In medieval legend,Joyeuse (pronounced[ʒwajøz]ⓘ;Old French:Joiuse; meaning 'joyous, joyful') was the sword wielded byCharlemagne as his personal weapon. A sword identified as Joyeuse was used in French royal coronation ceremonies since the 13th century, and is now kept at theLouvre.
The overall height of the sword is 105 cm (41+1⁄3 in) with the blade portion making up82.8 cm (32+3⁄5 in) of that. It is 4.5 cm (1.77 in) wide at the base, and 2.2 cm (0.87 in) thick. Its total weight is 1.630 kg (3.59 pounds).
Chanson de Roland describes Charlemagne's arms as follows:
Si at vestut son blanc osberc saffrét, Laciét son elme ki est ad or gemmét, Ceinte Joiose, onches ne fut sa per, Ki chascun jorn mudet .xxx. clartez. Asez savom de la lance parler Dont nostre Sire fut en la croiz naffrez: Charles en at la more, mercit Deu, En l’orét pont lat faite manovrer; Por ceste honor e por ceste bontét Li noms Joiose l’espede fut donez.
He's donned his white hauberk, with broidery,[a] Has laced his helm, jewelled with golden beads. Girt on Joiuse, there never was its peer. Whereon each day thirty fresh hues appear. All of us know that lance, and well may speak Whereby Our Lord was wounded on the Tree Charles, by God's grace, possessed its point of steel ! His golden hilt he enshrined it underneath. By that honour and by that sanctity The name Joiuse was for that sword decreed.
thus claiming that Joyeuse was forged to contain theLance of Longinus within itspommel,[11][b] and according to the above-quoted text, thisholy relic was the cause of the sword getting name Joyeuse; the poem goes on to claim the French war-cry ofMonjoie stems from this sword as well.[13]
According to the Old Norse source (Karlamagnús saga, Branch I), Karl's sword received the nameGiovise after he placed in the upper part of the hilt a shard of the Holy Lance. This was given him by the Greek Emperor during a sojourn toConstantinople (Miklagard), alongside otherrelics such as a piece of theTrue Cross, thesudarium (Old Norse:sveitadúkr) that wiped Jesus's brow, Christ's stockings or hose (Old Norse:hosa), and the spear ofSaint Mercurius[14][15][16]
There is no mention of the sword in thechanson de geste of Prince Charles's youthful exploits, the fragmentaryMainet [fr], though in its Rhenish German adaptationKarlmeinet [de] Part I, he receives a sword namedGalosovele from Gallafers (=Galafre) in the advent of fighting Bremunt/Bremant as Gallafers's champion[c] Unfortunately, this is not considered to be the same as Joyeuse by commentators. Thus, when the swordGaudeosa (Joyeuse) occurs later inKarlmeinet Part III, where he is battling against the invasion of Agolant, it is another, different piece of weapon.[17][20] It is noted that the name-formGaudeosa probably derives from its Latin source,Pseudo-Turpin.[17][21]
Contrarily, in the Spanish adaptation ofMainet embedded in thePrimera Crónica General,Don Maynet is equipped with none other thanJoyosa (Joyeuse), given him by his belovedGaliana, daughter ofGalafre, as he faces the challenge of fightingBramant.[22][23][16] Ironically this Joyosa had been a gift to her from her suitor Bramant to Galiana.[d][22][23]
In the longer version of thePseudo-Turpin, it is stated that during the fierce battle againstAigolandus in which 40,000 Christians including Roland's father Duke Milo perished,[e] Charlemagne unsheathed his swordGaudiosa[f] slaying many of theSaracen host.[28][29][30][31]
Louis XIV withJoyeuse (Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701)Joyeuse displayed in theLouvre.
A sword identified with Charlemagne'sJoyeuse was carried in front of theCoronation processions forFrench kings, for the first time in 1270 (Philip III), and for the last time in 1825 (at theCoronation of Charles X). The sword was kept in theTreasury of Saint-Denis since at least 1505, before it was moved to the Louvre in 1793.
ThisJoyeuse as preserved today is a composite of various parts added over the centuries of use as coronation sword.[33] But at the core, it consists of a medieval blade ofOakeshott type XII, mostly dated from about the 10th century.Martin Conway argued the blade might date from the early 9th century, suggesting that it was indeed the sword of Charlemagne, whileGuy Laking dated it to the early 13th century. Some authors[citation needed] have even argued that the medieval blade may have indeed been replaced by a modern replica in 1804 when the sword was prepared for thecoronation of Napoleon.
The Louvre's official website dates thepommel from the 10th to 11th centuries, thecrossguard to the 12th and thescabbard to the 13th century.[34]
The town ofJoyeuse, inArdèche, is supposedly named after the sword. Legend has it that Charlemagne once came through here upon a hill that was inhabited, plunged his sword on the spot and fortified as castle, naming it Joyeuse after his sword.[35]
^"broidery": the meaning of the termsaffret/saffré is still disputed, according to Ross (1980), who tentatively rests on "yellow varnished" as the most plausible.[4] Many interpretations assume saffron (yellow) color, e.g., Léon Gautier (1875) who assumed a different colored brass wire wound into the steel links.[5][6] Lucien Foulet,Glossaire (attached to Bédier ed.) suggested yellowbismuth oxide coloring.[7] While in actual usage, the term seems to signify luxuriant armor dressed with gold and silver, the term saffré etymologically links tocobalt blue according to one source[6] i.e.zaffre, cognate to "sapphire"[8]. Jenkins's edition (1929) [1924] glossessafrét as "blue-bordered".[9]
^A children's book from the early 20th century tells that "One priceless thing Charlemagne ever carried in his belt and that was Joyeuse, the Sword Jewellous, which contained in a hilt of gold and gems the head of the lance that pierced our Saviour's side. And thereto he wore a pilgrim's pouch — 'against my faring to Jerusalem, or, if that may not be, to remind me that our life is but a pilgrim's way, and our joy but a pilgrim's rest, and our hope a palm.'"[12]
^Song of Roland (Oxford manuscript) (in Old French). laisse 229.
^Barber, Richard (2020). "1. Arthurian Swords I:Gawain's Sword and the Legend of Weland the Smith". In Archibald, Elizabeth; Johnson, David F. (eds.).Arthurian Literature. Vol. XXXV. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 14–15.ISBN9781843845454.
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