Durendal


Durendal


Durendal, also spelled Durandal, is the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin and partially historical officer of Charlemagne in French epic literature. It is also said that it belonged to the young Charlemagne at one point and, after passing through Saracen hands, came to be owned by Roland.

The sword has been given various provenances. Several of the works of the Matter of France agree that it was forged by Wayland the Smith, who is commonly cited as a maker of weapons in chivalric romances.

A replica of the sword is presumed stolen from Rocamadour, France, as of July 2024, with no known culprit.

Etymology

The name "Durendal" arguably begins with the French dur- stem, meaning "hard", though "enduring" may be the intended meaning. Rita Lejeune argues that the name may break down into durant + dail,, which may be remdered in English as "strong scythe" or explained in more detail to mean "a scimitar or scythe that holds up, resists, endures". Gerhard Rohlfs suggests dur + end'art, "strong flame" or "[a flame] burns strongly from it".

The Pseudo-Turpin explains that the name "'Durendal' is interpreted to mean [that] it gives a hard strike" (Durenda interpretatur durum ictum cum ea dans). It has been argued that since the Pseudo-Turpin was compelled to gloss the meaning this constitutes evidence that it was a name that was not readily understood in French,

One non-French etymology is Edwin B. Place's attempt to construe it in Breton as diren dall, meaning "blade [that] dulls cutting edge" or "blade [that] blinds". Another is James A. Bellamy's Arabic etymology, explaining a possible origin of the sword's name in ḏū l-jandal (ذو الجندل), meaning "master of stone".

In the Chanson de Roland

According to La Chanson de Roland (The Song of Roland), the sword was brought by an angel to Charlemagne in the vale of Moriane, and Charlemagne then gave it to Roland. In that poem, the sword is said to contain within its golden hilt a tooth of Saint Peter, blood of Basil of Caesarea, hair of Saint Denis, and a piece of the raiment of Mary, mother of Jesus, and to be the sharpest sword in all existence.

According to legend, at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass Roland took the rearguard to hold off Saracen troops long enough for Charlemagne's army to retreat into France. Roland slew a vast number of enemies: wielding Durendal, he sliced the right arm of the Saracen king Marsile, decapitated the king's son Jursaleu and put the one-hundred-thousand-strong army to flight. Roland later attempted to destroy the sword by hitting it against blocks of marble, to prevent it from being captured by the attacking Saracens, but Durendal proved to be indestructible. After being mortally wounded, Roland hid it beneath his body as he lay dying along with the oliphant, the horn used to alert Charlemagne before succumbing to his injury.

Properties

According to legend, the sword was capable of cutting through giant boulders with a single strike, and was indestructible.

Previous ownership

According to the 12th-century fragmentary chanson de geste known as Mainet (referring to the pseudonym that Charlemagne adopted in his youth), Durendal was once captured, but not kept, by the young Charlemagne awhen he fled to Spain. Young Charles (Mainés in the text) slays Braimant, obtaining his sword (Durendaus). This tale is better preserved in some non-chanson de geste texts, and in adaptations such as the Franco-Italian Karleto. According to the Low-German version Karl Mainet, the place of combat was near the vale of Moriane (Vael Moriale), near Toledo.

According to another 12th-century chanson de geste, the Song of Aspremont, the owner of Durendal just before Roland obtained it was a Saracen named Aumon, son of king Agolant,. Young Roland, mounted on Naimes's horse Morel without permission, and armed only with a rod, defeated Aumon, conquering the sword as well as the horse Veillantif.

These materials were combined in the Italian prose Aspramonte by Andrea da Barberino in the late 14th to early 15th century. That work stated that after young Carlo (Charlemagne) came in possession of Durindarda (Durendal) by killing Bramante in Spain, Galafro gave it to Galiziella, who then gave it to Almonte the son of Agolante (i.e., French: Aumon). Galiziella is glossed as the bastard daughter of Agolante, making her Almonte's half-sister. Durindana is eventually won by Orlandino (young Orlando).

Andrea da Barberino was a major source for later Italian writers. Boiardo's Orlando innamorato traces the sword's origin to Hector of Troy; it belonged for a while to Amazonian queen Pantasilea, and was passed down to Almonte, before Orlando gained possession of it. Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso follows Boiardo, saying it once belonged to Hector of Troy, but that it was given to Roland by Malagigi (Maugris).

Local lore

Tradition has it that when Roland cut a huge gash in the rocks with one blow, it created Roland's Breach in the Pyrenees in the process.

Legend in Rocamadour, in the Lot department, claims that the true Durendal was deposited in the chapel of Mary there, but was stolen by Henry the Young King in 1183.

Local folklore also claims that Durendal still exists, embedded in a cliff wall in Rocamadour. In that version, twelfth-century monks of Rocamadour claim that Roland threw the sword rather than hiding it beneath himself, creating a crevice "due to its sharpness" in the wall. However, the local tourist office now calls the sword a replica of Durendal.

The Rocamadour sword was reported as stolen on 2nd July 2024.

Explanatory notes

References

Citations

General bibliography

Primary sources

Secondary sources


Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: Durendal by Wikipedia (Historical)



 

Owlapps.net - since 2012 - Les chouettes applications du hibou