The French statue ‘Excalibur’ has disappeared from the rock in which it had been embedded for the past 1,300 years.
The famous sword Durandal is believed to have been stolen from the southern village of Rocamadour, although it was encased and chained to stone 32 feet above the ground.
The cliff-top village has been left bereft by the loss of its prized tourist attraction and mayor Dominique Lenfant has said locals feel as though a part of themselves has been robbed from them.
Police have launched an investigation, but officers are baffled as to how anyone could possibly steal the mystical sword given its awkward, elevated position embedded in the cliff face next to the shrine.
The famous Durandal sword (pictured) is believed to have been stolen from the southern village of Rocamadour, despite it being encased and chained to stone 32 feet above the ground.
Durandal was wielded by Roland, a legendary knight, and the sword’s magical powers are mentioned in the 11th-century poem The Song of Roland.
Mayor Lenfant said the city was devastated, he reported. The Telegraph.
“We will miss Durandal. It has been part of Rocamadour for centuries and there is no guide who does not tell us about it when they visit it,” he explains. The Depêchea French newspaper.
«Rocamadour feels like a part of himself has been taken from him, but even though he is a legend, the destinies of our people and this sword are intertwined.»
According to legend, the sword could not be broken and was able to cut rocks with a single blow thanks to being the sharpest blade in existence.
One myth says that it was first given to Emperor Charlemagne by an angel before it was wielded by his nephew Roland, a legendary knight.
Durandal is mentioned in the 11th-century poem The Song of Roland. In the epic, the sword’s magical powers are discussed and it is said to have contained a tooth of St. Peter, the blood of St. Basil and the hair of St. Dionysius.
It is said that Roland attempted to break his sword against a rock before he died at the Battle of Roncesvalles Pass to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Saracen army against which he had fought bravely.
But he ended up throwing it into a valley where it miraculously flew for kilometers and ended up embedded in the cliff of Rocamadour.
(tags to translate)dailymail