Portal:Holy Roman Empire/Article of the month/May

Imperial Sword

The Imperial Sword of the Holy Roman Empire is one of the Imperial Regalia of the kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, the others including the Imperial Crown, Imperial Cross, Imperial Orb and Imperial Sceptre.

The Imperial Sword was made for the Emperor Otto IV in the 12th century, possible for his coronation as King of the Romans in 1198. The sword is 110 centimetres long and was refitted and redecorated several times during the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods. The scabbard depicts the emperors of the High Middle Ages.

The sword was handed over to the Holy Roman Emperor at his coronation as a sign of the secular power which he received from the hand of God. As he subsequently made his way out of the church after the ceremony, the new emperor was preceded by the sword-bearer who carried the sword, point uppermost, as a sign of secular power and force. Today it is kept in the Imperial Treasury in Vienna's Hofburg.

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