Esperacchius

Esperacchius, the Sword of Hope, is one of the Swords of the Cross. It's first seen in Death Masks.

Description


Though it has been reworked since its creation, Esperacchius currently looks like a cavalry saber, and has the Egyptian hieroglyph for the Sun on the pommel. Its weakness is to be wielded in despair, and will be destroyed by such an action.

The spirit of Sir Stuart Winchester confirmed that Esperacchius is the legendary Frankish sword, Durendal, Its current wielder is Sanya.

History
Durendal once belonged to Roland the Frank, the first wielder, the chief paladin of Charlemagne and a symbol of hope for France against the Spanish Saracens.

Before Sanya, it was wielded by a man known as "the Egyptian", briefly mentioned in Death Masks, and killed by Ursiel.

Afterwards it was wielded by Sanya, who was given the sword by the Archangel Michael after giving up his Denarian coin.

In the series
It has been in the care of Sanya from the start of the series and remains so. Since Michael Carpenter has been injured on Demonreach, it is the only sword being wielded by a Knight of the Cross; Sanya has stated that he does not know how long he can stem the tide of darkness alone.

Proven Guilty
In Proven Guilty,

Death Masks
In Death Masks,

Small Favor
In Small Favor,

Ghost Story
In Ghost Story,

Skin Game
In Skin Game, it is wielded against Denarians Magog and Shaggy Feathers in Iran, to prevent it to be used against Nicodemus Archleone's party in the break-in in Hades' vault.

Word of Butcher
Jim Butcher stated the following about the inscriptions on Esperacchius: "Sanya's sword actually has an Egyptian hieroglyph for the Sun on the pommel, and he could use it as a letter-seal if he was of a mind to do it. The Egyptian, who had the sword before Sanya, often did. Sanya isn't really the wax-seal-letter-writing kind."

External references

 * Durendal - Wikipedia
 * Durendal: The Holy Sword of Roland


 * Badass of the Week: Count Roland
 * Roland - Wikipedia
 * Biography of Roland
 * The American Cyclopædia (1879) / Roland - Wikisource
 * Charlemagne - Wikipedia
 * Song of Roland Background | GradeSaver
 * Roland and Oliver | Mythology Secrets