Szczerbiec () is the ceremonial sword used in the coronations of most Polish monarchs from 1320 to 1764. It now is displayed in the treasure vault of the royal Wawel Castle in Kraków, as the only preserved part of the medieval Polish crown jewels. The sword is noted for its hilt, decorated with magical formulae, Christian symbols, and floral patterns, as well as for the narrow slit in the blade which holds a small shield with the coat of arms of Poland. The name of the sword is derived from the Polish word szczerba ("gap", "notch", or "chip"), and its meaning is incorrectly perceived as "the Notched Sword" or "the Jagged Sword" (which is included in the sword's legend), though the edges of its blade are straight and smooth. Proper meaning and rendering into English would be "the Notching/Jagging Sword" — as "a sword that is meant to notch/jag other weapons".
The legend links Szczerbiec with King Boleslaus I the Brave who was said to have chipped the sword by hitting it against the Golden Gate of Kiev during his intervention in the Kievan succession crisis in 1018. However, the Golden Gate was only constructed in 1037 and the sword is actually dated to the late 12th or 13th century. It was first used as a coronation sword by Ladislaus the Short in 1320. Looted by Prussian troops in 1795, it changed hands several times during the 19th century until it was purchased in 1884 for the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. The Soviet Union returned it to Poland in 1928 as part of war reparations for their loss against Poland in the Polish-Soviet war. During the Second World War, Szczerbiec was evacuated to Canada and did not return to Kraków until 1959. In the 20th century, an image of the sword was adopted as a symbol by Polish nationalist and far-right movements.
Description
Szczerbiec is a ceremonial sword bearing rich Gothic ornamentation, dated to the mid-13th century. It is classified as a type XII sword with a type pommel and a type 6 crossguard according to the Oakeshott typology, although the blade may have changed its shape due to centuries of corrosion and intensive cleaning before every coronation.
Hilt
The hilt consists of a round pommel, a flat grip and an arched crossguard. The grip is long, thick, and from wide. It is rectangular in cross-section and its hard edges make it difficult to handle and impractical for fighting, which is indicative of the sword's purely ceremonial usage. The pommel is in diameter and thick, with a chamfered outer ring that is wide. The crossguard forms an arch that is wide in the middle and widens up to at both ends. It is thick near the grip and measures in length along its upper edge.
The pommel and the crossguard are made of silver. The core of the grip is a brass chest encasing the tang of the blade. It was probably made in the 19th century to replace an original organic core, which had decomposed. At the same time the tang was riveted to the top of the pommel. The head of the rivet, which is in diameter, rests atop a rectangular washer measuring .
All parts of the hilt are covered with golden plates, which are engraved with sharp or rounded styli and decorated with niello, or black metallic inlay that contrasts against the golden background. Each plate is thick and made of about 18-carat gold. The niello designs include inscriptions written in late Romanesque majuscule (with some uncial additions), Christian symbols, and floral patterns. The floral ornaments are in negative, that is, golden against a black, nielloed background.
On the obverse side of the hilt, the pommel bears a large stylized letter T on top of a letter C or G (the latter could be just a decorative element of the letter T) between the Greek letters Α and ω (alpha and omega) surmounted with little crosses. Below the letter T, there is another cross placed within a cloud or flower with twelve petals. On the chamfered edge around this design runs a circular Latin inscription in two rings which reads: Rec figura talet ad amorem regum / et principum iras iudicum ("This sign rouses the love of kings and princes, the wrath of judges"). The grip bears the symbols of two of the Four Evangelists: the lion of Saint Mark and the ox of Saint Luke, as well as an Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). The crossguard bears the following Latin inscription: Quicumque hec / nomina Deii secum tu/lerit nullum periculum / ei omnino nocebit ("Whoever will carry these names of God with him, no danger will harm him").
The reverse side of the pommel is decorated with a vine bush surrounded by a wreath of vine leaves. On the reverse of the grip, there are the eagle of Saint John and the angel of Saint Matthew, and another Agnus Dei. The crossguard bears, above another pattern of vine leaves, an inscription in corrupted Hebrew in Latin script: Con citomon Eeve Sedalai Ebrebel ("Fervent faith incite the names of God: Sedalai and Ebrehel"). On the opposite ends of the crossguard, there are again the symbols of Saints John and Matthew.
The circumference of the pommel is decorated with a rhombic pattern, while the upper side of the crossguard – with a similar triangular pattern. The narrow sides of the grip used to be embellished with inscribed silver plates, which, however, were lost in the 19th century. These lost inscriptions are partly known from graphical documentation made by King Stanislaus Augustus's court painter, Johann Christoph Werner, in 1764 and by Jacek Przybylski in 1792. One of the plates had already been broken by that time with only part of the inscription preserved: Liste est glaud... h Bolezlai Duc... ("This is a sword of... Duke Boleslaus..."); the inscription on the other plate continued: Cum quo ei D[omi]n[us] SOS [Salvator Omnipotens Salvator] auxiletur ad[ver]sus partes amen ("With whom is the Omnipotent Lord and Savior, to help him against his enemies. Amen"). The missing part of the first inscription is only known from an old replica of Szczerbiec which once belonged to the Radziwiłł family (see Historical replicas below). The full inscription read: Iste est gladius Principis et haeredis Boleslai Ducis Poloniae et Masoviae, Lanciciae ("This is a sword of Hereditary Prince Boleslaus, Duke of Poland, Masovia, and Łęczyca"). The identity of this Duke Boleslaus is uncertain.
