STOCCO E BERRETTONE. - The sword is a kind of sword, richly adorned with gold on the hilt, with scabbard and belt, which the Roman pontiffs used to send to sovereigns, princes and illustrious generals who had distinguished themselves in the defense of religion and of the Church, both as a sign of gratitude for their victories against heretics and infidels, and as an incitement to protect them still and always. Together with the sword, the so-called cap (pileum) was also delivered to the recipient, a headpiece of crimson velvet, trimmed with ermine and embroidered in gold, on which stood out a white dove, formed of pearls, symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The use of such a gift is very ancient, although the time of its institution cannot be established with precision; it appears, however, that it was inspired in the pontiffs by a passage of II Macc. 15, where we read that Judas Maccabeus, shortly before joining battle with Nicanor, general of Antiochus, king of Syria, saw in a vision the priest Onias praying to God for his people and the prophet Jeremiah handing him a golden sword, saying to him: Receive this holy sword which God sends you, with which you will destroy the enemies of my people Israel (ibid. 15, 16). It is certain, in any case, that with it was intended to replace the even more ancient custom of sending the standard of St. Peter, adorned with the image of the Apostle and the pontifical keys.
The sword and cap were blessed with a solemn ceremony in the Vatican Basilica on Christmas Day, while the Pope celebrated Mass; some authors have wished to attribute the institution of this rite to Sixtus IV (1471-84), albeit erroneously, since the same Pontiff, who prescribed the formula to be pronounced in the act of delivering the gift, showed quite clearly, with the words volentes approbatas Patrum consuetudines observare, how in his time it was already practiced. If the person for whom the gift was destined was in Rome, it was delivered to him directly by the Pontiff, who pronounced the following formula: Accipe hunc gladium cum Dei benedictione tibi collatum, in quo per virtutem Spiritus Sancti resistere et eicere valeas omnes inimicos tuos et cunctos Sanctae Ecclesiae adversarios, adiuuante Domino Nostro Iesu Christo; otherwise it was sent to him by means of special envoys and with a letter of accompaniment, in which the pontiffs were accustomed to explain each time in a quite particular way the meaning of the sword, which was to be taken as a symbol of justice and prudence, as virtues exceedingly necessary in all rulers of men. Among the various personages honored with the gift of the sword and the cap are remembered Louis XI, king of France, who received it from Pius II in 1461, the emperor Frederick III, who had it from Paul II in 1468, John III Sobieski, king of Poland, to whose valor the Christian victory over the Turks and the liberation of Vienna (1683) were due, and to whom it was sent in 1684 by Innocent XI, who on the same occasion wished also to offer the Golden Rose (v.) to Queen Casimira.
Bibliography
Niccolò Del Re