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Curtana, also known as the Sword of Mercy, is a ceremonial sword used at the coronation of British kings and queens. One of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, its end is blunt and squared to symbolise mercy.
The Curtana has a squared tip. It is used in the procession alongside two other pointed swords. The Curtana once had a jagged edge like a naturally broken tip, but this was squared off at some time. At one time, the other two could be distinguished by their points: the sharply-pointed Sword of Temporal Justice, and the more obtuse Sword of Spiritual Justice.
Although Tristan's sword had no name in early Tristan and Iseult romances, in the Prose Tristan ("begun 1230–1235, expanded and reworked after 1240") Tristan's broken sword was taken by Charlemagne who came to England, and given to his paladin Ogier the Dane, who further shortened it, and the name "Cortain". This has been regarded as corroborative evidence by Loomis for his theory., recapitulating Loomis's argument, but indicates she will elaborate her views in an anticipated paper ( in J. .Brit. Arch. Assn.). Loomis deduced that the prose romancer of Tristan must have gained knowledge of the English regalia sword Curtana pretending to be Tristan's sword, even though the English themselves during the reign of Henry III had "forgotten" about this connection. Edith Ditmas had called Loomis's theory "attractive", though she dissented on some points.
As aforementioned, Martin Aurell suggested that "Tristan's sword" may have been provided by Henry II for his son John Lackland, on the occasion investing John with lordship over Cornwall and Ireland in 1177, (or perhaps the investiture happened in 1185, just before John left for Ireland on expedition). Matthew Strickland thought it was "probably" used in the two coronations of Henry the Young King, in 1154 and 1170. It is known that at Richard I's coronation (1189) "three royal swords.. from the king's treasury", with scabbards covered in gold, were carried by three earls in the procession.
Until the 14th century, it remained the job of the Earl of Chester to carry the sword during the coronation ceremony. Today, another high-ranking peer of the realm is chosen by the monarch for this privilege. When not in use, the sword is on display with the other Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
History
There are several swords answering to this description. The original is thought to be the same as the unnamed regalia sword purported to be the sword of Tristan, although he may be a fictional character contrived by a bard. The original may also be the sword of Edward the Confessor, although this provenance is debated. The later copy of Curtana was made in the 17th century.
Angevin dynasty
The name Curtana or Curtein (from the Latin Curtus, meaning short) appears on record for the first time in accounts of the coronation of Queen Eleanor of Provence in 1236 when Henry III of England married the queen. It occurs as "Curtana" in the "Red Book of the Exchequer" as one of the three swords used in the coronation services; and called "Curtein" in the Chronicle of 13th-century monk Matthew Paris, in which he identifies it with the "Sword of Edward the Confessor".
St. Edward's sword
The notion of Curtana being St. Edward's sword was spurious. There had been objects up to then purported to be St. Edward the Confessor's regalia, but these did not include any sword. The chalice and paten of St. Edward are also regalia mentioned for the first time on this occasion at Eleanor's coronation. There were political reasons why the provenance of Edward the Confessor needed to be promoted, as his mother was Norman, and he dwelled for some years in Normandy.
Ogier's sword
The name of Curtana () was likely taken from the named sword Cortain from literature in the Carolingian cycle, as the Oxford English Dictionary (1893) had suggested, as have other commentators.: "Curtein (Corte, Cortain, Courte, Courtaine..) was well known in literate circles in the thirteenth century as the name of the sword of Ogier the Dane, one of the heroes of the Charlemagne cycle of romances,.." A plausible contemporaneous source that Matthew Paris and his circles may have read from the cycle was Chevalerie Ogier (c. 1192–1200), and they may have been inspired to borrow Ogier's sword-name because Ogier, in the later part of the poem adventures in England and marries the daughter of the English king Angart.
Tristram's sword
This Curtana sword may have been the same one as the so-called " Tristram's sword", kept as part of the regalia according to earlier Angevin dynasty records. An inventory for two swords, "namely Tristan's sword ( Tristrami)" and one other, is recorded in the patent roll for the year 1207, where King John issued a receipt for them. Any credible relic claiming to be "Tristram's sword" would have to be broken-tipped, since the Tristan of romance had his sword damaged in combat with Morholt, with the tip lodged in the enemy's skull. Therefore, according to Roger Sherman Loomis, the inference can be made with "little doubt" that this was in fact the sword later called Curtana. A plausible scenario suggested by Martin Aurell is that Henry II may have symbolically girt "Tristram's sword" onto his son John in 1177 (or 1185) when he conferred him knighthood and appanage over Cornwall and Ireland― these being the native homelands of the sword-owner Tristan and sword-victim Morholt respectively.
Dating the sword
The original sword's dating cannot be fixed, and opinions vary among commentators on since when it may have existed. According to Matthew Paris, the sword was known as that of Edward the Confessor (reigned 1042–1066). Some have taken this at face value, for example, James Planché. Others discount the possibility (Edith Ditmas), and it may have resulted from confusion: there certainly had been St. Edward's effects which were removed from the grave and preserved as regalia, but this did not include a sword.
Earl of Chester
The tradition for the Earl of Chester to carry the sword at the monarch's coronation was asserted during the 1236 ceremony by the 7th Earl, i.e., John of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon, who asserted the right to carry two swords because he held offices of two earldoms, as documented in the Red Book of the Exchequer. This cause immediate friction with other earls, but the king interceded, so it was decided that Chester, Warwick, and Lincoln would carry a sword each. It is not certain how far back this privilege dates, but perhaps it started with Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester. It has been speculated that this Ranulf may have carried Curtana at Richard Lionheart's second coronation in 1194.
Sword of Mercy
The meaning attributed to Curtana and the other two British coronation swords shifted over time. During Henry IV meanings were assigned to the swords of the coronation ceremony, but initially, Curtana was said to signify the "Sword of Justice". Eventually, however, Curtana's blunt edge was taken to represent mercy, and it thus came to be known as the Sword of Mercy, as it is known today. Curtana's designation as the "Sword of Mercie" goes at least as far back as Henry VI's coronation.
17th-century reproduction of Curtana
The "current" Curtana was made between 1610 and 1620, likely by Robert South, a member of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers, and was supplied for Charles I's coronation in 1626, whereafter it joined the coronation regalia kept at Westminster Abbey. For almost 200 years until then, a new sword had been usually made for each coronation. Its blade was created in the 1580s by Italian Andrew Ferrara and his brother Giandonato/Zandonà, and imported into England from Italy. Together with two Swords of Justice and the Coronation Spoon, it is one of the few pieces of the Crown Jewels to have survived the English Civil War intact, having been sold to Roger Humphreys for £5 in 1649. It is not clear if the swords were used by Charles II, but they have been used continuously since the Coronation of James II and VII and Mary in 1685 (cf. fig. right).
Explanatory notes
Citations
Anna Keay (2026). 9780500515754, Thames & Hudson (in association with the Royall Collection and Historic Royal Palaces). . ISBN 9780500515754。
Bibliography
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