapon of a famous character in French literature - the knight Roland, who was said to possess ‘an indestructible sword’.
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Medieval myths also claim that this ‘magical’ sword had been given to the knight by an angel. It is said that the knight threw the sword to save it from approaching enemies and lodged it into the rock permanently. This further created the legend that the sword could cut through stone with one blow.
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These magical qualities of the sword are mentioned in the 11th-century poems of the Song of Roland, which is the oldest surviving major work of French literature.
Now, however, the sword into a rock, lodged 100 feet above the ground, has been stolen by someone, distressed locals say. "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,” local mayor Dominique Lenfant told La Dépêche, a French newspaper.
He added that, “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 are perplexed by how someone managed to climb 100 feet on a cliff and pull a sword embedded in stone out.
The sword has been considered so precious by the town, that when it was to be displayed at Cuny Museum in 2011, the local councillor and security guard escorted the sword to Paris.
