Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/08/mythical-french-sword-mysteriously-disappears-from-stone.html
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Marine Le Pen seen with extremely long clarinet case after election upset.
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I learned about Durandal from Bungie’s videogame “Marathon”, a forerunner of “Halo”, where Durandal is the name of the engagingly-demented AI that gives the player their marching orders.
The sword’s name has multiple variant spellings: Durendal, Durindana, Durindarda (in “Orlando Furioso”), Durendaus (in “Mainet”) etc.
“Charlemagne used to always call me Durandana, the fruitcake.”
– Durandal, “Marathon”
It’s quite the storied weapon, appearing in a wide variety of songs and tales, with an elaborate legendary provenance. I think we can safely assume that the one that was stolen was probably not the actual sword of Roland (if any such person ever existed).
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Darned sword thieves!
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Check Michael Moorcock, he’s always nicking stuff like that.
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I suspect someone took it to try to reunite it with Excalibur. When their blades are crossed the French and English armies will be summoned to war again.
(Not a member of the “Reinvade and Conquer France Society”… oh no, not me!) 
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Its hilt, they say, contains a tooth of Saint Peter; the blood of Basil of Caesarea; a piece of the Virgin Mary’s clothing; and the hair of Saint Denis.
oh come on!
Really leaning in to the whole reliquary thing a bit much, aren’t we??
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l s’agissait seulement d’une copie sans réelle valeur si ce n’est symbolique
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If they took all that stuff before those people were dead, then the blade is probably heavily cursed.
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Did they have at least a single security camera in the area? If it was that important then i would’ve hoped that there would be some level of security besides a rusty chain. Still, whomever took it is a POS.
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It was a replica. Little value beyond symbolic (and scrap).
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Exactly along the lines of what occurred to me. Either some right-wing d00fhead with grandiose notions concerning the occult significance of this object decided to nick it (remember the German Nazis were seriously looking for artifacts like this, most notably the Spear of Destiny). Or a right-wing d00fhead looking to stir up nationalistic indignation by disappearing the relic and blaming immigrants for its theft.
Very curious what the real story is.
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When the Gerber knife company was making kitchen knives in the 1950s and -60s, they named their knives after various swords of myth and legend such as Durandal, Joyeuse, Miming, and so forth.
I have their Balmung, a carving knife with a 9" (23cm) blade. It would have been quite pricey in its day, probably sold with a carving fork and a steel in a wooden case.
I didn’t pull it from a stone, but I did pluck it from a pile of junk knives at a neighbourhood garage sale, so I assume that makes me worthy.
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Ruler of the Neighborhood is a decent title for those with modest ambitions. I think it gives you carte blanche over things like mailbox colors and fence heights. Like a divinely ordained, monarchical HOA.
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And just now I learned the source of the name of the concrete-penetrating, French manufactured anti-runway weapon.
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I’ve always loved that particular Bungie throughline/connection. Coincidentally, there’s a related famous sword in the UK Crown Jewels used for coronations. It’s inscribed with the phrase, “My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal”.
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In addition to France, Charlemagne ruled over Germany, Austria, Northern Italy and the Low Countries.
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