Murgleys, or Murgleis (possibly "Death brand") is the sword of

Ganelon In the Matter of France, Ganelon (, ) is the knight who betrayed Charlemagne's army to the Saracens, leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. His name is said to derive from the Italian word ''inganno'', meaning fraud or deception.Boiardo, ''Orl ...

, a traitorous French (Frankish) count and nemesis to the titular hero of the epic ''La chanson de Roland'' (''

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 i ...

''). According to the French version, its "gold pommel" held some kind of a "holy relic". In the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

adaptation ( Konrad der Pfaffe's ''Rolandslied'') the sword is called Mulagir, touted to be the "best

seax ''Seax'' (; also sax, sæx, sex; invariant in plural, latinized ''sachsum'') is an Old English word for "knife". In modern archaeology, the term ''seax'' is used specifically for a type of small sword, knife or dagger typical of the Germanic p ...

(type of sword) in all of France", described as having a

carbuncle A carbuncle is a cluster of boils caused by bacterial infection, most commonly with ''Staphylococcus aureus'' or ''Streptococcus pyogenes''. The presence of a carbuncle is a sign that the immune system is active and fighting the infection. The ...

shining on its pommel, and forged by a smith named Madelger in Regensburg.

Etymology

Dorothy L. Sayers, a translator of ''The Song of Roland'' suggests the sword means "Death brand" (See #Similarly named swords below). Belgian scholar

Rita Lejeune Rita Lejeune (1906–2009) was a Belgian philologist who became a leading expert in the study of medieval French literature. Life Lejeune was born in Herstal on 22 November 1906. Her father, Jean Lejeune, was a local government clerk and also a p ...

gave the meaning "Moorish sword," but Arabist

James A. Bellamy James A. Bellamy (1925 – July 21, 2015) was Professor Emeritus of Arabic Literature at the University of Michigan. Research Bellamy has been an important scholar in the textual criticism of the Quran, even being described as the "doyen" of i ...

proposed the Arabic etymology ''māriq ʾalyas'' meaning "valiant piercer".

Similarly named swords

At least three swords bearing the similar name Murglaie occur in other chansons de geste. * Murglaie - sword of Elias, the Swan Knight of the Crusades cycle, * Murglaie - sword of Cornumarant, the Saracen king of Jerusalem, taken by Baudouin de Syrie (the historical

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lor ...

) * Murglaie - sword of Boeve de Haumtone; better known as Morglay of Bevis of Hampton. Note that "Morglay" has been given the etymology ''morte'' "death" + "

glaive A glaive (or glave) is a European polearm, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japanese naginata, the Chinese guandao, the Korean woldo, and the Russian sovnya. Overview Typically, the blade is arou ...

" Bailey, Nathan (1731), ''An Universal Etymological English Dictionary'' coinciding with the conjectural meaning of "Death brand" for Ganelon's sword, proposed by Sayers.

References

Matter of France Mythological swords {{Sword-stub