mortuary sword

noun

A (typically two-edged) sword with a straight blade and a half-basket hilt, used in Britain especially during the English Civil War.

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Meanings

nounmortuary sword (plural mortuary swords)

plural mortuary swords

  1. A (typically two-edged) sword with a straight blade and a half-basket hilt, used in Britain especially during the English Civil War.

Origin

In popular belief, so named because the hilts sometimes depict a face, which is commonly believed to be that of King Charles I, executed in 1649; in fact, swords of this type with that face were used by both sides of the conflict even before Charles was killed. An alternative explanation for the name is that many such swords were donated to churches when their wielders died, and used in funerary displays.

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Cite this entry
APA

mortuary sword. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mortuary%20sword

MLA

“mortuary sword.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mortuary%20sword. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mortuary sword,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mortuary%20sword.

Source: mortuary sword on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.