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Executioner's sword

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Sword used for decapitation of criminals
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Executioner's sword (16th century)
A decapitation scene as shown in Cosmographia universalis of Sebastian Münster (1552).

An executioner's sword is a sword designed specifically for decapitation of condemned criminals (as opposed to 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. 80–90 cm (31–35 in)). The quillons were quite short, and mainly straight, and the pommel was often pear-shaped or faceted.

In the Middle Ages, decapitations were performed with regular swords. The earliest known example of a specifically designed executioner's sword 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 executions by sword in Europe were carried out in Switzerland in 1867 and 1868, when Niklaus Emmenegger in Lucerne and Héli Freymond in Moudon 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. When no longer used for executions, an executioner's sword sometimes continued to be used as a ceremonial sword of justice, a symbol of judicial power.

  • 15th century, "Heimatmuseum" at Frankfurt-Bergen-Enkheim 15th century, "Heimatmuseum" at Frankfurt-Bergen-Enkheim
  • Early Modern German inscription on the blade: Wan Ich Das Schwert thue Auffheben - So Wünsche Ich Dem Sünder Das Ewige Leben "When this sword I do lift, - I wish the sinner eternal life as gift." Early Modern German inscription on the blade: Wan Ich Das Schwert thue Auffheben - So Wünsche Ich Dem Sünder Das Ewige Leben "When this sword I do lift, - I wish the sinner eternal life as gift."

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