Sword of Justice

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For other uses, see Sword of justice.

A Sword of justice can be metaphorical, such as in a personification of Justice where it symbolizes the power to punish offenders, or literal in the sense of an executioner's swords.

A sword of execution, of the kind typically used by a scharfrichter.

Swords of justice, or executioner's swords, were used by trained executioners for carrying out capital punishment in many cultures. Given their special 'ceremonial' purpose, they were usually very well-made of the highest quality metal and were extremely sharp. Though unadorned otherwise, many were engraved with simple prayers akin to last rites, asking mercy for both the executioner and the soul of the accused. In their purest form in medieval Europe, they were only used for capital punishment, and only touched and maintained by sanctioned executioners. Sword execution, while not common, is still an accepted form of capital punishment by some modern-era cultures like in Saudi Arabia.

Swords of execution were specifically designed for their purpose: to sever the head of an unresisting victim as quickly as possible. To this end, they were often considerably different from conventional swords intended for combat or training; European examples often had a blunt end and a ~100 cm long blade ~5 cm in width. Sometimes they would be inscribed with an appropriate motto; a German example reads "Whenever I raise the sword I wish the sinner everlasting life."^[1]

The Sword of Justice at the Higgins Armory Museum is a fine example of such ceremonial weapons used to designate status and authority.