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Sword used as part of the regalia of a monarch
Portrait of Louis XIV in Coronation Robes with
Joyeuse (by
Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701)
The Great Sword of State of the United Kingdom held by the
6th Marquess of Londonderry at the
Coronation of King Edward VII, 1902
Swords of different
Ottoman Sultans on display at the
Topkapi Palace.
A sword of state is a
sword, used as part of the
regalia, symbolising the supreme power of a
monarch,
given by God, to use the
infinite might of the state to deter its enemies by use of
deadly warfare, if thus dire, to maintain order in the
realm and save the realm from extinction,
because God chose the monarch as the master of the realm to lead and protect it from any threat.
It is known to be used in following monarchies:
- Reichsschwert of the
Holy Roman Empire, see
Imperial Sword
- Kingdom of
Denmark, see
Danish crown regalia
-
Joyeuse, used for the sacre of the king of
France. Reputed to be the sword of
Charlemagne.
- Kingdom of
Hungary
[1]
- Kingdom of
Bohemia (
Czech Republic) –
Sword of Saint Wenceslas
- Kingdom of
England, later
Great Britain, then
United Kingdom; see
British crown jewels#Swords
- Kingdom of the
Netherlands, see
Dutch Royal Regalia (made in 1840 for enthronements)
- Kingdom of
Norway, see
Regalia of Norway
- Kingdom of
Scotland, see
Honours of Scotland
- Kingdom of
Sweden, see
Swedish Royal Regalia, where it is the oldest of the
Vasa regalia
- Kingdom of
Poland –
Szczerbiec,
Grunwald Swords, Sigismundus Iustus
- Kingdom of
Mysore –
Chikka Devaraja
Wodeyar, ending with the
Krishnaraja Wodeyar II
- Kingdom of
Thailand or Siam- the
Sword of Victory, one of the five Regalia of Thailand.
- The former Kingdom of the
Isle of Man (now a British Crown dependency), bearing the
triskelion symbol, annually used on
Tynwald Day
- Empire of
Russia, see
Regalia of the Russian tsars
- The Kingdom of Georgia
- Shangfang Baojian (
simplified Chinese: 尚方宝剑;
traditional Chinese: 尚方寶劍) of Chinese dynasties from
Han dynasty to
Qing dynasty
- The Eodo of Taejo of
Joseon Dynasty,
Korea
[2]
- The
Sword of Osman, given to
Sultans of the
Ottoman Empire;
-
Kusanagi, kept by the
Emperor of Japan;
[3]
- In the former sultanate of the
Maldives, being invested on the Monarch in a traditional gong ceremony
- Also in the Malay world, notably in
Swords of state are also used in some republics, as in the Senate of the state of
South Carolina in the United States of America.
See also
References