Curtana, also Cortana or Courtain, is a latinized form of the Anglo-French curtein, from Latin curtus, 'shortened', used for a type of sword.

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. Coronation Chair and Regalia of England The collective term Crown Jewels denotes the regalia and vestments worn by the sovereign of the United Kingdom during the coronation ceremony and at various other state functions. ...

The Curtana is one of five swords used at the coronation of the kings and queens of England. Carried in the coronation procession between the Sword of Temporal Justice and the Sword of Spiritual Justice, the Curtana symbolizes the mercy of the sovereign. The coronation of Empress Farah, of Iran in 1967. ...

The 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 bears the inscription My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal¹. Charles I (19 November 1600–30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. ... Unfinished portrait miniature of Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper, 1657. ... The St-Denis Joyeuse Joyeuse was the name of Charlemagnes personal sword. ... As told in the Matter of France, Durendal or Durandal (Italian: Durindana) is the sword of Charlemagnes paladin Roland (Orlando in Italian). ...

• Curtana, the sword of Ogiero, is itself a character in Orlando Innamorato².

Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Sword (from Old English sweord, cognate to Old High German swert, literally wounding tool from a Proto-Indo-European root *swer- to wound, to hurt) is a term for a long-edged, bladed weapon, consisting in its most fundamental design of a blade, usually... Orlando Innamorato is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. ... Orlando Innamorato is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. ...

Notes

• Note 1: Bullfinch's Mythology, Chapter 24

• Note 2: Orlando Innamorato, Book I, Canto vii 1 & Book II Canto xxiii 47

Orlando Innamorato is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. ...

Sources and references

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.