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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