Executioner's sword: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Sword used for decapitation of criminals}}
{{One source|date=October 2023}}
[[File:Epée de justice IMG 3471.jpg|thumb|Executioner's sword (16th century)]]
[[Image:Beheading Fac simile of a Miniature on Wood in the Cosmographie Universelle of Munster in folio Basle 1552.png|thumb|A decapitation scene as shown in the ''Cosmographie[[Cosmographia Universelleuniversalis]]'' of Munster[[Sebastian Münster]] (1552).]]
An '''executioner's sword''' is a [[sword]] designed specifically for [[decapitation]] of condemned criminals (as opposed to [[swordsmanship|combat]]). These swords were intended for two-handed use, but were lacking a point, so that their overall blade length was typically that of a single-handed sword (ca. {{convert|80-|–|90 |cm|in|abbr=on}}). The [[Crossguard|quillionsquillons]] were quite short, and mainly straight, and the pommel was often pear-shaped or faceted.
 
In the [[Middle Ages]], decapitations were executedperformed with regular swords,. and theThe earliest known example of a specifically designed executioner's swordssword dates to ca. 1540.
They were in wide use in 17th century Europe, but fell out of use quite suddenly in the early 18th century. The last execution by sword in Europe was carried out in 1867, when Niklaus Emmenegger was beheaded in [[Lucerne]] for murder.
 
They were in wide use in 17th -century Europe, but fell out of use quite suddenly in the early 18th century. The last executionexecutions by sword in Europe waswere carried out in Switzerland in 1867 and 1868, when Niklaus Emmenegger wasin beheaded[[Lucerne]] and Héli Freymond in [[LucerneMoudon]] were beheaded for murder. Swords known as a ''sulthan'' are used to carry out executions in [[Saudi Arabia]] (''see [[Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia]]'').
The blades of executioner's swords were often decorated with symbolic designs, showing instruments of execution or torture, or the [[Crucifixion of Christ]], combined with moralistic inscriptions. When no longer used for executions, an executioner's sword sometimes continued to be used in processions as a symbol of [[Blutgericht|judicial power]].
 
The blades of executioner's swords were often decorated with symbolic designs, showing instruments of execution or torture, or the [[Crucifixion of Christ]], combined with moralistic inscriptions. When no longer used for executions, an executioner's sword sometimes continued to be used inas processionsa asceremonial [[sword of justice]], a symbol of [[Blutgericht|judicial power]].
 
<gallery>
Image:Scharfrichterschwert-ffm002.jpg| 15th century, "Heimatmuseum" at [[Frankfurt-Bergen-Enkheim]]]]
Image:Scharfrichterschwert-ffm001.jpg| [[Early Modern German]] inscription on the blade: ''Wan Ich Das Schwert thue Auffheben - So Wünsche Ich Dem Sünder Das Ewige Leben'' "Whenever I haveWhen this sword liftedI do lift, - I wish the Sinner's withsinner eternal life giftedas gift."
</gallery>
 
==See also==
*[[Guillotine]]
*[[Muhammad Saad al-Beshi]], Saudi Arabian executioner
*[[Sword of Justice]]
*Terminus Est, a fictional executioner's sword wielded by the executioner protagonist of ''[[The Book of the New Sun]]''
 
== External links ==
{{commonscatCommons category|Executioner's swords}}
*[http://www.zeller.de/de/katalog/auktion-80-mai-04/auktionsartikel/richtschwert/ German executioner's sword of ca. 1700]
*[http://www.artfund.org/artwork/1324/executioners-sword German executioner's sword dated to 1674] at the [[Royal Armouries]].
*[http://interestingswords.com/historical-swords/the-sword-of-the-executioner.html The sword of the executioner. Description and foto]
 
{{Authority control}}
 
[[Category:Decapitation]]
[[Category:Early Modern European swords]]
[[Category:European swords]]
[[Category:Execution equipment]]
[[Category:Renaissance-era swords]]
[[Category:Renaissance-era weapons]]
 
 
[[de:Richtschwert]]
{{Sword-stub}}
[[ja:処刑人の剣]]
{{Crime-stub}}
[[pl:Miecz katowski]]