Let the above quotation from the inscriptions on one of the eastern sabres in the exhibition be your introduction to a journey through extraordinary “literature”. Unusual because it is placed on the blades of edged weapons. The word “literature” is in inverted commas because these are not literary works, which are often limited to simple slogans or incantations, or to mere decoration. But just like literature, such weapons reflect the moods, beliefs and convictions of a particular era and the people who carried them.
This itinerary will allow you to discover the most interesting or important inscriptions on antique edged weapons in the exhibition.
The inscription on the saber is made by acid etching. It is very delicate and almost invisible today. At the beginning there is the date “1667”. This is not the date when the blade was made, but the date of the Battle of Podhajce, in which Jan Sobieski informally secured the title of Great Hetman of the Crown. His mark with the initials ‘J’ and ‘S’ can also be seen on the blade. The next part of the inscription is a reference to the victory of the Emperor Constantine and the slogan “Under this sign you will conquer” – “In hoc signo vinces”. For Constantine this sign was the Cross, in this case we have the sign of the knight cross used by hussars. The inscription is crowned by a symbolic image of a rose, a sign of the Virgin Mary.
The sword thus has a commemorative character, recalling the victories of Jan III Sobieski against and his hussars under the protection of the Virgin Mary. The profile of the blade and the handle indicate the 18th century, when the sabre and its decoration were created.
The eastern Damascus blade bears an inscription in Arabic which has not yet been deciphered. The blade was either a spoil of war or re-decorated for gift purposes. There is a bust of King Jan III Sobieski with the inscription “IOAN III REX POL” and the date “1692”. Above the bust are the military symbols of the Ottoman army in gold: a turban, a banner, a saber and a mace.
In the 19th century, during one of the uprisings, the next owner added a silver image of the Polish eagle.
The sabre thus has a unique, centuries-old and historical significance.
Standing in front of the panoply made of eastern weapons and looking to the left, we see among the sabres one with a very characteristic blade cut into semicircular teeth. We call such a cut a “flaming blade”, which is often a show of craftsmanship.
In this case, the blade is decorated with a gold wire inlay with an Arabic inscription with an interesting, philosophical tone, which translates as follows “Cowardice is shame, courage is nobility, and man cannot escape his fate”.
Even more interesting in terms of oriental inscriptions is the sabre, placed between oriental weapons, on the right side of oriental panoply. Usually, the inscriptions were placed on the blade and mostly concerned religious matters or referred to the Koran. In this case, the inscriptions are in Arabic, in Rajhani calligraphy, and are not only on the blade but also on the scabbard fittings and the crossguard. These are fragments of the poetry of Abu Tammam (c. 800-846). Among them are quotations from the poem “There is more truth in the sword than in the book”, including
“Sometimes a sword will say more than scholarly books
He draws the line between seriousness and humour
These are not black letters, but the white of bare blades
which dispels doubt and removes uncertainty.
The first sabre in this list commemorates King Jan III. It is no exception, the practice of treating the sabre as a souvenir often accompanied this weapon. The next one is also from the 18th century. This applies to both the military hilt and the blade. This one, however, has surprising inscriptions, although it was made by an unskilled user. The inscription reads:
“I have captured tsars, I was known in Bichina” and “In Sweden and near Vienna the free Pole is famous”.
Spelling errors suggest that calligraphy was not the only weakness of the author, who proudly claims that his weapon took part in the Battle of Byczyna (1588) and in the wars with Moscow when Vasyl IV Szujski was captured (1611), glorifying Poland from Sweden to Vienna.
The sword, of Eastern origin, bears inscriptions in both Latin and Arabic. The Latin inscription reads “Stanislaus Chomętowski Palatinus Mazoviae Joanni Potkanski Legionario suo post Legationem Otthomannicam 1713”, i.e. “Stanisław Chomętowski, Voivode of Mazovia, to Jan Potkański, his soldier serving in the Ottoman Legation in 1713”.
The inscription refers to Stanislaw Chomętowski’s (1673-1728) mission to Turkey in 1712-1714. Potkański’s Brochwicz coat of arms (in shape of a deer), in oriental style, can also be seen on the blade, enclosed in a cartouche.
This is one of two such souvenir sabers on display. The other, which refers to Chomętowski himself, is in showcase 15 (no. 12).
It was also possible to read some of the Eastern inscriptions. The medallions bear in Turkish: “The Work of Ali” and the year of Hijrah “1115”, i.e. 1704, as well as the numbers “71” and “511” and a quotation from the Koran (LXI, verse 13), which are the words of Allah to Muhammad: “Help from Allah, and victory is near, and spread this good news among the believers.
Below the sabre with a Turkish blade is a sabre made entirely in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with a Hussar-style hilt.
Religious inscriptions on blades were not only the domain of Eastern peoples, they also appear frequently on blades in Europe, including Poland. This one bears the invocation “IEZVS MARIA IOZEF”, referring to Jesus, Mary and Saint Joseph. The names were complemented by the inscription “DEVS SPES MEA”: “God is my hope”.
