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Speak Softly and Carry a Big Sword |
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Saints and angels in churches are often armed with mighty swords. This is usually
taken as being symbolic, the sword either signifying some violent death of a martyr
or the might of the Lord. I'm not so sure about this. Christianity, like Islam, did indeed spread by the power of the word
to some extent, but more often than not the power of the sword was the decisive factor. e.g. in the continent America. |
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"Speak softly and carry a big stick" was a guiding principle for the
American president Theodore Roosevelt. Early missionaries like St. Bonifatius, Charlemagne, Colombus or Pizarro acted more
on the promise of "speak softly and carry a big sword". The less holy ones like Charlemagne converted a lot of
reluctant heathens to good Christians by having their heads chopped off. |
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When I encounter heavily armed saints in churches and other places I often get the impression
that the artists wanted to convey a bit of the more violent aspects of Christianity besides just the symbolic stuff. Below
are some examples |
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The most fearsome swordbearers are cherubs or (arch) angels wielding a flaming
sword. I haven't encountered a good rendering of a cherub so far (a concoction of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle plus
lots of wings). The Cherubim in the Hagia Sophia not only
doesn't carry a sword but looks a bit woebegone if not actually afraid of something. There are, however, several pretty
if fearsome Ladies with a flaming sword around. |
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A flaming sword is a sword glowing with flame by some supernatural power. It should not be
confused with flame-bladed sword that is just a regular sword with a characteristically undulating style of blade. Adam
and Eve encountered a flaming sword when they were kicked out of paradise. |
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Left-handed (arch)angel with flaming sword on top of
some church in Granada, Spain |
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Raised sword in the left, and palm frond in the right. The message is clear: Submit or else |
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Angel with flaming sword inside a
church in Bamberg, Germany |
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This female angel obviously knows how to wield a sword; witness the fencing position. She
is casting out the devil and not defending paradise. |
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Saint Boniface († 5 June 754), the Apostle of the Germans,
in the Banz church, Germany |
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Speak softly and hit them with the bible? Not really. Saint Boniface is often shown with a
bible impaled on his sword. It symbolizes that he tried to protect himself (unsuccessfully) with a bible from the sword
blows that killed him. |
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Heavily armed saints in Banz monastery
(Catherine on the left; probably Elisabeth on the right) |
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The church of the Banz monastery, started in 1710, is one of the most beautiful baroque churches
in Europe. Interestingly, everybody in there is heavily armed and the central altar painting depicts a beheading in loving
detail. |
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Some Saints were immune to beheading and thus needed no sword. The way they were
killed (eventually) is clear from the way they are shown. |
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| St Dionysius (Denis) in the Basilika Vierzehnheiligen, Germany |
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Moving form Banz monastery across the river Mainz to "Vierzehnheiligen" (Basilica
of the Fourteen Holy Helpers), on finds one of the most beautiful rococo churches of Europe. There are armed saints too,
at Vierzehnheiligen but not quite as many as in the Banz monastery and with far smaller swords. |
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| Rococo Saint at "Vierzehnheiligen", Germany |
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All those armed Saints look much alike: |
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| Armed Saints in Cordoba, Spain and Kappeln, Germany |
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Here is a professional sword bearer and a
Saint: Stephen III of Moldavia, also known as Stefan the Great
(1433, 1504). He won 46 of his 48 battles; in particular he gained a decisive victory over the Ottomans at the Battle of
Vaslui in 1475, keeping the "Turks" out of Europe. He was canonized in 1992
by the Synodic Council of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The monument goes back to 1923 but was not in evidence when
Moldovia was part of the Russian empire. On August 1989, two years before Moldavia became independent, the monument was
returned to its original location, |
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His sword, by the way, is displayed in the Topkapi palace in Istanbul. Obviously
the Turks took it in one of the two battles he lost. |
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| Stephen the Great in Chisinau, capital of modern Moldavia. |
| His sword is on display in the Topkapi palace in Istanbul |
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© H. Föll (Iron, Steel and Swords script)
Critical Museum Guide: Museums in Istanbul, Turkey 
With frame