The French equivalent of Excalibur has been stolen—but unlike the sword in the legend of King Arthur, whoever pulled the Durandal sword from a rock is more likely to be proclaimed a thief than a true king. The sword is missing, believed stolen from the village of Rocamadour, where it was chained to a stone 32 feet above the ground, the Independent reports. Legend holds that the knight Roland threw it there 1,300 years ago to keep the reputedly indestructible sword out of the hands of an army of Saracens, reports CBS News.
According to legend, Durandal was the sharpest of all blades, capable of cutting boulders in half. The 11th-century epic poem "The Song of Roland" says the sword was entrusted to Roland by the emperor Charlemagne, who received it from an angel, CBS reports. Legend says that when Roland threw it in the air, it flew hundreds of miles before becoming embedded in the rock at Rocamadour.
Police are investigating the apparent theft of the sword, which had long been a tourist attraction. "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," Mayor Dominique Lenfant told La Depeche. "Rocamadour feels stripped of a part of itself, even if it is a legend, the destinies of our village and this sword are linked." (More France stories.)
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