French ‘Excalibur’ mysteriously disappears after being stuck in rock for 1,300 years. The story of the ‘magic’ sword

A 1,300-year-old sword that is believed to be the French version of King Arthur’s legendary “Excalibur” has mysteriously disappeared from the town where it was reportedly embedded in a rock.

The authorities are looking into the possibility that the mythical sword, which was buried 32 feet above the ground, was stolen.

Here’s all we know about the sword and the theft.

Investigation launched

The Durandal sword, one of the main attractions of the tiny ancient town of Rocamadour, appears to have been stolen from its stone, according to a report published in The Telegraph.

Rocamadour officials initiated an investigation into the sword’s disappearance after it was pulled from its location in a cliff wall around 100 feet above the ground.

The disappearance has left the residents perplexed because the thief would need to ascend 32 feet on the rough rock surface in order to retrieve it.

“We’re going to miss Durandal. It’s been part of Rocamadour for centuries, and there’s not a guide who doesn’t point it out when he visits,” mayor Dominique Lenfant told French newspaper La Dépêche, adding, “Rocamadour feels it’s been robbed a part of itself, but even if it’s a legend, the destinies of our village and this sword are entwined.”

“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,” Lenfant added.

“It measures 80 centimetres, so it is a small medieval sword that was forged to stun people or horses, not to kill them.”

The police are attempting to figure out how someone managed to reach the sword by climbing 100 feet up the sheer rock face.

The iconic Durandal sword

The sword has long been associated with Roland, a semi-legendary knight who bravely defended Charlemagne in the eighth century, as per New York Post.

According to legends, Durandal was the sharpest sword in the world, capable of slicing through stone with a single blow and being indestructible.

The epic poem The Song of Roland from the 11th century described the magical qualities of the sword.

As per The Telegraph, the poem was composed in old French and is the earliest piece of French literature still in existence. The only copy is kept at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

The legend has it Charlemagne received Durandal from an angel and gave it to his finest soldier.

According to a medieval “myth,” Roland attempted to shatter the sword on the rocks to stop his enemies from stealing it before his heroic death at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, but he was unable to do so.

The report states that the sword was thrown by the knight and is said to have miraculously flown hundreds of kilometres before landing on the Rocamadour cliff.

The sword was so valuable to the town that a town council member and a security guard travelled with it on its return trip from the Lot to Paris in 2011 when the Cluny Museum intended to display it.

France’s favourite village in 2016, Rocamadour, is located around 100 miles north of Toulouse in the south of the country.

The legend of Excalibur

Excalibur is a legendary sword that was reportedly owned by King Arthur and had magical abilities, reported The Sun.

According to legend, young Arthur succeeded in pulling the sword from a stone where it had been enchantedly lodged.

The most common legend recounts the tale of the magician Merlin, who challenged the nobility to extract the sword from the rock to establish their rightful place on the throne.

“Whoso pullet out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born of all England,” reads the text Le Morte d’Arthur from the 15th century.

Following the failure of numerous assembled nobles, Arthur, who travelled there as Kay’s foster brother’s squire, takes a chance and triumphs with ease.

Arthur was granted the right to the British throne and proved to be “the true king” by this deed. Then Merlin reveals Arthur’s true lineage and declares him to be a king appointed by God.

According to Britannica, which cites a different account in the same text, Arthur received it from the Lady of the Lake, and he commanded loyal Sir Bedivere to toss the sword into the river when he lay dying from his most recent battle. An arm reached up to grab it, waved Excalibur three times, and vanished.

Robbery in France

The shocking robbery comes during a period when thieves are still active on French streets.

According to Mirror, In one of the largest art crimes in modern history, five men were found guilty of stealing £100,000,000 worth of jewels, including a sword adorned with diamonds, last year.

Another strange heist involved the replacement of a series of rare Russian books from the 19th century, valued at over £434,000, with fake copies taken from a library.

On Sunday, a wedding celebration in Thionville, Lorraine, was attacked by a group wielding Kalashnikov weapons, resulting in one fatality and five injuries, as per The Sun.

At the Fete de la Musique festival in Paris, a group of hooded men sexually assaulted a British woman.

In addition, police in Paris have promised to step up their efforts to combat crime before the Olympics, which begin in a few weeks.

With inputs from agencies