the essential
For centuries, it is said, Durandal was there, embedded in its rock of Rocamadour. The temptation was too strong for the thieves who got their hands on Roland’s legendary sword. The investigation was entrusted to the Lot gendarmes.
Durandal, the legendary sword of the knight Roland, has disappeared from its rock. According to initial investigations, it was a theft, noted on Monday June 22, in the sanctuary of the city of Rocamadour, in the Lot.
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“We will miss Durandal. It has been part of Rocamadour for centuries, there is not a single guide who does not show it during their visit. Rocamadour feels stripped of a part of itself, even if it is a legend, the destinies of our village and this sword are linked”, assures Dominique Lenfant, mayor of the commune.
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An inaccessible sword, embedded in the rock, nearly 10 meters high
So, everyone is wondering, how could someone have stolen this sword, located about ten meters high, with no means of access?
It is so precious to the city that when the Cluny Museum wanted to exhibit it in 2011, a municipal councillor and a security guard accompanied its return trip between Lot and Paris.
“Durandal is a public property that belongs to the State. This sword was embedded in the rock face at a shallow depth, very close to the chapel of the Black Virgin. It measures 80 cm, so it is a small medieval sword that was forged to stun people or horses, not to kill them,” believes Dominique Lenfant.
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Legend did the rest, making it as famous as Excalibur, King Arthur’s sword… Because, the medieval “myth” tells that before being offered to Roland, Charlemagne received Durandal from an angel. It was during the battle of Roncevaux that the dying knight threw it into the air so as not to let it fall into the hands of his enemies. Traveling a few hundred kilometers, it is said to have embedded itself in the rock face of Rocamadour.
