Durendal
Encyclopedia
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
's paladin
Paladin
The paladins, sometimes known as the Twelve Peers, were the foremost warriors of Charlemagne's court, according to the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. They first appear in the early chansons de geste such as The Song of Roland, where they represent Christian martial valor against the...
Roland
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France
Matter of France
The Matter of France, also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of literature and legendary material associated with the history of France, in particular involving Charlemagne and his associates. The cycle springs from the Old French chansons de geste, and was later adapted into a variety of...
.
The origin of the sword is unclear; the sword is given various provenances in the Matter of France. Several of the works of the Matter of France, however, agree that the sword was forged by Wayland the Smith, a mysterious blacksmith from Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
who is commonly cited as a maker of romantic
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
weapons. According to the Song of Roland, the sword is brought by an angel to Charlemagne, who gives it to Roland. According to Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...
's Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...
it once belonged to Hector
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...
of Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, and was given to Roland by Malagigi
Maugris
In the Matter of France, Maugris or Maugis was one of the heroes of the chansons de geste and romances of chivalry that tell of the legendary court of King Charlemagne. He is cousin to Renaud de Montauban , son of Beuves of Aygremont and brother to Vivien de Monbranc. He was brought up by Oriande...
(Maugris). This is questionable, given that the swords of Hector's time were made of bronze, and would not have held up in battle against the iron or steel weaponry of Roland's time.
In The Song of Roland, the sword is said to contain within its golden hilt one tooth of Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
of Saint Basil, hair of Saint Denis
Denis
Saint Denis is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after A.D. 250...
, and a piece of the raiment of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the poem, Roland uses the sword to hold off an hundred-thousand-strong Muslim army long enough for Charlemagne's army to retreat into France. Roland attempted to destroy the sword to prevent it from being captured by the attacking Saracens and created La Brèche de Roland
La Brèche de Roland
La Brèche de Roland is a natural gap, 40 m across and 100 m high, at an altitude of 2804 m in the steep cliffs of the Cirque de Gavarnie in the Pyrenees...
in the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
in the process. But Durendal proved indestructible, so he hid it beneath his body along with the oliphant
Olifant (instrument)
Olifant was the name applied in the Middle Ages to ivory hunting horns made from elephants' tusks. One of the most famous olifants belonged to the legendary Frankish knight Roland, protagonist of The Song of Roland.In The Song of Roland, Roland carries his olifant while serving on the rearguard of...
, the horn used to alert Charlemagne.
Local folklore claims Durendal still exists, preserved in Rocamadour
Rocamadour
Rocamadour is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. It lies in the former province of Quercy.Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne, and especially for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, embedded in a cliff wall. In the twelfth century, the monks of Rocamadour claimed that Roland threw the sword rather than hide it beneath himself. The local tourist office calls the sword a replica of Durendal, however.