Renaissance executioner sword from Germany

[Atlantia]

Spectacular. Best I've seen in private hands.
Not sure about leaning it on a skull though, thats a bit macabre.

[Mauro]

these photos were made by the previous owner. He received the sword from an uncle that also had the skull in his collection !!

[fernando]

Hi Mauro,
Excelent condition.
These swords often have one hole in the blade tip, which is used for hanging them.
I wouldn't know what the purpose is, when they have three holes .
... but hardly for adding weight, i would say

[David]

Wow! Now that's somethin'!

[Reichsritter]

The sword in saltire was perhaps a symbol of his office, I cannot recognize the crown. At first glance a marquee hat comes to my mind.

Very interesting on the other side is the coat-of-arms of Saxony (barry of ten or and sable a crown of rue) at first look, but again after counting the horizontal bars on the shield it has only eight. Such shield I have seen on the Lords of Kuenring (a bastard line of the Duke of Saxony). Maybe the reason the crown (hat) is not Ducal.

[Matchlock]

The three holes near the tip of the blade are of course not for making the piece lighter by 2-3 grams (!) but are the last Baroque decorative element of the older Gothic trefoil (Dreipass).

This of course is no longer a Renaissance sword as that epoque ended in the early 17th century. It is of High Baroque type (2nd half 17th c.).
Best,
Michael

[broadaxe]

Originally Posted by Matchlock

The three holes near the tip of the blade are of course not for making the piece lighter by 2-3 grams (!) but are the last Baroque decorative element of the older Gothic trefoil (Dreipass).

This of course is no longer a Renaissance sword as that epoque ended in the early 17th century. It is of High Baroque type (2nd half 17th c.).
Best,
Michael

The three holes are supposedly not for removing but rather adding weight by attaching two pieces of steel via nuts or rivets. This is probably an urban myth, the reason is purely decorative and religious, a trefoil indeed. However not all beheading swords of this type have the three holes. I can think of a secondary benefit created by the holes: a sinister whistle while the blade spins rapidly in mid air... Unlike the axe, the motion was paralell to the ground and the executioner had to build up speed with 2-3 free spins, before the death blow was struck.