The City of London Swords are five two-handed ceremonial swords belonging to the

Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's fi ...

, namely the Mourning (or Black) Sword, the Pearl Sword, the State (or Sunday) Sword, the Old Bailey Sword and the Mansion House Justice Room Sword. A sixth sword, the Travelling Sword of State, replaces the Sword of State for visits outside the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

. They comprise part of the plate collection of Mansion House, the

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

Mourning Sword

The Mourning Sword is used on occasions of ceremonial mourning and has also been known as the ''Black Sword'' and the ''Lenten Sword''. Its history is somewhat uncertain—''The Telegraph'' reports its to be of 16th-century origin and that there is a rumour that it was found in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, but there has been more than one Mourning Sword through time.

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

describes in his diary entry for 2 September 1663 a conversation with then-Lord Mayor Anthony Bateman as follows: In his footnote to that entry in his 1893 transcription, Henry Benjamin Wheatley quotes Sir William St John Hope, FSA and Assistant Secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, who read a paper on the history of the insignia of the City of London to the Society on 28 May 1891, as saying "It has long been the custom in the City as in other places to have a sword painted black and devoid of ornament, which is carried before the Lord Mayor on occasions of mourning or special solemnity. ... The present Mourning Sword has an old blade, but the

hilt The hilt (rarely called a haft or shaft) is the handle of a knife, dagger, sword, or bayonet, consisting of a guard, grip, and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pomme ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, which are of

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

japanned Japanning is a type of Surface finishing, finish that originated as a European imitation of East Asian lacquerware#East Asia, lacquerwork. It was first used on furniture, but was later much used on small items in metal. The word originated in th ...

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, are of the most ordinary character and seemingly modern. The grip and sheath are covered with black velvet." In ''Ceremonial Swords of Britain: State and Civic Swords'' (2017), Edward Barrett dates the current Mourning Sword to 1615 or 1623. It has a blade long and wide, and a hilt. While the velvet on the scabbard looks black, it is actually very deep maroon. The Mourning Sword was carried by then-Lord Mayor Roger Gifford at the funeral of the Baroness Thatcher in 2013, leading the Queen and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

in and out of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

for the ceremony. It had not previously been used since the

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

in 1965. In addition to its use at funerals, it is used on Good Friday, feast days and the anniversary of the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

Pearl Sword

According to tradition, the Pearl Sword was presented to the

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

in 1571 on the occasion of her opening of the Royal Exchange. There are approximately 2,500

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

s on the sword's

scabbard A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, dagger, knife, or similar edged weapons. Rifles and other long guns may also be stored in scabbards by horse riders for transportation. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring ...

, from which it gets its name. In his footnote to the ''Diary of Samuel Pepys'', Wheatley quotes Hope as saying that it is a "fine sword said to have been given to the City by Queen Elizabeth on the occasion of the opening of the Royal Exchange in 1570" but continues: "There is, however, no mention of such a gift in the City records, neither do Stow nor other old writers notice it. The sword is certainly of sixteenth century date, and is very possibly that bought in 1554, if it be not that "verye goodly sworde" given by Sir Ralph Warren in 1545." Its blade is long and wide, and it has a hilt. It weighs without the scabbard. The first of the blade have been blued and etched with images of fruit, trophies of arms, a quiver of arrows, the City arms and a ship at sail. Its scabbard dates back to at least 1808. When the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

visits the

in State Lying in state is the tradition in which the body of a deceased official, such as a head of state, is placed in a state building, either outside or inside a coffin, to allow the public to pay their respects. It traditionally takes place in a m ...

, he is ceremonially welcomed at Temple Bar, its boundary with

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, by the

, who offers HM the hilt of the Pearl Sword to touch. Before 1641, the monarch would take the sword for the duration of their visit, but in 1641 Charles I was offered it and immediately returned it to the Lord Mayor, a practice that was then carried on. The ceremony as a whole dates back to 1215 and the

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

allowing direct election of the Mayor (''now'' Lord Mayor). A similar ceremonial surrendering of the local Sword of State (a sword granted by royal gift or authorised by royal charter) is performed on royal visits to certain other cities, including York. At the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

on 22 September 1761, the Royal Sword of State was mislaid and instead the Earl of Huntingdon carried the Lord Mayor's Pearl Sword for the ceremony. In 1977, Queen Elizabeth II mused that should

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

(as

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The President (government title), president leads the Executive (government), executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander- ...

) attend her

Silver Jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...

uninvited, she might hit him over the head with the Pearl Sword, according to Lord Mountbatten's diary. In 2012, the ceremonial surrender of the Pearl Sword was carried out during her

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

. In 2016, the Pearl Sword was carried by then-Lord Mayor Jeffrey Mountevans to lead the Queen into St Paul's Cathedral for a service in honour of her official 90th birthday.

State Sword

The State Sword forms one half of the Sword and Mace, symbols of authority for the Lord Mayor of London. At City ceremonial events it is carried by the Swordbearer, while the Mace is carried by the

Serjeant-at-Arms A serjeant-at-arms or sergeant-at-arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-ar ...

