Help ID on Executioner's Sword -- myArmoury.com

Douglas A. · Posted: Mon 13 Sep, 2004 12:26 am Post subject: Help ID on Executioner's Sword

A previous post was a great help to me...Much to learn and I am impressed at the scholarship and passion for swords. The attached is one of three swords I obtained this year. It is a headsman/executioners sword. The attached file shows a heavy 46 inch sword that I am trying to learn more about. I have seen few examples and this one seems to be in such fine condition, I am hoping that someone may be able to better identify the country of origin based upon style, or perhaps better idenify its likely time period. I believe this particular type was primarily produced from 16th to the 18th century. Unfortunately there are no makers marks on this at all.

Does anyone know of reference material related to execution swords?

Sword pics at:
http://usera.imagecave.com/dash321/ash2/

thanks for any thoughts,
doug

Alexi Goranov · myArmoury Alumni

Hi Douglas,

That is an interesting acquisition! I to find some info about this type of swords, but the best I could find were just more pics.
Here is a link to pics from Gent's collection of execution stuff. Unfortunately there is no info supplementing the pictures.
http://www.geocities.com/ulfberth/Gent.htm

One of the initial observations is that NOT ALL executioner swords lacked pointed blades! Were these pointed bladed dedicated executioner's swords, or were they just regular XIIIa war swords used for execution?!?! I wonder......

There is also some basic info about executioner's swords in the myArmoury articles:
example http://www.myArmoury.com/feature_swordintro2.html (bottom of the page)

If you were to visit Hermann Historica Auction house, http://www.hermann-historica.com/ there are a number of executioner's swords with some basic description and info. For example there are two in the ONLINE-CATALOGUE AUCTION 45. - Catalogue I - October 14, 2003 in the forensic and torture section. http://www.hermann-historica.de/auktion/images45_gr/24131_b.jpg 2nd half of 16th century
http://www.hermann-historica.de/auktion/images45_gr/24131.jpg
http://www.hermann-historica.de/auktion/images45_gr/24131_c.jpg

http://www.hermann-historica.de/auktion/images45_gr/21343.jpg 17th century

I know this does not directly answer your question, as to the identification of your sword, but it was fun searching for info.

Cheers,

Alexi

Sean Flynt · Posted: Mon 13 Sep, 2004 8:11 am Post subject:

Judging from the grip treatment I'd guess 17th c. manufacture. Definitely European. Maybe the areas of what is now Germany and the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. I lived in Austria for awhile and saw execution swords in just about every local museum I visited. Those were mostly 16th and 17th c., if I remember correctly, but I think some were used into the 18th c. as well. Those Germanic tribes just love head loppin,'. I guess. I don't know how popular execution by sword was in France, Spain, the Low Countries and the Italies by the 17th c.

No marks of any sort on the blade? No wheel of justice? Scaffold? Cross?

Sean Flynt · Posted: Mon 13 Sep, 2004 8:27 am Post subject:

Here's a German "Richtschwert" of 1700. It's a bit simpler and more utilitarian than yours, which further suggests to me that yours is earlier.

http://www.zeller.de/deutsch/archiv/kataloge/...chwert.htm

Look up "Richtschwert" on Google and you'll get lots of images.

Douglas A. · Posted: Mon 13 Sep, 2004 11:36 am Post subject:

Nope, no moralistic or judicial phrase> No blade ornamentation at all...it has is a plain vanilla head lopping blade.

Info is very very helpful and interesting. Thanks