Oh Durendal damask, my sword is bright, Into whose handle of the shrine of old did I put:
There is Vasily's blood in it, Peter's tooth is imperishable, Vlasa Denis, God's man, Fragment of the vestments of the ever-virgin Mary.
("Song of Roland")
A sword for the Middle Ages is clearly more than a simple weapon. For the Middle Ages, it is, first of all, a symbol. Moreover, as such, he is still used in military ceremonies in various armies around the globe, and no other weapon even tries to challenge this role. Most likely, it will be so in the future, because it was not for nothing that the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, made a beam sword with the weapon of the omnipotent Jedi and explained this by the fact that he needed a weapon worthy of knights who would be honest, and their thoughts were lofty, and who fighting for peace throughout the galaxy. However, there is nothing surprising in the fact that he decided so. After all, the sword simultaneously symbolizes the cross, and the cross is nothing more than a symbol of the Christian faith.
Drawing by Albrecht Dürer, 1521, depicting Irish mercenaries in the Lower Lands. One of the two two-handed swords shown here has a ring-shaped pommel, characteristic only of Irish swords.
Of course, many Christians of the 21st century may feel uncomfortable with such a comparison, but a clear propensity for war and violence is encountered not only in the Old, but also in the New Testament, where, on behalf of the absolute peacemaker Jesus, literally the following is said: “Do not think, that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)
Sword XII - XIII centuries. Length 95.9 cm. Weight 1158 (Metropolitan Museum, New York)
Theologians may argue about what these words mean, but the word "sword" in this phrase cannot be avoided. Moreover, already in the early Middle Ages, a military leader differed from a simple warrior in that he possessed a sword as a weapon, while they had axes and spears. When in the Middle and Late Middle Ages simple warriors began to possess swords, the sword turned into a symbol of Christian chivalry.
Pommel with the coat of arms of Pierre de Dre, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond 1240 - 1250 Weight 226.8 g (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
The knight learned to wield weapons from childhood. At the age of seven, he had to leave his parental home and move to the courtyard of some friendly lord knight, to serve there as a page to his lady and in such a capacity and undergo his training. Learning the many skills of a servant, the page learned to fight with wooden swords at the same time. At the age of 13, he became already a squire and could take part in battles. After that, another six to seven years passed and the training was considered complete. Now the squire could become a knight or serve further as a "noble squire". At the same time, the squire and the knight differed very slightly: he had the same armor as the knight, but the sword (since he was not solemnly girded with it!) Was not carried on his belt, he was attached to the bow of the saddle. In order for a squire to become a knight, he had to be ordained and girded with a sword. Only then could he wear it on his belt.
Spurs were also a symbol of chivalry. First, they girded with a sword, then tied spurs to their feet. These are the spurs of a French knight of the 15th century. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
So it was the presence of a sword, even if at least on a saddle, that in the Middle Ages was a clear difference between a free person of noble origin, from a commoner or, even worse, a servo.
Already no one fought in armor, but they continued to be made according to tradition … for children and youth! Before us is the armor of the young Infant Louis, Prince of Asturias (1707 - 1724). (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Well, of course, it is no coincidence that the knight's sword, if you look at it from the front, so resembled a Christian cross. The bows at the crosspiece began to be bent down only from the 15th century. And before that, the arms of the cross were extremely straight, although there were no particular functional reasons for this. It is not for nothing that in the Middle Ages, the cross at the sword was called a cross (while the Muslim saber corresponded to the bend of the crescent). That is, this weapon was deliberately equated with the Christian creed. Before handing over the sword to a candidate for knights, it was kept in the altar of the chapel, thus cleansing from all evil, and the sword itself was handed over to the initiate by the priest.
Sword of 1400. Western Europe. Weight 1673 Length 102.24 cm (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Well, all commoners and serfs were usually prohibited from having swords and wearing them. True, this situation changed somewhat in the late Middle Ages, when free citizens of free cities, among other privileges, also acquired the right to bear arms. The sword is now also the distinction of a free citizen. But if a knight learned to wield a sword from childhood, then … a city dweller did not always have the opportunity to do so, which eventually led to the flourishing of the art of swordsmanship.
Sword of the XVI century. Italy. Weight 1332.4 g (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Naturally, the status of the sword was in a number of circumstances. So, the historical documents that have come down to us say that a sword, even of average quality, was equal to the cost of at least four cows. For an agrarian peasant society, such a price was equal to a fortune. Well, high-quality swords could cost more. That is, if we compare the sword with other types of weapons, for example, a battle ax, a battle flail or a halberd, then it was the most expensive among them. In addition, swords were often richly decorated, which makes them even more expensive. So, for example, it is known that Charlemagne had both the hilt of his sword and the sling to him were made of gold and silver. "Sometimes he carried a sword adorned with precious stones, but this usually only happened on especially solemn occasions or when the embassies of other nations appeared before him."
But this is a completely unique Indian sword of the 18th century. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
However, the decoration of the sword in the early Middle Ages was never magnificent - since the sword was a functional thing, especially when compared with the weapons of the Renaissance, overloaded with all kinds of decorations. Even the king's swords, although they had gilded hilts and engraved blades, were usually quite modest and generally practical, very well balanced and high quality weapons. That is, kings could really fight with these swords.
