Edit: Okay, I get what a Sword of Justice is now. The question I have now is whose Sword of Justice that one is, but it's kind of a side question. Feel free to ignore it if it proves troublesome.
So, I'm an absolute amateur and have a mild interest in European weapons, particularly swords. I saw this and was interested enough to give it a closer look. I noticed, then, there's an inscription on the sword's blade. Bear in mind that I'm far from having a perfect vision and know precisely zero German, so I may be wrong, but this is what I think it says:
"Wan Dem Armen Sünder wird Abgesprochen das Leben, So wirdt er mir unter meine hend gegebeil".
I believe it says "gegebeil", but I saw it as "gegeben" as well. More on that later.
Good old unrealiable friend Google Translate gave me the following:
"If the poor sinner is denied life, so he is given to me under my hand."
Sounds like a religious text, so I tried to research some Bible sites and got nothing. I believe, thus, that the translation is incorrect.
I tried copy-pasting the German inscription as I saw it on Google and was taken to this other website. Again, I'm not a researcher, and my German is non-existent, so I have no means to tell whether or not it is anywhere close to reliable.
Another quick trip to Google's back-alley translation service informed me that the article's title - "Richtschwert" - means "executor's sword". When I tried to look up "Sword of Justice" at the beginning of all this, this was the name of the English Wikipedia page suggested to me, so I think there is some connection.
The original AIC sword that got me into this Odyssey is, according to the Institute website, a late 17th century sword from Solingen. I believe the one from the second site linked above is from the 18th century. I know at least that Karlsruhe is another city in Germany. According to Google Maps, there is a 324km (around 201 miles) distance between the two. Doesn't seem too close to me, which is confusing.
Here's why. The perhaps-trustworthy-perhaps-not Karlsruhe website (seems to be a wiki dedicated to the city? Frankly no idea, but my antivirus didn't got up in arms when i clicked it, so the site seems to be at least safe. Either that or I have a very sneaky virus.), in the article about the maybe 18th century "Richtschwert", has the following lines, that, if I/Google Translate understood correctly, are also inscribed on the sword's blade:
"Hühte Dich und thu kein Böses nicht, So komstu auch nicht In s gericht sowie, Wan Dem Armen Sünder wird abgesprochen das Leben, So wirdt er mir unter meine hand gegeben".
Which, again according to GT, means:
"Looked for you and do not do no evil, so you do not come in the court as well as if the poor sinner is denied life, so he is given to me under my hand."
Which makes about much sense to me as the original German.
Both inscriptions sound very similar, and the style is very Bible-y, so I tried, using my meager amateur Googling skills, to find the verse they came from. I found nothing, perhaps because the translations I have are inaccurate. So I thought, maybe it is some sort of regional saying or law? But Solingen and Karlsruhe seem too far from each other for it to be the cause. Again, I'm not very well-versed in all things Germany, so it may not be the case.
Can anyone please translate this to me, and, if you know it, tell me where it comes from, and what a "Sword of Justice" is? Thank you, and sorry for the long text. I have trouble letting go of things once they make me curious.
This is my first time posting here (in Reddit at all actually, I'm not very active), so sorry if I broke any rules.
:)
Ok, so I am not a historian but German, so can help at least a little.
The sword you show seems to be the sword mention in the Wiki of the city of Karlsruhe. It was stolen in 2006. It is in fact a sword of justice or sword of a hangman.
I would translate the inscription along these lines:
Beware ("Hüte dich" is something I´d translate along the lines of beware. It means something like: don´t dare to do something/ be careful not to do something. Like "hüte dich vor irgendjemandem" means beware of someone, they might do you harm) and do no evil, because then (if you beware and do no evil) so you won´t go in front of the court (technically this could be the court or the "Jüngstes Gericht" which would be more biblical as in the last judgement). I think what is meant to follow would be a wenn or wo today, because then it would be as following: ... where the unfortunate (arm would be poor, but I don´t think it should be translated literally) sinner will have their live taken and then I´d interpret the rest as: and he will be given under my hand.
Given that it is a hangman sword I´d therefore loosely translate it:
Be careful and do no evil so you won´t go before the court where the life of the unfortunate sinners will be denied and he will be given under my hand.
So, do no evil, otherwise you will go to court, where they´ll find you guilty and kill you with the sword.