Mortuary Sword - first use of the term?

Jim McDougall · 11th December 2022, 08:05 PM

MORTUARY sword term: Perfectly explained by Stuart Mowbray in his "British Military Swords: 1600-1660", 2013, p.180.

"...perhaps a more believable explanation for the 'mortuary' name would be that 19th c. antiquarians , who were the first people to appreciate these weapons, often purchased them from churches where they had been painted black and used as part of funereal (i.e.mortuary) displays. In a tradition that dates back to ancient times, the arms of Britains Civil War heroes were deposited by their loved ones in places of worship.".

"...memories never last forever, though, and during the 19th c. countless rural English churches were in the process of 'spring cleaning'-pulling down all those dusty, rusty and altogether too depressing funeral achievements to make room for more modern decorations".

These helmets and swords still bearing black paint made it to the antiques markets, and of course with thier somber provenance gained the Victorian sobriquet 'mortuary' swords. Strangely it does not seem helmets or armor were called this.

The notion of the 'death mask' of Charles I came later, as an explanation for the term, and as has been shown, is easily defeated as these varied types of figures (many of the 'green man' type) existed as motif long before the Kings execution in 1649.

11th December 2022, 08:05 PM	#12
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,190	MORTUARY sword term: Perfectly explained by Stuart Mowbray in his "British Military Swords: 1600-1660", 2013, p.180. "...perhaps a more believable explanation for the 'mortuary' name would be that 19th c. antiquarians , who were the first people to appreciate these weapons, often purchased them from churches where they had been painted black and used as part of funereal (i.e.mortuary) displays. In a tradition that dates back to ancient times, the arms of Britains Civil War heroes were deposited by their loved ones in places of worship.". "...memories never last forever, though, and during the 19th c. countless rural English churches were in the process of 'spring cleaning'-pulling down all those dusty, rusty and altogether too depressing funeral achievements to make room for more modern decorations". These helmets and swords still bearing black paint made it to the antiques markets, and of course with thier somber provenance gained the Victorian sobriquet 'mortuary' swords. Strangely it does not seem helmets or armor were called this. The notion of the 'death mask' of Charles I came later, as an explanation for the term, and as has been shown, is easily defeated as these varied types of figures (many of the 'green man' type) existed as motif long before the Kings execution in 1649.