The next saber in the same showcase is special. The 18th-century blade first bore a symbolic bust of King Stefan Batory (1533-1586) with the date ‘1575’. We learn that this rather enigmatic bust represents the Polish king from the accompanying inscription: “STEFANVS BATORI REX POLONIAE”. This is another sabre from the 18th century with a historicising character, i.e. referring to the past.
In the 19th century, another inscription was added, this time on the back, in translation: “To the Commander-in-Chief Jan Skrzynecki, Vistula Legion”. It dates from 1831, when Jan Skrzynecki was the dictator of the November Uprising and was presented with this sabre mounted with antique hussar-style hilt.
The broadsword has an 18th century hilt, but uses a rare 16th century blade with a silver and gold depiction of a dragon fighting a Simurg bird. The battle is depicted below the handle, on the blade, and takes place between tendrils of plant woven with gold wire, symbolising the Tree of Life. Further down the blade, the vegetation transforms into letters referring to Persian mythology:
“May your blade be as rich as the Palace of Knowledge. Oh Thou whose purposes are like those of Faridun, whose valour is like that of Rustam, whose glory is the glory of Jamshid. May your blade triumph over the necks of your enemies”.
The saber with the inscription almost erased has undergone various fates. In the 19th century, the Polish blade was framed with a Russian officer’s award handle, as evidenced by the inscription on one of the bows.
However, what is important to us is the 18th-century blade with the inscription “Vivat Stanisław Leszczyński, king of Poland”, referring to the political opponent of Augustus II and then his son Augustus III in the fight for the Polish throne in the 1st half of the 18th century.
The display case presenting the Bar Confederation contains a sabre whose blade is decorated on both sides with etched inscriptions and images. The invisible side bears the date 1752, a rather crude image of a soldier and the Latin inscription “Pro Deo et Patria” (For God and the Fatherland).
The other side, which we can see, bears the monogram of Augustus III (“AR”) and the image of the Virgin Mary with the inscription “Duce Maria”, which probably means “Guide us, Mary”.
The patriotic and religious tone of the inscriptions is strangely combined with the political layer of this sword. Their character is so eclectic that it is difficult to say whether they were made by the same hand, although it is possible. The saber was associated with Hungary, where images of the Virgin Mary on sabers were more popular than in Poland. This would be contradicted by the monogram of the Polish king, if they were made by the same hand. It is also possible that the date 1752 in connection with the holy image refers to the coronation of the Virgin Mary in Łąki Bratiańskie, although the image on the saber differs from the holy image.
Therefore, the mystery of the date, characters and inscriptions remains to be solved.
In Polish collections, there is a group of sabres associated with the events of 1791 and the adoption of the Constitution of 3 May, the first in Europe and the second after the Constitution of the United States. The royal monogram of Stanisław August “SAR” is surrounded by the inscription: (in trasnaltion) “Constitution 3 May 1791”. The other side reads: “Nation with the King, King with the Nation”.
According to archival research, some of the sabres bearing this enthusiastic invocation may have been royal gifts to his supporters. It is not known whether the officer’s saber on display at the exhibition could have been one of them. However, thanks to its inscription, it is a valuable souvenir, not only military, but also historical, documenting the political atmosphere on the eve of the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
An officer’s broadsword, displayed next to imperial weapons from the time of the First Empire, is a unique testimony to the spirituality of the Polish soldier. On the blade there is a Marian monogram, and on the other side there is a fragment from the Gospel of St John, beginning with the words “In the beginning was the Word…”.
Among the many souvenirs of General Józef Chłopicki (1771-1854), the earliest is a sword from the Napoleonic Wars, with a gilded handle inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The narrow but sharp blade was decorated with an inscription commemorating his participation in battles beyond the borders of the Polish lands: “Chlopicki’s faithful companion in the Apennines, beyond the Pyrenees, above Moscow, in Zaragozza”.
This elegant and richly decorated karabela sabre was a unique gift from Galician families to Adam Sapieha (1828-1903), an influential politician, supporter of the autonomy of Galicia, member of the National Sejm and member of the Austrian State Council. The sword is a tribute to the history of the Sapieha family, whose eminent members are commemorated by gilded medallions in the lapis lazuli hilt: Paweł Jan and Lew Sapieha, Grand Hetmans of Lithuania in the first half of the 17th century. This weapon is also a manifesto of the ideals of the nobility at the end of the 19th century, which is reflected in religious symbols and images (a medallion with the Virgin Mary) and the coats of arms of Lis, Pogoń, Hipocentaur, Kolumna, repeated in gold and enamel, as well as the coat of arms of the Rożyński family. The blade is inlaid with a commemorative inscription: “To Adam Prince Sapieha, from grateful countrymen in 1868”.
One of the souvenirs commemorating the participation of Poles in the Hungarian National Uprising of 1848-1849 is a Turkish sword with a beautiful blade made of Damascus steel. The commemorative inscription on it links it to General Józef Wybicki (1809-1873). The dedication is on both sides of the blade. On one side: “To its commander, General Wysocki”, on the other: “The Polish Legion in Hungary 1849”.