swords that are deserving of mention, as coming most certainly within the period with which we are now dealing. One is known as the Imperial Sword of Ceremony (Fig. 118), and the other is a sword attributed, like that at Turin, to St. Maurice. There is every reason to believe that this sword, which is always used in the ceremony of the accolade after the coronation, originally came from Sicily. The grip, the quillons, and the square plates of enamelled gold ornamenting the scabbard are wrought in a similar style to those ornaments which adorn the Imperial Coronation mantle and dalmatic. On examination it will be seen that the Romano-Germanic eagles, which appear on the uppermost scabbard mounts, are similar in workmanship and in character to the other enamel enrichments of the sword; which fact is advanced as an indisputable proof that this sword was not included among the heirlooms of the Norman kings, as in the case of the actual coronation robes, but was in all probability made at Palermo for the Emperor Henry VI (1190-1197). The pommel, which is of wheel form, is not that made originally for the hilt as it is of characteristic mid-XIVth century section, and was made probably in the time of the Emperor Charles IV (1347-1378), as upon it, beside the Romano-Germanic eagle, is the symbolic lion of Bohemia. From the rectangular formation of the quillons we may judge that the original pommel was of the form of that upon the St. Maurice sword which we are about to deal with. The blade has a single groove on either side.
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Fig. 120. Inscribed sword blade
Said to be of the XIIth century
Imperial Armoury, Vienna
The other sword in the Vienna Treasury is known as "the Sword of St. Maurice." It was carried before the sovereign on his coronation day, as signum potentiae et majestatis. It was until recently carried in front of the reigning Emperor and King by the Grand Court-Marshal at the opening of the Austrian Reichsrath and of the Hungarian Parliament.
In every respect a weapon of great splendour it was equally serviceable for practical use as for ceremony, and may be looked upon as a typical knightly weapon of the commencement of the XIIIth century (Fig.
