id: 95909 accession number: 1916.1620 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1620 updated: Executioner's Sword, late 1600s. Germany, late 17th Century. Steel, wood, brass and copper wire; overall: 108.9 cm (42 7/8 in.); blade: 85.7 cm (33 3/4 in.); quillions: 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.); grip: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1620 title: Executioner's Sword title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: late 1600s creation date earliest: 1650 creation date latest: 1699 current location: 210A Armor Court creditline: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance copyright: --- culture: Germany, late 17th Century technique: steel, wood, brass and copper wire department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Arms & Armor type: Arms and Armor find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 108.9 cm (42 7/8 in.); Blade: 85.7 cm (33 3/4 in.); Quillions: 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.); Grip: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Wan ich Das Schwerdt thu auff heben so / Wunch ich Dem armen sunder das Ewege Leben translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Armor Court Reinstallation opening date: 1998-09-10T00:00:00 Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE Edwin J. Brett (1828-1895), London, England date: footnotes: citations: Frank Gair Macomber, Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: -1916 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Oh date: 1916- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: The inscription on this sword reads, "When I raise this sword, so I wish that this poor sinner will receive eternal life." digital description: wall description: 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 4, 17th to 19th century and a few pieces of iron work. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915]. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (209) 228 url: https://archive.org/details/CatArmsArmour4/page/n192 Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. page number: Mentioned: pp. 129-130, E97 url: https://archive.org/details/SeveranceCollection1924/page/n194 Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. page number: pp. 112, 171; cat. no. 165 url: Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. page number: cat. no. 142, p. 189 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1620/1916.1620_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1620/1916.1620_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1620/1916.1620_full.tif