+ Ornamentation and inscriptions on the hilt Obverse Narrow side Reverse Narrow side Pommel Middle circle: Stylized letter T (or T on top of a C) between the letters alpha and omega surmounted with crosses, above a cross within a dodecafoil rosette Rhombic pattern Middle circle: Vine bush Rhombic pattern Chamfered outer ring: Inscription:+ REC. FIGVRA. TALET. AD AMOREM. REGVM. ET. PRINCIPVM. IRAS IUDICV. M Chamfered outer ring: Vine leaves Grip Top: Winged lion of Saint Mark, inscription:MARCVS Inscription:LIST E. EST. GLAUD… h.BOLEZLAI ‘DVC…(now lost and replaced with a rhombic pattern) Top: Eagle of Saint John, inscription:IhOANNES Inscription:CVM. QVO. EI DNS. OS. AVXIL ETVR. ADUS. PARTES. AMEN(now lost and replaced with wax filling) Middle: Winged ox of Saint Luke, inscription:LVCAS Middle: Angel of Saint Matthew, inscription:MMThCVS Bottom: Lamb of God Bottom: Lamb of God Crossguard Left end: Winged lion of Saint Mark Triangular pattern Left end: Angel of Saint Matthew Triangular pattern Middle: Inscription:QVICVMQVE hEC + NOMI[N]A DEII SECVM TVLERI[T] NVLLVM PERICVL[VM] CN EI OMNINO NOC[E]BIT Middle: Inscription:CON. CITOMON.. EEVE SEDALAI. EBREbELabove an ornament of vine leaves Right end: Winged ox of Saint Luke Right end: Eagle of Saint John
Use-wear analysis indicates that the plates on the pommel and the crossguard were made by the same artist, while the plates on the grip were added later. The latter – obverse and reverse – were probably decorated in the same workshop and using the same tools, but by two different craftsmen. Moreover, a side plate with a rhombic pattern was added in the 19th century to replace one of the lost inscribed side plates.
Preserved images of Szczerbiec from various points in time indicate that the decorative plates were several times dismounted and placed again on the hilt in variable configurations. The current composition, with the symbols of the Evangelists duplicated on each side of the hilt, matches that known from the earliest preserved depiction drafted by Johann Christoph Werner in 1794. It is possible, though, that the original placement of the golden plates was different, with the symbols of Saints John and Matthew on the obverse of the grip, so that each side of the hilt displayed the symbols of all four of the Evangelists.
Blade The blade is long, up to wide (about 5 cm from the crossguard) and thick. The fuller is about long and, on average, wide. Metallographic analysis has shown that the blade was forged from unevenly carburized semi-hard bloomery steel. Apart from iron, the material contains, by weight, 0.6 percent of carbon, 0.153 percent of silicon, 0.092 percent of phosphorus, and other elements. Numerous slag inclusions found in the steel are typical for medieval iron smelting technology. Part of the blade was hardened by quenching. Unlike the hilt, the blade would have been fully functional as a weapon of war. The surface of the blade is covered with deep scratches along its length, a result of intensive cleaning from rust before every coronation, probably with sand or brick powder. Inactive spots of corrosion may be also found on the entire surface.
Just below the hilt, there are three perforations in the fuller of the blade. The largest is a rectangular slot that is long and wide. This opening, known in Polish as szczyrba or szczerba, was originally caused by rust and, in the 19th century, polished into a regular shape. A small heraldic shield colored with oil paint is fastened to the slot. It is roughly triangular in shape, with the sides measuring from . The shield, bearing the White Eagle of Poland, was originally attached to the scabbard, or sheath. The Gothic scabbard, with a golden or silver locket and chape, was probably created in 1320 and lost between 1819 and 1874. The shield is the only preserved element of the sheath. It was tilted to the left – from the onlooker's point of view – while it was fastened to the scabbard's locket, but today it is aligned with the blade. The eagle on the red field of the shield is white, with a golden crown, bands across the wings, ring on the tail, and talons. The two other perforations are round holes, apart. The upper one, just below the slot, is in diameter, while the other measures only . They were probably punched in the 19th century to fasten the heraldic shield to the blade.
Location
Szczerbiec is owned by the Wawel Royal Castle National Art Collection (inventory number 137) in Kraków, the former capital city of Poland. As the only preserved of Polish medieval coronation insignia, it is a prominent part of the museum's Treasury and Armory permanent exhibition. The sword is suspended horizontally inside a glass case in the middle of the Jagiełło and Hedwig Vault located on the ground floor in the northeastern corner of the Wawel Castle.
History The Szczerbiec of Boleslaus the Brave