Claymore 1610 - 1620 Length 136 cm. Weight 2068.5 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
It happened that both knights, and even more so kings, owned several swords at once. So, Charlemagne had special swords purely for representation and less decorated for everyday use. In the late Middle Ages, warriors often had one sword with a handle in one hand and one long combat sword with one and a half hands. Already the manuscripts of the 9th century note that the Margrave Eberhard von Friol had as many as nine swords, and a certain Anglo-Saxon prince of the 11th century did possess a whole dozen swords, which, according to his will after his death, were divided among all his sons.
In addition to the function of social status, the sword was also a sign of administrative power. For example, in the 13th century collection of feudal law, The Saxon Mirror, there is an image in which the king receives the sword of worldly power from Jesus, while the pope is rewarded with the sword of spiritual power. And at the ceremony of initiation into knights, and at the coronation of a king or emperor, the sword, together with the crown and scepter, was considered exactly the same symbol of supreme power. For example, Saint Mauritius - with the imperial sword of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, the German kings were girded with the pope.
Cinquedea 1500 Italy. Weight 907 g (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
When the king left the church, a special sword-bearer carried his sword in front of him, as a sign of his secular power and might, with the point up. Therefore, the position of the royal sword-bearer throughout the entire Middle Ages was revered as one of the most honorable.
Already in the XIV century, city burgomasters and judges received special ceremonial swords, and they, too, were brought out before them as a sign of the high power of their owners. Usually these were luxuriously finished bastard swords or very large two-handed swords. One such sword has come down to us - the "official sword" of the city of Dublin. Its gilded grip has a distinctive pear-shaped faceted head and a long crosshair. At the same time, the history of this sword is known for sure: in 1396 it was made for the future King Henry IV. And, apparently, the king used it, since his blade has notches and other characteristic traces of combat use.
The City Sword of Dublin City symbolizes the administrative authority of the City Mayor.
And this is how this sword looks in all its glory. The scabbard, however, was made much later. (Dublin Museum, Ireland)
But there were also very special swords, called "swords of justice." Naturally, this is not a combat weapon and certainly not a status weapon. But the "sword of justice" was very important, since in the Middle Ages, ordinary decapitation was carried out with an ax, but with such a sword they cut off the heads of representatives of the nobility. In addition to the demonstration of social differences, there was also a very obvious practical reason: the person executed by the sword experienced less suffering. But from the 16th century onwards, criminals from the burgher class were also increasingly beheaded with a sword in German cities. A special type of sword was created specifically for executioner's needs. It is believed that one of the first such swords was made in Germany in 1640. But most of the surviving swords of justice date back to the 17th century, and at the beginning of the 19th century they were no longer used. The last fact of the use of such a sword in Germany took place in 1893: then with its help a woman poisoner was beheaded.
Executioner's sword from 1688. Rottwal City Museum, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Interestingly (how interesting it can be at all!) Is that execution with a sword requires the use of a completely different technique than execution with an ax. There, the convict should put his head and shoulders on the block - a scene very clearly shown in the wonderful Soviet film Cain XVIII (1963) - after which the executioner chopped down with an ax with a wide blade, having previously thrown back or cut off the victim's long hair. But when the head was chopped off with a sword, then the condemned had to kneel, and the chopping block was not required. The executioner took the sword with both hands, swung widely and struck a horizontal chopping blow from his shoulder, which at once took the head off the man's shoulders.
This is how it was necessary to put his head on the block so that the executioner chopped it off with an ax. A still from the film "Cain XVIII".
In England, for some reason, the "sword of justice" did not take root, and there people were beheaded with an ordinary ax. But still, there were executions, albeit a few, which were carried out with a sword, which was a clear evidence of the significance of both the event, and the tool, and the skill that was required for this. When, for example, King Henry VIII in 1536 planned to put his second wife Anne Boleyn to death, then … her head was cut off with a sword. Especially for this, the executioner was summoned from Saint-Omer near Calais. It was he who decapitated Anne Boleyn with just one masterful blow.
A case that took place in France in 1626 clearly shows how important a specialist was for ensuring the painlessness of the death of the executed, when an inexperienced volunteer acted as the executioner. So it took him as many as 29 (!) Times to strike with the sword to chop off the head of the Comte de Chalet. And on the contrary, in 1601, a professional executioner, with just one blow, managed to decapitate two convicts at once, tying them back to back.
"Swords of Justice", as a rule, had two-handed handles and simple and straight arches of the cross. They did not need the edge, so they do not have it. So the blade is like a screwdriver. Usually the blades of swords of justice are very wide (from 6 to 7 centimeters), and their overall length is most consistent with a bastard sword. Such swords weigh from 1, 7 to 2, 3 kilograms, have a length of 900-1200 mm. That is, it is a cross between a bastard sword and an ordinary heavy two-handed sword.
And this is how they cut her off with a sword. The scene of the execution in 1572.
The blades often depicted symbols of justice and all sorts of instructive sayings such as: "Fear God and love the right, and the angel will be your servant." One of the swords of justice by the Solingen master Johannes Boygel, made by him in 1576, has the following verse inscription on the planes of the blade:
“If you live virtuously.
The sword of justice cannot cut your head."
“When I raise this sword, I wish the poor sinner eternal life!"
