Functional Roland Durandal Sword

December 5, 2023 2 min read

This mythical sword Durandal was given to King Charlemagne, King of the Franks, by an angel and was later given to Roland, his fiercest paladin. There are different ideas of what the blade of this sword was originally like. Our design is a more fantastic medieval interpretation of this sword.

Durandarte, Durandal or Durendal was Roland's sword, one of the most famous and appreciated medieval swords in history. The Durandal sword accompanied Roland until his death in the battle of Roncesvalles on August 15, 788. In the two songs (La Chanson de Roland and The Song of Roncesvalles) it is mentioned that Charlemagne found Roland dead with the sword at his side.

This mythical medieval sword has a wide blade hand-forged from 1065 high-carbon steel. The cross-shaped guard, hilt stripe and pommel are silver. The cuff is lined in red leather. The large hilt also features Charlemagne's coat of arms on one side, with the face of a lion on the other, representing Roland's bravery. The knob is covered with strong red leather with an embossed geometric design.

The sword comes with a matching patterned scabbard and double belts also made from the same bright red leather.
TECHNICAL SHEET:
Manufacturer: WINDLASS STEEL CRAFTS
Length 104 cm.
Width 4-5 cm.
Blade length 80 cm.
Weight 1530 gr.

We also have the elaborate Durendal sword of Roland in Gold. His figure has gone down in the annals of history and epic, thanks to the battle of Roncesvalles (August 15, 778). Charlemagne's troops, returning from the siege of Zaragoza, suffered an attack by Basque tribes helped by Muslims in the Pyrenean pass of Roncesvalles. The narrowness of the pass and the weight of the Carolingian army's weapons favored the success of the ambush on the rear of the Franks.

In this tragic episode Roland died, but legend made him go down in the annals of literature (Chanson de Roldan, Rolandstat, Orlando Furioso, etc.) as the paladin, who with his magic sword "Durendal", a gift from his lord Charlemagne, and with the horn "Oliphant" faced 100,000 Saracens. With a blow of the sword he opened a pass between the Pyrenean mountains that is still called “Bréche de Roland” today.