The modern processes for forging steel from pig iron are generally attributed to Sir Henry Bessemer and E.H. Gary in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Fine steel, however, is not simply the product of a blast furnace, but the repeated application of intense heat and pressure that tempers it into the gleaming hard metal that is difficult to surpass in strength and malleability, compared with most other common metals.

     But how long has steel-making really been around? The word itself pre-dates the 12th century. In fact, evidence suggests that some European sword makers may have known the secret as early as the 8th century--Japanese sword makers, maybe earlier. According to legend, swords made for Charlemagne and two of his Paladin, Oliver and Roland, each took three years to make. They were of such unsurpassed quality that they took on legends of their own. Each was reputed to be able to hack any opposing blade into pieces. Roland's Durandal was supposedly of such strength, that when the dying hero tried to destroy it, lest it fall into enemy hands, it cut through solid marble without sustaining a nick. Legend even developed that Durandal had once belonged to the Trojan warrior, Hector.

     The sword of Roland is said to be preserved somewhere in France.

Acknowledgments: 1, 4

© Russ Brown, 1997