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

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

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Famous curtanas

For the main article see Sword of Mercy

Sword of Mercy

The Sword of Mercy, or Edward the Confessor's Sword, is a symbolically broken sword that is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom...

The "Sword of Mercy" or "Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor

Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....

's sword", is a symbolically broken sword that is part of the traditional English regalia

Regalia

Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereign.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'...

, now included in the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom

Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom

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

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Curtana was also, according to legend, the sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

 of Ogier the Dane

Ogier the Dane

Ogier the Dane is a legendary character who first appears in an Old French chanson de geste, in the cycle of poems Geste de Doon de Mayence....

; it bore the inscription "My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse

Joyeuse

Joyeuse , was the name of Charlemagne's personal sword. The name translates as "joyful".-Joyeuse in legend:Some legends claim that it was forged to contain the Lance of Longinus within its pommel; others state it was smithed from the same materials as Roland's Durendal and Ogier's Curtana.The 11th...

 and Durendal

Durendal

Durendal or Durandal is the sword of Charlemagne's paladin Roland in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France....

." It is supposed to have originally been Tristan

Tristan

Tristan is one of the main characters of the Tristan and Iseult story, a Cornish hero and one of the Knights of the Round Table featuring in the Matter of Britain...

's sword, and gained the name "Cortana" when it was "cut down" to fit Ogier.