. The City of London has had a Sword of State since before 1373 and the first known Swordbearer of the City was John Blytone, who resigned in 1395. The current sword, which is from the mid-17th century, has a red velvet sheath and a pommel decorated with images representing Justice and Fame. It is also called the Sunday Sword, and is one of a group of eight swords made around the same time, between 1669 and 1684, and to similar specifications. Of these it particularly resembles the Civic Swords of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

and

Appleby-in-Westmorland Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby is the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. ...

. It was made around 1670 and acquired by London around 1680. The blade is long and wide. The hilt is long and it weighs without the scabbard. Most of the blue and gold damascene pattern that the blade used to have has since worn off. Lord Mayor Micajah Perry was attended by the "Sunday Sword and Mace" when he laid the foundation stone of Mansion House on 25 October 1739, where the City of London swords now form part of the plate collection. The Sword and Mace are also two of the symbols used when the new Lord Mayor is invested at the

Lord Mayor's Show The Lord Mayor's Show is one of the best-known annual events in London as well as one of the longest-established, dating back to the 13th century. A new lord mayor is appointed every year, and the public parade that takes place as their inaugura ...

. The current City Swordbearer is Tim Rolph, who succeeded James North (2003–17).

Travelling State Sword

Because the State Sword is so valuable, there is in addition a Travelling State Sword used on ceremonial occasions outside the City of London. It looks very similar to the State Sword itself, but weighs less at and has a slightly longer blade at . It was made by Wilkinson Sword in 1962 and presented to the City by Lord Mayor Sir Ralph Perring. Rather than the Damascene pattern, its blade is finely etched. Perring himself took the Travelling State Sword on its first foreign excursion, together with the mace, on a visit to Canada in 1963, during which he opened Ottawa's Exhibition.

Old Bailey Sword

The Old Bailey Sword is displayed behind the Senior Judge sitting at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

, a

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, hanging above his chair when the Lord Mayor opens proceedings at the Old Bailey. The Cutlers' Company records that this is the Sword made by Master Cutler Richard Mathew in 1562www.cutlerslondon.co.uk
/ref> and presented to the City in 1563. They quote Sir William St John Hope describing it as follows: It has a blade long and wide, and an hilt. It weighs without the scabbard. Five inches (13 cm) of the point have been damaged and repaired with

electroplating Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the redox, reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct current, direct electric cur ...

. Like the Pearl Sword, the lower part of the blade is blued and decorated. Its scabbard is covered with crimson velvet and decorated with gold lace, copper-gilt and silver-gilt.

Mansion House Justice Room Sword

The Justice Room of Mansion House was converted from the former Swordbearer's Room in 1849 to operate as a

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

, since the Lord Mayor is

Chief Magistrate A chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admi ...

of the City. Though the court has since moved, the Mansion House Justice Room Sword retains its name. Its blade is long and wide. It has an hilt and weighs without the scabbard. It is from around 1830 and believed to be Portuguese.

Related collections

Where the City of London has six ceremonial swords (including the Travelling Sword of State),

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, Lincoln and

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

each have four, though two of Exeter's are not carried before the Mayor. A further 13 places in Britain have two swords each, as does

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. The swords of the Lord Mayor of Bristol are: * A Mourning Sword from before 1373 when

became a

county corporate A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for the administration of justice in certain towns and cities in England, Wales, and Ireland. They arose when the monarch gave a borough corporation the right to appoi ...

, originally used as a Sword of State * A Pearl Sword from the 14th century given by Lord Mayor of London John de Welles in 1431. Ewart Oakeshott described the Type XVII sword as being large and "of superlative quality" with a "beautiful silver gilt hilt". * A Lent Sword from the 15th century, formerly carried at the

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

* A State Sword from 1752 described by Barrett (2017) as "an inelegant but grandiose giant of a sword with a blade almost twice as wide as any other mentioned." Lincoln's four are a Sword of State from before 1367, a Mourning or Lent Sword ''circa'' 1486, the Charles I Sword ''circa'' 1642, which is missing its hilt, and the George II Sword, put together in 1902 from a hilt made in 1734 and an older blade. Exeter's bearing-swords are a Sword of State, circa 1497, and a Mourning Sword, circa 1577.

Notes

References

Works cited

* * * * * * * * * {{cite book, last1=Welch, first1=Charles, title=History of the Cutlers' Company of London, date=1916, publisher=The Cutlers' Company, location=London, url=http://scans.library.utoronto.ca/pdf/2/21/historyofcutlers01welcuoft/historyofcutlers01welcuoft_bw.pdf, access-date=19 January 2018, archive-date=3 February 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064201/http://scans.library.utoronto.ca/pdf/2/21/historyofcutlers01welcuoft/historyofcutlers01welcuoft_bw.pdf, url-status=dead Ceremonial weapons City of London European swords Individual weapons