Curtana
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Curtana, also Cortana or Courtain, is a latinized form of the Anglo-French curtein, from Latin curtus, 'shortened', used for a ceremonial type of sword.
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[edit] Famous curtanas
The best-known Curtana, also known as the "Sword of Mercy" or "Edward the Confessor's sword", is a symbolically broken sword that is part of the traditional English regalia, now included in the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
It is one of five swords used at the coronation of the kings and queens of England. The Curtana has a blade cut off short and square, indicating thereby the quality of the mercy of the sovereign; according to the mythological history of the sword, its tip was broken off by an angel to prevent a wrongful killing. It is carried in the coronation procession between the Sword of Temporal Justice and the Sword of Spiritual Justice. These three swords are believed to have been made for the coronation of Charles I of England, and were among the few items of the crown jewels to escape being melted down by Oliver Cromwell.
The Curtana is also wielded during the ceremony at which royalty, English or otherwise, bestows knighthood upon the worthy recipient of that honor. That ceremony is often begun in popular culture with the words "I dub thee Sir . . ." followed by the nom d'honneur of the newly knighted individual.
Curtana was also, according to legend, the sword of Ogier the Dane; it bore the inscription "My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal.[1]
[edit] In popular culture
In the Halo video game series, one of the main characters, Cortana, is named after this sword.
In the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI, is an item obtainable by players, and used to spawn a Notorious Monster.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bullfinch's Mythology, Legends of Charlemagne, Chapter 24
[edit] Sources and references
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
