The Imperial Sword (, ) is one of the four most important parts of the

Imperial Regalia The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia (in German ''Reichskleinodien'', ''Reichsinsignien'' or ''Reichsschatz''), are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, C ...

(''Reichskleinodien'') of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. During a coronation, it was given to the emperor along with the Imperial Crown (''Reichskrone''), Imperial

Sceptre A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a Staff of office, staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of regalia, royal or imperial insignia, signifying Sovereignty, sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and M ...

(''Reichszepter''), and the Imperial Orb (''Reichsapfel''). All four parts of the Imperial Regalia are displayed in the Imperial Treasury at the

Hofburg Palace The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the im ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria.Kunsthistorisches 1991, p. 170. It is also known as ''Mauritiusschwert'', or the sword of

Saint Maurice Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, Maurits, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favourite and most widely venerated saints of tha ...

History

The Imperial Sword was made for Emperor

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

in the twelfth century, possibly for his coronation as

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

in 1198. Its predecessor, the sword of Otto III, is also preserved, in the

Essen Abbey Essen Abbey () was a community of secular canonesses for women of high nobility that formed the nucleus of modern-day Essen, Germany. A chapter of male priests were also attached to the abbey, under a dean. In the medieval period, the abbess ...

treasury. The first known explicit mention of the sword dates to 1315, in a letter of a lady-in-waiting of Elisabeth of Aragon, wife to Frederick III. It may also be referenced in an inventory of 1246, which mentions merely ''zwey swert mit zweyn scheiden, gezieret mit edelem gesteyne'' (''two swords, with two scabbards ornamented with gems''). The first pictorial representations of the sword date to the fifteenth century, but the first detailed depiction only to the seventeenth century. By legend, the Imperial Sword was connected with the donation of the sword, lance, and spurs, of Saint Maurice by the Abbey of Saint Maurice to king

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...

; the actual sword, however, postdates both Maurice and Henry.

Description

Sword

The Imperial Sword has an overall length of 110 cm (43.3 in), with the length of the blade being 95.3 cm (37.5 in).Leithe-Jasper 2004, p. 54. The sword originated during the high medieval period, but was refitted and decorated several times during the late medieval and early modern periods—e.g., the addition of the silver wire wrapping the hilt. The

crossguard A sword's crossguard or cross-guard is a bar between the blade and hilt, essentially perpendicular to them, intended to protect the wielder's hand and fingers from opponents' weapons as well as from his or her own blade. Each of the individual b ...

on one side bears the

Middle Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidia and Africa Proconsularis under the Vandals ...

inscription ''CHRISTVS : VINCIT : CHRISTVS : REIGNAT : CHRISTVS : INPERAT'' (''Christ triumphs, Christ reigns, Christ rules''). On the reverse side, the shorter variant ''CHRISTVS : VINCIT : CHRISTVS : REINAT''. Schulze-Dörrlamm (1995:27) interprets the theological intention of this inscription as referring to ''Christ the Victor, Christ the King, and Christ the Emperor''—the refrain of the '' Laudes imperiale'' and an invocation of Christ as legitimation for secular power and the ''

translatio imperii is a historiographical concept that was prominent among medieval thinkers and intellectuals in Europe, but which originated from earlier concepts in antiquity. According to this concept, the notion of ''decline and fall'' of an empire is theor ...

'' to the

. The pommel is of the "mushroom" or "tea-cosy" shape typical of the high medieval period.Oakeshott, Ewart (1964). ''The Sword in the Age of Chivalry''
p. 81
The pommel is engraved with the arms of Holy Roman Emperor

, who reigned from 1209 to 1215. The lower edge of the pommel is inscribed with ''BENEDICTVS · DO inv DE QVI DOCET MANV viz'' (''Blessed be the Lord my God, who teaches the hand o wield'). This is an abbreviated form of

Psalm 144 Psalm 144 is the 144th psalm of the Book of Psalms, part of the final Davidic collection of psalms, comprising Psalms 138 to 145, which are specifically attributed to David in their opening verses. In the King James Version its opening words ...

:1, ''Benedictus Dominus Deus meus, qui docet manus meas ad prælium, et digitos meos ad bellum'' (''Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war'').

Scabbard

The scabbard of the sword is adorned with 14 gold plates engraved with depictions of monarchs. These pictures date to the eleventh century, and are thus about a century older than the sword itself. The figures have been identified as depicting the consecutive German monarchs from

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

to Henry III, who was crowned in 1046.

Gallery

File:Reichsschwert stich mit zeremonienschwert.JPG, Imperial Sword colored etching showing both sides by Johann Adam Delsenbach, 1751 File:Authentica repraesentatio Insignivm Schwerter.jpg, Imperial Sword illustration from the workshop of Johann Baptist Homann, 1755

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * *

External links

Kunsthistorisches Museum
{{Authority control 1198 works Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire Medieval European swords Medieval European metalwork objects Individual weapons Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor