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The Albion Mark Peter Johnsson Museum Collection
Sword of St. Maurice of Turin
A hands-on review by Steve Maly

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Introduction
St. Maurice is a popular saint, widely revered in Western Europe. He is often depicted as a Caucasian or as a Moor (though it has been suggested that this may be confusion with the term mauri, a Roman description of all North African peoples), though always as a foot soldier in full armour. He was alleged to be the Primicerius of the Theban Legion at Agaunum (in modern Switzerland), martyred along with his soldiers sometime around AD 287-303 for refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods in thanksgiving following a battle. The first accounts of his martyrdom appear in a letter by Eucherius, bishop of Lyons circa 434-50, to a fellow bishop Salvius, of an account originally attributed to Theodore, bishop of Octodurum circa 381-393. Historians disagree as to whether there had been a Christian legion executed for disobeying the orders of Herculius Maximian (circa 284-305) on religious grounds. For example, Christians were prohibited from serving in the military at this time for this very reason, decimation was no longer allowed when Maximian was emperor, and Bishop Theodore had political aspirations. Nevertheless, there are several hundred holy sites throughout Europe attributed to this saint as well as numerous relics.
Click to enlarge
The antique Saint Maurice of Turin sword, circa 1200-1250

A sword housed in Turin is one of them. It is purported to be the sword used to behead St. Maurice, though this is obviously a sword of the early 13th century, and not the 3-4th century. This misnomer is reminiscent of the anachronistic depiction of Biblical stories in the Maciejowski Bible (also 13th century), as it was the custom in the high medieval times to relay stories of ancient times from a contemporary point of view, using current dress, arms, and armour. As a result, a "modern" sword was attributed to an event that occurred nearly 1,000 years earlier. Whether this sword had been dedicated to the cult of St. Maurice (and then assumed to be the sword of St. Maurice) or a deliberate fabrication is unknown, but it was kept with the other relics of the saint. Since 1858 this sword has been displayed in the Could not connect to link database