Cortain (also spelled Courtain, Cortana, Curtana, Cortaine, etc.) is a legendary

short sword The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a double e ...

in the legend of

Ogier the Dane Ogier the Dane (french: ; da, ) is a legendary paladin of Charlemagne who appears in many Old French ''chansons de geste''. In particular, he features as the protagonist in ''La Chevalerie Ogier'' (ca. 1220), which belongs to the ''Geste de Doo ...

. This name is the

accusative case The accusative case (abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: 'me,' 'him,' 'her,' 'us,' and ‘the ...

declension of

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

''corte'', meaning "short". The tradition that Ogier had a short sword is quite old. There is an entry for "Oggero ''spata curta''" ("Ogier of the short sword") in the (c. 1065–1075), and this is taken as a nickname derived from his sword-name Cortain. The sword name does not appear in the oldest extant copy of ''

The Song of Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century ''chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It is t ...

'' (Oxford manuscript), only in versions postdating the ''Nota''. and According to the first part (''enfances'') of ''Le Chevalerie Ogier'', the sword, which once belonged to Brumadant the Savage, was remade more than twenty times; finally it was tested on a block of marble and broke about a palm's length. It was reforged and named Corte or Cortain, meaning "short". This became the weapon of a

chivalric Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed by ...

-minded

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

named Karaheut, who gives it to Ogier so he can fight Brunamont in single combat. The sword has appeared in chansons de geste somewhat predating ''Chevalerie Ogier'', or composed around the same time as it, such as '' Aspremont'' (before 1190) and ''

Renaut de Montauban Renaud de Montauban (; also spelled ''Renaut'', ''Renault'', Italian: ''Rinaldo di Montalbano'', Dutch: ''Reinout van Montalba(e)n'') was a legendary hero and knight which appeared in a 12th-century Old French ''chanson de geste'' known as ''The ...

'' (c. 1200). The Prose ''Tristan'' (1230–1235, expanded in 1240) states that Ogier inherited the sword of the Arthurian knight

Tristan Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed ...

(Tristram), shortening it and thus called it ''Cortaine''. The English monarchy also laid claim to owning "Tristram's sword", and this according to

Roger Sherman Loomis Roger Sherman Loomis (1887–1966) was an American scholar and one of the foremost authorities on medieval and Arthurian literature. Loomis is perhaps best known for showing the roots of Arthurian legend, in particular the Holy Grail, in native Ce ...

was the "

Curtana Curtana, 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 to symbolise mercy. Description The sword meas ...

" ("short") used in the

coronation of the British monarch The coronation of the monarch of the United Kingdom is a ceremony (specifically, initiation rite) in which they are formally invested with regalia and crowned at Westminster Abbey. It corresponds to the coronations that formerly took place in ot ...

. Loomis also argues that Curtana's origins as Tristram's sword was known to the author of this passage in Prose ''Tristan'', but the tradition was forgotten in England.

Notes

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * Fictional swords {{Europe-myth-stub