User:HRBM

Swords I'd Like to See Implemented or Just Swords I Like Outside of the Game
This will be updated as I get new favourites~ ^u^)/ Japanese Swords = {|style="width:100%; text-align:center"
 * -|French Swords =
 * style="color:#B2FFFF; background:#000000;"|Sword
 * style="color:#B2FFFF; background:#000000;"|Story
 * - style="background:#4BC7CF; color:#000000; text-align:left"
 * Durandal.jpg Durandal-2.jpgDurandal-3.jpg
 * Durandal (most likely from the French word durer, "to endure") is the sword of Charlemagne's paladin, Roland, in the genre of literature Matter of France.

The sword has been given various provenances. Several of the works of the Matter of France agree that it was forged by Wayland the Smith, who is commonly cited as a maker of weapons in chivalric romances.

The story of Roland’s last stand at the Battle of Roncevaux is most notably recounted in the epic poem La Chanson de Roland (‘The Song of Roland’). In the epic, Durandal was said to have been given to Charlemagne by an angel of God, who instructed the emperor to give the sword to one of his counts.

In contrast, the Italian epic Orlando Furioso (‘Orlando Enraged’) by Ludovico Ariosto, notes instead that Durandal was once the sword of the Trojan hero Hector, and was given to Roland by the enchanter Malagigi (Maugris). Regardless of its origins, Durandal was a valuable and powerful sword. In fact, in Orlando Furioso, the primary objective of the invasion of France by Gradasso, the heathen king of Sericena, is said to be the retrieval of Durandal from Roland.

One of the significant features of Durandal is that it contained a number of sacred Christian relics. In the La Chanson de Roland, it is written that: “Relics enough thy golden hilt conceals: / Saint Peter's Tooth, the Blood of Saint Basile, / Some of the Hairs of my Lord, Saint Denise, /Some of the Robe, was worn by Saint Mary.”

With Durandal, Roland had accomplished many great feats for Charlemagne, “I won for him with thee Anjou, Bretaigne, / And won for him with thee Peitou, the Maine, / And Normandy the free for him I gained, / Also with thee Provence and Equitaigne, / And Lumbardie and all the whole Romaigne, / I won Baivere, all Flanders in the plain, / Also Burguigne and all the whole Puillane, / Costentinnople, that homage to him pays; / In Saisonie all is as he ordains; / With thee I won him Scotland, Ireland, Wales, / England also, where he his chamber makes; / Won I with thee so many countries strange / That Charles holds, whose beard is white with age!”

Durandal is also depicted as an indestructible weapon. When all was lost, Roland attempted to destroy Durandal in order to prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy, though to no avail, ''“Rollant his stroke on a dark stone repeats, / And more of it breaks off than I can speak. / The sword cries out, yet breaks not in the least, / Back from the blow into the air it leaps.”''

As Roland failed to destroy Durandal, he decided to hide it beneath his body before he died. In another account, Roland flung Durandal into the air, where it magically landed embedded in a rock in Rocamadour, a pilgrimage site about 160km to the north of Toulouse. Visitors to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Rocamadour Chapelle de Notre-Dame] in Rocamadour can see an iron sword stuck in the rock above the door leading to the chapel. Some believe that this was the actual sword belonging to Roland, and it has even been bound with a chain so as to prevent anyone from stealing it.
 * - style="background:#000000; color:#4BC7CF; text-align:left"
 * Joyeuse.jpgJoyeuse-3.jpgJoyeuse-2.jpg
 * Joyeuse is the name traditionally attributed to Charlemagne's personal sword.

The sword of Joyeuse, which today sits in the Louvre Museum, is one of the most famous swords in history. Legend states that the sword of Joyeuse, meaning “joyful” in French, was forged by the famous blacksmith Galas, and took three years to complete. Some legends claim Joyeuse was forged to contain the Lance of Longinus, the spear that was stabbed into Jesus’ side as he hung dead on the cross, within its pommel; others say the blade was smithed from the same materials as Roland's Durandal and Ogier's Cortana.

Historical records link the sword to Charlemagne the Great, King of the Franks. If it did indeed belong to the famous king, who reigned some 1,200 years ago, the sword of Joyeuse would have been used in countless coronation ceremonies, and is tied with ancient myth and legend ascribing it with magical powers.

The story begins in the year 802 AD. It was said to have been so bright that it could outshine the sun and blind its wielder's enemies in battle, and any person who wielded the legendary sword could not be poisoned. The Emperor Charlemagne, coming back from Spain was said to have set up camp in the region and acquired the sword.

The 11th century La Chanson de Roland describes the sword: “Charlemagne was wearing his fine white coat of mail and his helmet with gold-studded stones; by his side hung Joyeuse, and never was there a sword to match it; its colour changed thirty times a day.”

Some seven hundred years later, Bulfinch's Mythology described Charlemagne using Joyeuse to behead the Saracen commander, Corsuble, as well as to knight his comrade, Ogier the Dane.

