THE ENGLISH MILITARY BROADSWORD of the 17th Century encompasses a wide range of styles and influences, both indigenous and foreign. During this century, we see the introduction of enclosed hilt designs that lay a stronger emphasis on the protection of the swordsman’s hand. The cross-hilted, “knightly” broadsword of the previous centuries that had been utilised by both the infantry and cavalry, had all but disappeared on the battlefield and was now only revived for ceremonial purposes, such as the carrying of bearing or executioner’s swords (although England tended to choose the axe as its preferred weapon of despatch for condemned prisoners).
A number of broadsword types carried by English infantry soldiers were also adopted by the cavalry, so we should be careful when assigning a definitive and sole attribution of a sword to one branch of the army or other. The so-called “mortuary sword” is a case in point as many infantry and cavalry officers chose to carry this distinctly English sword style.
The term “mortuary sword” is a modern (albeit Victorian) term that was applied to the sword by antiquarians and collectors from the 19th Century. This is a peculiarly English hilt type that had no similar counterparts in Europe at that time and were typically constructed of iron (although they are known to have been manufactured in brass) and comprised a cup or dish-shaped hilt with a sweeping central knucklebow that was attached to the pommel by means of a large screw. From this knucklebow, a series of smaller recurved or scrolled side bars were normally present. Pommels are globular, with pronounced tang buttons.
A most interesting feature of the typical English mortuary sword concerns the hilt decoration. This can vary widely in terms of quality but there are some consistent themes, including numerous and repeated stylised representations of the human head engraved to the hilt bowl. This is where the term “mortuary” has its origins and is a consequence of Victorian antiquarians deciding to make a somewhat audacious (and ultimately, ficticious) connection between these chiselled human heads and the royal head of King Charles I (1600-1649) and his wife, Queen Henrietta (1609-1669). The contemporary evidence for this association does not appear to be very strong and suggests a certain naive romanticism.
In Schools and Masters of Fence by Egerton Castle (published in 1885), the author writes:
“Swords of this type are often called “mortuary” as a number of them were made in memory of Charles I and bear his likeness upon the hilt”.
If we analyse the logic of this statement it becomes clear that there is no sense in this theory for a number of important historical reasons. Firstly, the representation of King Charles (and occasionally, Queen Henrietta) on the sword hilt after the King’s death, would have been seen as a traitorous act by the newly installed Parliamentary government and so we can assume that the sword would only have been carried by Royalist officers in exile. If that was the case, then how is it explained that large numbers of these swords were carried before the monarch’s execution and by both Royalist and Parliamentary officers?
What is proven beyond doubt is that the mortuary sword was carried in England from around the 1630’s and throughout the English Civil War (1642-49). The use of human heads as a stylistic form probably had little to do with English monarchs and was just one of a number of contemporary decorative devices applied to these swords. They also included foliage, family coats of arms, mounted soldiers, geometric patterns, martial trophies, feathers and even dolphins. Some designs are quite difficult to make out as the quality and passage of time inhibits positive identification. Many were crudely manufactured by local blacksmiths (particularly in times of war or emergency) with little discernible decoration or quality, whilst conversely, a minority are of a superb standard and feature crisp, detailed chiselling and lavish gilding of silver or gold to the hilt.
© Harvey Withers Military Publishing, 2024
Taken from The British Sword – From 1600 to the Present Day – An Illustrated History by Harvey J S Withers
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