Swords
Five swords are used during the coronation.
The Jewelled Sword of Offering was made for the Coronation of King George IV. It is the only sword actually presented to the Sovereign during the Coronation (by the Archbishop of Canterbury, to signify that the royal power is at the service of the church); the others are merely borne in front of the Sovereign. It was described by Lawrence Tanner as the most beautiful and valuable sword in the world; the hilt and the scabbard are both encrusted with jewels (which include diamonds, rubies and sapphires) and the blade is of the finest Damascus steel. During the procession in the abbey it replaces the Great Sword of State because that is too heavy to be easily carried.
The Great Sword of State is the largest sword in the collection, and is borne in front of the Monarch by the Lord Great Chamberlain both at the coronation and at the State Opening of Parliament. The gilt handle has crosspieces representing the lion and unicorn and the scabbard is decorated with jewels in the shapes of the floral symbols of the United Kingdom: the rose for England and the thistle for Scotland
The other three swords used are the Sword of Spiritual Justice, the Sword of Temporal Justice, and the Sword of Mercy. The first two symbolise the sovereign's relationship with church and state and the latter represents Curtana, the short sword of Ogier the Dane which he was warned to draw in mercy not in vengeance.
Read more about this topic: Crown Jewels Of The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the word swords:
“If all would lead their lives in love like me,
Then bloody swords and armor should not be;
No drum nor trumpet peaceful sleeps should move,
Unless alarm came from the camp of love.”
—Thomas Campion (1567–1620)
“When men change swords for ledgers, and desert
The student’s bower for gold, some fears unnamed
I had, my Country—am I to be blamed?”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
“And the Pope has cast his arms abroad for agony and loss,
And called the kings of Christendom for swords about the Cross,”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)