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

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

Ganelon In the 11th century Matter of France, Ganelon (, ) is the knight who betrayed Charlemagne's army to the Saracens, leading to the 778 Battle of Roncevaux Pass. His name is said to derive from the Italian word , meaning fraud or deception.Boiardo, ...

, a traitorous French (Frankish) count and

nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

to the titular hero of the epic ''La chanson de Roland'' (''

The Song of Roland The ''Song of Roland'' () is an 11th-century based on the deeds of the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in AD 778, during the reign of the Emperor Charlemagne. It is the oldest surviving major work of French li ...

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

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

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

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 single- ...

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 ...

on its pommel that shone bright by night, forged by a smith named Madelger in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

. It had belonged to Naimes who brought it out of his fiefdom of Bavaria and presented it to Karl(Charlemagne), but unfortunately Ganelon took possession of it and carried it to the Saracen side.

Etymology

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerv ...

, 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 ...

gave the meaning "Moorish sword", but Arabist

James A. Bellamy James A. Bellamy (1925 – July 21, 2015) was an American professor. He 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 ...

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 The , from 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th centuries, shortly before the e ...

. * Murglaie - sword of Elias, the

Swan Knight The story of the Knight of the Swan, or Swan Knight, is a medieval tale about a mysterious rescuer who comes in a swan-drawn boat to defend a damsel, his only condition being that he must never be asked his name. The earliest versions, preserve ...

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 (1060s – 2 April 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 Lorraine and married a Norman noblew ...

) * Murglaie - sword of Boeve de Haumtone; better known as Morglay of

Bevis of Hampton Bevis of Hampton ( or or ; Anglo-Norman: ; ) or Sir Bevois was a legendary English hero and the subject of Anglo-Norman, Dutch, French, English, Venetian,Hasenohr, 173–4. and other medieval metrical chivalric romances that bear his name. ...

. Note that "Morglay" has been given the etymology ''morte'' "death" + "

glaive A glaive, sometimes spelled as glave, is a type of pole weapon, with a single edged blade on the end, known for its distinctive design and versatile combat applications. There are many similar polearms such as the war scythe, the Japanese nag ...

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

Explanatory notes

References

Medieval European swords Matter of France Mythological swords {{Sword-stub