Durendal



Durandal or Durendal (most likely from the French "durer", "to endure"; Italian: Durlindana Spanish: Durandal or Durandarte) is the sword of Charlemagne's paladin Roland in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France.

The origin of the sword received various accounts; 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, who is commonly cited as a maker of romantic 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's Orlando Furioso it once belonged to Hector of Troy, and was given to Roland by Malagigi (Maugris). This is questionable, given that the swords of Hector's time were made of bronze.

In The Song of Roland, the sword is said to contain within its golden hilt one tooth of Saint Peter, blood of Saint Basil, hair of Saint Denis, and a piece of the raiment of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to be the sharpest sword in all existence. In the poem, Roland uses the sword to hold off a 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 in the Pyrenees in the process. But Durandal proved indestructible, so he hid it beneath his body along with the oliphant, the horn used to alert Charlemagne.

Local folklore claims Durandal still exists, preserved in Rocamadour, France, embedded in a cliff wall. In the twelfth century, the monks of Rocamadour claimed that Roland threw the sword rather than hid it beneath himself. However, the local tourist office calls the sword a replica of Durandal.

In Popular Culture
In the popular book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Durendal is one of the four elemental swords.

In the popular manga, One Piece, Durendal, spelled Durandal is the sword of the 'Pirate Prince' Cavendish, also in the anime, Light novel and manga High School DxD, Durendal, also spelled Durandal, is the sword the demon Xenovia is wielding.

In the Marathon series, the AI Durandal is named after the sword; the first game's plot makes a number of references to The Song of Roland.

In The Dresden Files series of contemporary fantasy novels by Jim Butcher, the holy sword, Esperacchius, the Sword of Hope, is said to be a reforged Durendal.

In the Front Mission series of games, one pan military peacekeeping organization operates under that name and a banner of a sword.

In the Aria the Scarlet Ammo series, one of the characters uses the sword and goes by the alias Durandal.

In the Madan no Ō to Vanadis series, Roland the Black Knight uses the sword Durandal and was also called as the Sword of Invincibility, it is also the sacred sword of Brune and was bestowed to him by King Faron.