The town of Joyeuse, in Ardèche, is supposedly named after the sword. One day, during battle, Charlemagne allegedly lost Joyeuse, and promised a reward for anyone who could find it. After several attempts, one of his soldiers brought it to him, and Charlemagne kept his promise by saying, “Here will be built an estate of which you will be the lord and master, and your descendants will take the name of my wonderful sword: Joyeuse.” .Charlemagne is said to have planted his sword in the ground to mark the point where the town would be built.

Baligant, a general of the Saracens in La Chanson de Roland, named his sword Précieuse, in order not to seem inferior to Charlemagne.

There are no historical records to say what happened to the sword Joyeuse after the death of Charlemagne. However, a sword identified with Charlemagne’s Joyeuse was carried in front of the Coronation processionals for French kings, and was used at the coronation ceremony of King Philip the Bold for the first time in 1270 AD, which was held in Reims Cathedral, France, and many kings after that. The sword was kept in the nearby monastery in Saint Denis Basilica, a burial place for French kings, where it remained under the protection of the monks until at least 1505, where it was then moved to the Louvre in 1793.

Joyeuse was moved to the Louvre on December 5, 1793, following the French Revolution. It was last used by a French king in 1824 with the crowning of Charles X, and is the only known sword to have served as the coronation sword of the Kings of France.

This Joyeuse as preserved today is a composite of various parts added over the centuries of use as coronation sword. But at the core, it consists of a medieval blade classified as Oakeshott type XII, which features a broad, flat, evenly tapering blade, mostly dated to about the 10th century.

Martin Conway argued the blade might date to the early 9th century, opening the possibility that it was indeed the sword of Charlemagne, while Guy Laking dated it to the early 13th century. Some authors have even argued that the medieval blade may have been replaced by a modern replica in 1804 when the sword was prepared for the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Louvre’s official website dates the pommel to the 10th to 11th centuries, the cross-guard to the 12th, and the scabbard to the 13th century. The grip once featured a fleur-de-lis, but was removed for the coronation of Napoleon in 1804. Two dragons form the cross section, and their eyes are of lapis lazuli. The scabbard, also modified, has a velvet sheath embroidered with fleur-de-lis, and was added for the coronation of Charles X in 1824. Both sides of the pommel are decorated with a repoussé motif representing birds affrontee, similar to Scandinavian ornaments of the 10th and 11th centuries. The two cross-guards, in the form of stylized, winged dragon figures, can be dated to the 12th century. The gold spindle, covered with a diamond net pattern, is believed to be from the 13th or 14th century.
 * - style="background:#4BC7CF; color:#000000; text-align:left"
 * Cortana-2.jpgCortana.jpg
 * Cortana, also known as the Sword of Mercy, is a ceremonial sword used at the coronation of British kings and queens. One of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, its end is blunt and squared, said to symbolize mercy. It is said that when Ogier was about to slay the son of Charlemagne, an angel appeared and knocked it out of his hand, breaking the tip, and exclaiming: "Mercy is better than revenge!"

According to Gaston Paris, there were three swords—Almace, Cortana, and Durandal—forged by the legendary Anglo-Saxon blacksmith Wayland, and presented to Charlemagne. Charlemagne then tested the swords by seeing how far they would cut into a steel mound; Cortana penetrated "a hand's breadth", but was notched; Almace penetrated a hand's breadth without damage, and Durandal penetrated "half the length of a man's foot". Charlemagne gave Cortana to Ogier the Dane; Almace to Bishop Turpin, and initially kept Durandal for himself (Later, he was told in a dream to give Durandal to Count Roland.)

Legend states that the weapon bore the inscription: "My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durandal." Another legend, written about Cortana itself, claims that it, Durandal, and Charlemagne's Joyeuse are a set of three, leaving Almace's origins unexplained.

Cortana is mentioned by Matthew Paris in the 13th century, and the present sword is a rare bit of regalia predating the Restoration in 1660. The 13th century Prose Tristan states that Ogier inherited the sword of the Arthurian knight Tristan, shortening it, and thus, naming it Cortaine. This suggests a connection to Henry III of England's coronation sword, Cortana, which was said to have been Tristan's sword, and which had its end cut off.

The meaning attributed to Cortana and two British coronation swords shifted over time. During the coronation of Henry IV, Cortana was evidently considered to be the "Sword of Justice", while a second sword was the "Sword of the Church". Eventually, however, Cortana's blunt edge was taken to represent mercy, and it thus came to be known as the Sword of Mercy. Henry VI's coronation featured Cortana as the Sword of Mercy along with the other two swords: the sharply-pointed Sword of Temporal Justice, and the more obtuse Sword of Spiritual Justice; these designations remain today.

The sword remains in use in the coronation of the British monarchs. When not in use, the sword is on display with the other Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

The sword measures 96.5 centimetres long, and 19 centimetres wide at the handle. About 2.5 centimetres of the steel blade's tip is missing. The blade features a decorative 'running wolf' mark which originated in the town of Passau, Lower Bavaria, Germany. It has a gilt-iron hilt, a wooden grip bound in wire, and a leather sheath bound in crimson velvet with gold embroidery that was made in 1821.