Sword of state

A sword of state is a sword, used as part of the regalia, symbolising the authority and power of a monarch¹, other high official² or, sometimes, an institution.³ It is sometimes borne in front of the monarch or official.⁴

It is known to be used in following monarchies:

• Reichsschwert of the Holy Roman Empire, see Imperial Sword
• Joyeuse, used for the sacre of the king of France. Reputed to be the sword of Charlemagne.
• Kingdom of Hungary⁵
• Kingdom of Bohemia (Czech Republic) – Sword of Saint Wenceslas
• Kingdom of England, later Great Britain, then United Kingdom; see British crown jewels#Swords
• Kingdom of Scotland, see Honours of Scotland
• The former Kingdom of the Isle of Man (now a British Crown dependency), bearing the triskelion symbol, annually used on Tynwald Day
• Kingdom of the Netherlands, see Dutch Royal Regalia (made in 1840 for enthronements)
• Kingdom of Denmark, see Danish crown regalia
• Kingdom of Norway, see Regalia of Norway
• Kingdom of Sweden, see Swedish Royal Regalia, where it is the oldest of the Vasa regalia
• Kingdom of Poland – Szczerbiec and two Grunwald Swords
• Kingdom of Mysore – Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, ending with the Krishnaraja Wodeyar II
• Empire of Russia, see Regalia of the Russian tsars
• The Kingdom of Georgia
• The Sword of Osman, given to Sultans of the Ottoman Empire
• In the former sultanate of the Maldives, being invested on the Monarch in a traditional gong ceremony
• Kingdom of Thailand or Siam- the Sword of Victory, one of the five Regalia of Thailand.
• Shangfang Baojian (simplified Chinese: 尚方宝剑; traditional Chinese: 尚方寶劍) of Chinese dynasties from Han dynasty to Qing dynasty
• The Eodo of Taejo of Joseon Dynasty, Korea⁶
• Kusanagi, kept by the Emperor of Japan⁷
• Also in the Malay world, notably in
  • the sultanate of Perak, where it gave the name to a 'national' order of knighthood
  • Sarawak (on Borneo)

Swords of state are also used in some republics, as in the Senate of the state of South Carolina in the United States of America.