An ancient sword steeped in mythology surrounding the Emperor Charlemagne has mysteriously vanished from the sheer rock face of the village Rocamadour in southwest France where it was embedded for centuries, leaving the inhabitants reeling from the suspected theft.

The Durandal sword was the legendary weapon of the knight Roland, who, according to the 12th century epic poem La Chanson de Roland, served as a commander under the Frankish king Charlemagne during his religiously motivated campaign in Spain. The sword was said to contain a number of relics — including a tooth of Saint Peter and a shred of the robe worn by Saint Mary — which rendered it phenomenally sharp and nigh on invincible in battle.

Also the paladin Roland either attempted to hide it under himself as he died on the battlefield or threw it high into a cliff. There is a sword in a cliff that is supposedly the sword Durandal, or (more likely) a replica since Henry The Young King is also said to have stolen it pic.twitter.com/ARKvm8T5x0

— Shaun 🍉🇵🇸 (@shmaba) September 20, 2022

One of the threads of French folklore surrounding the fate of the blade claims that the sword was cast into the stone of Rocamadour upon Roland’s death to prevent it from falling into the hands of his enemies, and that there it had remained until its apparent theft on June 22.

Needless to say, the sword that has come to be associated with the legend hasn’t actually been embedded in Rocamadour’s stone for well over a thousand years. As noted by French newspaper La Dépêche, we know for a fact that it was temporarily taken down to be exhibited by the Cluny Museum in Paris back in 2011. However, local Mayor Dominique Lenfant insisted it had been an important fixture in the town for centuries, and that its loss is being keenly felt by the town’s residents.

"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,” Lenfant told La Dépêche, via Google Translate. “Rocamadour feels stripped of a part of itself, even if it is a legend, the destinies of our village and this sword are linked."

Quite how the thieves were able to extricate the sword from its perch embedded and chained in the rockface almost 10 meters above the ground is now a point of interest for the local gendarmerie, who are reportedly investigating the assumed theft.

The Durandal sword is one of the legendary blades, much like King Arthur’s Excalibur, whose cultural significance has endured to the present day. As such, references to its name and that of the knight Roland can found in a number of popular video game series, ranging from Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy, to Granblue Fantasy and even in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla's Siege of Paris DLC.

Hopefully, the real-world blade associated with the 12th century legend will soon be reclaimed and placed back in the stone of France. In the meantime, why not read up on how the Vatican is about to canonize its first gamer saint, who was known as ‘God’s Influencer’ owing to his work documenting miracles online.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer