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This is a list of notable individual swords, known either from historical record or from surviving artifacts.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2014) |
This is a list of notable individual swords, known either from historical record or from surviving artifacts.
These swords do not survive as artifacts or are not and have not been available for public inspection, and their description may be of doubtful historicity.
These swords are preserved artifacts, or were previously preserved artifacts that are now lost. Their attribution to historical characters may be doubtful.
Crown jewels are the objects of metalwork and jewellery in the regalia of a current or former monarchy. They are often used for the coronation of a monarch and a few other ceremonial occasions. A monarch may often be shown wearing them in portraits, as they symbolize the power and continuity of the monarchy. Additions to them may be made, but, since medieval times, the existing items have been typically passed down unchanged, symbolizing the continuity of a monarchy.
The Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, originally the Crown Jewels of England, are a collection of royal ceremonial objects kept in the Jewel House at the Tower of London, which include the coronation regalia and vestments worn by British monarchs.
St Edward's Crown is the coronation crown of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th century. It is normally on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
The Honours of Scotland, informally known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, are the regalia that were worn by Scottish monarchs at their coronation. Kept in the Crown Room in Edinburgh Castle, they date from the 15th and 16th centuries, and are the oldest surviving set of crown jewels in the British Isles.
Rosenborg Castle is a renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style, typical of Danish buildings during this period, and has been expanded several times, finally evolving into its present condition by the year 1624. Architects Bertel Lange and Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger are associated with the structural planning of the castle.
The French Crown Jewels and Regalia comprise the crowns, orb, sceptres, diadems and jewels that were symbols of Royal or Imperial power between 752 and 1870. These were worn by many Kings and Queens of France as well as Emperor Napoleon. The set was finally broken up, with most of it sold off in 1885 by the Third Republic. The surviving French Crown Jewels, principally a set of historic crowns, diadems and parures, are mainly on display in the Galerie d'Apollon of the Louvre, France's premier museum and former royal palace, together with the Regent Diamond, the Sancy Diamond and the 105-carat (21.0 g) Côte-de-Bretagne red spinel, carved into the form of a dragon. In addition, some gemstones and jewels are on display in the Treasury vault of the Mineralogy gallery in the National Museum of Natural History.
Regalia is the set of emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia indicative of royal status, as well as rights, prerogatives and privileges enjoyed by a sovereign, regardless of title. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and accessories of a sovereign, but now it also refers to any type of elaborate formal dress. The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, "regal", itself from rex, "king". It is sometimes used in the singular, regale.
Curtana, also known as the Sword of Mercy, is a ceremonial sword used at the coronation of British kings and queens. One of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, its end is blunt and squared to symbolise mercy.
An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. Enthronements may also feature as part of a larger coronation rite.
Danish Crown Regalia are the symbols of the Danish monarchy. They consist of three crowns, a sceptre, globus cruciger, the sword of state and an ampulla . The Danish Royal Regalia are kept in the treasury at Rosenborg Castle. The oldest of these is Christian III's sword of state from 1551. They further include King Christian IV's diamond; pearl- and gold-embroidered saddles; objects carved from ivory and rock-crystal; lapidary pieces of precious stones, and brooches in the form of fantastic animals.
The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia, are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Crown, the Imperial orb, the Imperial sceptre, the Holy Lance and the Imperial Sword. Today they are kept at the Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria.
The regalia of Norway are items that symbolise the Norwegian monarch's power and majesty. Little is known of the old Norwegian regalia which have since been lost. The majority of the modern regalia date from 1818 and were made for the coronation of Jean Bernadotte as King Carl III Johan.
The Bavarian Crown Jewels are a set of crown jewels created for the Kingdom of Bavaria, which existed from 1806 to 1918. In 1806, as part of his wholescale re-ordering of the map of Europe, Emperor Napoléon I of the French upgraded the independent German duchy of Bavaria to full kingdom status. The former Duke of Bavaria, now King of Bavaria, Maximilian I, commemorated the fact by commissioning a set of crown jewels for use by Bavarian monarchs. However, there was no coronation ceremony, and the king never wore the crown in public. Rather, it was placed on a cushion when displayed on occasions such as the king's ascension or his funeral.
The only surviving original piece of the Polish crown jewels from the time of the Piast dynasty is the ceremonial sword Szczerbiec. It is currently on display along with other preserved royal items at the Wawel Royal Castle Museum in Kraków.
The Jewel House is a vault housing the British Crown Jewels in the Waterloo Block at the Tower of London. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 and refurbished in 2012. Regalia have been kept in various parts of the Tower since the 14th century after a series of successful and attempted thefts at Westminster Abbey.
The Royal Crown of Serbia is a royal regalia that existed during the Serbian monarchy.
The Crown of Norway is the crown of the King of Norway and was made in Stockholm in 1818 by goldsmith Olof Wihlborg. The crown is a corona clausa consisting of a ring carrying eight hoops made of gold and surmounted by a monde of blue enamel and an amethyst cross on top of it. The crown is decorated with many pearls and gemstones including amethysts, chrysoprases, a topaz and an alexandrite. Its front is adorned with a huge green tourmaline, a gift of the Brazilian consul in Stockholm to King Charles III Johan. Its splendid colours and its richly elaborated ornaments make the crown typical of the Empire period. Although the goldsmith work was carried out by Olof Wihlborg, it is not known who designed the crown.
Sweden's regalia are kept deep in the vaults of the Royal Treasury, underneath the Royal Palace in Stockholm, in a museum that is open to the public. The crowns and coronets have not been worn by Swedish royalty since 1907, but they are still displayed at weddings, christenings and funerals.
Coronations in Asia in the strict sense are and historically were rare, as only a few monarchies, primarily in Western Asia, ever adopted the concept that the placement of a crown symbolised the monarch's investiture. Instead, most monarchies in Asia used a form of acclamation or enthronement ceremony, in which the monarch formally ascends to the throne, and may be presented with certain regalia, and may receive homage from his or her subjects. This article covers both coronations and enthronement.
Coronations were previously held in the monarchies of Europe. The United Kingdom is the only monarchy in Europe that still practises coronations. Other European monarchies either have replaced coronations with simpler ceremonies to mark an accession or have never practised them. Most monarchies today only require a simple oath to be taken in the presence of the country's legislature.
Notable swords | ||||||
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| Historical |
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| Mythical or legendary |
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Note: some of the existing swords are named after earlier legendary ones. | ||||||