Renaissance executioner sword from Germany

[Matchlock]

- 4 details of a 17th c. executioners sword and a few hewn off delinquents' hands, Museum Erfurt, Thuringia

- a breaking wheel with heavy iron blade, 17th-18th c.

[Matchlock]

Hi there,

One basic thought for discussion.

Actually I have never quite understood why executioners swords are generally ranked among weapons. Strictly speaking, they are tools of justice, after all ...

Best,
Michael

[fernando]

Let's hope the package is now complete !!

[JUSTICESWORDS]

Known examples of justice swords bearing the name of the executioner who owned/used the sword do exist.

The same goes for select execution axes.

But it is not common.

I have not seen any research that proves used justice swords were thrown into a river to put an end to the sword's thirst for human blood.

In fact, I am inclined to believe the following:

1) The swords actually used for beheadings bore fewer engraved symbols than is commonly believed. Usually just the wheel image and perhaps a simple engraved saying. Th executioner was a poor tradesman who was payed a very meager wage. He likely would not have had the spare funds to be able to hire a master swordsmith to engrave his weapon with anything more than the basic elements he felt he needed.

2) That once a beheading sword was "decommisioned" it was then that the 3 holes were bored into it's tip to release the pent up bad energy of the evil people it had killed, and,

3) Once decomissioned and used for ceremonial pursposes it was then that images of the Lady Justice figure and other more elaborate engravings were added to the blade.

I should state that the above 3 points are merely theories of mine but they do seem logical.

Of course, many things about these curious tools are lost to time and all we have to work with are examples to compare as well as written information from the time period to base our theories upon.

Oh yes, and perhaps the most important ingredient of all... good old fashioned common sense!

Cheers, Steve

[Matchlock]

Hi Steve,

Oh yeah, there are so many sayings about justice and beheading swords ...

We should keep in mind that they are not the same. Justice swords were just symbols of justice and had no practical use.

Also, the three holes sometimes found in the tips of beheading swords are just a stylistic decorative relict of the Gothic period when they were used as the utmost simplification of the trefoil (Dreipass) ornament. In traditionally made tools the obsolete Gothic style lived on thru the periods, over the 18th to the 19th c. when the Neo-Gothic style reenlivened those traditional forms. We also find the trefoil decoration on many later axe heads, first drilled and in later times just punched.

Best,
Michael