Szczerbiec
| Szczerbiec | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Information | |
| Weapon type: | sword |
| Use: | Weapon, ceremonial weapon |
| Creation time: | around 1200 to 1300 |
| Working time: | around 1320 (coronation Władysław I. Ellenlang) until today |
| Overall length: | 98.4 cm |
| Blade length: | 82 cm |
| Blade width: | 5 cm |
| Particularities: | The Szczerbiec is the sword of the Polish crown insignia |
| Lists on the subject | |
Szczerbiec (Polish for "sharp sword") is the most important crown jewel in Poland , the only one preserved from the crown insignia of the Piast dynasty .
history
The sword probably originated in the late 12th or early 13th century. According to legend, its first owner was Prince Bolesław I. Chobry .
The sword was kept in the treasury of the Kraków Wawel Castle. During the Swedish Wars in 1655 King John II Casimir Wasa took it to Silesia . In 1795 the sword was captured from the treasury by the Prussians . From 1810 it was in the hands of various, mostly Russian, collectors. In 1884 it was acquired by the St. Petersburg Hermitage from the collection of the Russian Ambassador in Paris, Alexander Petrovich Basilewski .
After the First World War it was returned to Poland by the Soviet authorities in 1928 on the basis of the Riga Peace Treaty (1921), and brought to Canada in 1939 after the outbreak of the Second World War . In 1959, after long negotiations, it was handed over to the Polish authorities with other crown jewels and has since been kept in the Wawel treasury again.
Appearance
The pommel , the handle and the quillons are covered with golden plates, which were decorated with the symbols of the Evangelists , the Lamb of God and plant ornaments in the niello method in the 13th century.
A tetragram and the Greek letters Alpha and Omega and the Latin inscription Haec figura valet ad amorem regum et principum iras iudicum are engraved on the quillons (this symbol strengthens the love of kings and princes and the wrath of the judges), as well as a Hebrew inscription in Latin letters: Con citomon eeve Sedalai Ebrehel (the names of God Sedalai and Ebrehel awaken fervent faith) and a Latin inscription Quicumque hec nomina Dei secum tulerit nullum periculum ei omnino nocebit (Whoever will bear this name of God will not be in any danger at all).
The golden fittings of the booklet were made in the 14th century. Only a silver heraldic shield with an eagle has survived from the lost scabbard.
literature
- Tadeusz Dobrowolski: Sztuka Krakowa (Art Krakow). Wydanie 4., zmienione i uzupełnione. Wydawnictwo Literackie, Krakow 1971.
Web links
- Zamek Królewski na Wawelu
- VOYAGE OF 1940 (Info on the evacuation of Polish national treasures to Canada in 1940.)