Swords from the Matter of France: Précieuse – sword of Baligant – Emir of Babylon


Précieuse (French for ‘precious’; Old French: Preciuse) is the sword of Baligant, the Saracen king in the French epic The Song of Roland.

Baligant allegedly named his sword in response to hearing that Charlemagne’s sword had a name. Throughout the epic, there are several contrasts between the two, with Baligant being portrayed as a foolish counterpart to Charlemagne. Baligant felt inferior, and so named his sword with a similar name.

This artifact is a part of SwordTemple Library

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