The Sword of Saint Maurice from Vienna

• Blade length: 95 cm
• Overall sword length: 110 cm
• Guard width: 20 cm
• Blade width at the guard: 5 cm
• – Blade thickness at the guard: 5 mm
• Weight: 1700-1800 g
• Blade made of high-carbon alloy steel 65G
• Blade hardened (hardness 50 HRC)

Intended for contact fencing

No structural weaknesses

Difference from cold weapons: absence of blade sharpening. The blade is blunt (edge thickness 2 mm)

This is a replica of the Sword of Saint Maurice, which is housed in Vienna. The original belongs to the “Romanesque” swords of type XI according to E. Oakeshott’s typology.

The original sword has a long history. It is believed that Emperor Henry I of the Holy Roman Empire (919–936) received it (along with the Holy Lance) from King Rudolf of Burgundy in exchange for part of Swiss lands. For over 800 years, the Sword of Saint Maurice served as the coronation sword of Holy Roman Emperors, and later Austrian Emperors. The sword was last used during the coronation of Emperor Charles in 1916. The age of the sword remains a subject of debate.

Curators of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, which houses the former Imperial Treasury, believe it was made in France at the end of the 12th century. A number of independent experts believe the sword is somewhat older, dating it to between 1050 and 1120. In any case, the actual age of the sword is at least eight centuries.

The gilded pommel of the sword is engraved with the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire on one side, and the personal coat of arms of Emperor Otto IV (died 1218) on the other. This has led some specialists to speculate that the sword may have been made for the coronation of Otto IV in 1198.

The engraved coat of arms of Emperor Otto on the pommel is inverted (upside down), indicating that the sword was carried point-up during ceremonies. On the lower part of the pommel, the inscription “BENEDICTVS DOS DES ME” is engraved.