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Halberd of the Bodyguard of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1572-1632)
Halberd of the Bodyguard of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1572-1632)
Image © Worcester Art Museum, all rights reserved.

Halberd of the Bodyguard of Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1572-1632)

Culture
Culture
Dateearly 1600s
Mediumsteel, brass, wood
Dimensions232.4 × 64.8 cm (91 1/2 × 25 1/2 in), 5 lb, 8 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
MarkingsMaker's mark on obverse of fluke, a "P" surmounted by crown. The mark closely resembles that of a 17th c. partisan in the Museum für deutsche Geschichte (W.249; ex-Zeughaus PC973). Shown in "Europaische Hieb-und Stichwaffen," cat. 233.
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.121
DescriptionIron/steel head. Double edged thrusting blade of lozenge section with tall hexagonal plinth lacking its pierced knop mounts. Body of hexagonal section widening to raised molded base with four long langets. Downwardly angled flat fluke with reinforced point scrolled above and below. Tall axehead with near vertical cutting edge and twice scrolled on inner edges above and below. Obverse of axe with date 1612 above coat of arms of Hesse-Cassel surmounted by three crested helmets. Reverse face with device of crossed lances and hourglass above which is crossed pair of fronds surrounded by laurel wreath, the whole within circular frame surmounted by letters "CEV" [for "Consilio et Virtute"]. Wooden circular section staff with conical iron butt cap.
Label TextThe blade of this ceremonial weapon bears an impresa, a captioned symbolic image that carries a moral message. Here, two spears support an hourglass; above is an array of palm and laurel leaves, and at top the initials CEV (Consilio et Virtute, Latin for "By wisdom and valor"). The message is that military power needs to be combined with wisdom in order to achieve victory. Moritz should probably have taken his own advice: his expenses in the Thirty Years' War angered his subjects, who forced him to step down from the rule of Hesse-Cassel in 1627.ProvenancePurchased by the Museum on December 3, 1931 from Ernst Schmidt (Munich, Germany). Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
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