Germany, late 17th Century / late 1600s
Executioner's Sword
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Executioner's Sword as arms and armor (Germany, late 17th Century · late 1600s).
The inscription on this sword reads, "When I raise this sword, so I wish that this poor sinner will receive eternal life."
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this arms and armor as steel, wood, brass and copper wire.
The museum's collection notes: Execution by decapitation was generally reserved for the nobility during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Although the axe was favored in England, for centuries swords were used throughout Central Europe. The blades were often etched with moralizing inscriptions and designs representing Justice (as here), the gallows, the rack, or the Crucifixion. By the early 1700s swords were no longer primarily used in Europe for executions, but they still functioned as symbols of power. This sword was probably ceremonial for a formal procedure or procession.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtExecutioner's SwordOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.