Artwork Page for Executioner's Sword

Details / Information for Executioner's Sword

Executioner's Sword

late 1600s

Germany, late 17th Century

Medium
steel, wood, brass and copper wire
Measurements
Overall: 108.9 cm (42 7/8 in.); Blade: 85.7 cm (33 3/4 in.); Quillions: 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.); Grip: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.)
Weight: 2.3 kg (5.07 lbs.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1620
Public Domain
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Location
210A Armor Court
Print
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Did You Know?

The inscription on this sword reads, "When I raise this sword, so I wish that this poor sinner will receive eternal life."

Description

Execution by decapitation was generally reserved for the nobility during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Although the axe was favored in England, for centuries swords were used throughout Central Europe. The blades were often etched with moralizing inscriptions and designs representing Justice (as here), the gallows, the rack, or the Crucifixion. By the early 1700s swords were no longer primarily used in Europe for executions, but they still functioned as symbols of power. This sword was probably ceremonial for a formal procedure or procession.
Steel-bladed executioner's sword, a cross-shaped sword with a rectangular blade. A rectangle of cursive text (see "Inscriptions") extends directly below the hilt, flanked by filigree. Below stands a representation of Justice, a nude woman with a sword in her left hand and scales in her right. The brass hilt has a yellow glint save for the handle around which wraps dark, spiral copper wire.

Executioner's Sword

late 1600s

Germany, late 17th Century

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