Can a sword be blessed?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DL82
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

DL82

Guest
I have read on several occasions that the blessing of a knight’s sword was an essential part of their entry into chivalry.

I practice Japanese sword fighting arts, kendo and iaido, for which I have a replica sword (not sharp) for performing the kata techniques. The katas have a meditative character, and the sword itself has a religious significance in the Japanese Shinto religion, so much so that the real swords are still made in a traditional manner by a swordsmith in Shinto priest’s robes, who makes invocations to the gods of the furnace before forging the steel.

I am uncomfortable with this pagan religious significance, and would like to replace it with a Christian religious significance. Is it still possible to get a priest to bless a sword on the altar? Would I have to join one of the orders of Catholic knights to be allowed to have this blessing, or has it been completely eliminated from the rituale romanum?
 
PS - it goes without saying that the sword will only ever be used for this meditation exercise, and will never be used to kill.
 
Yup it should be fine.

St Joan of Arc fought (though she is reputed never to have struck anyone) with a sword she found behind the altar of a church (presumably blessed by its presence there!)
 
I find it very hard to believe that St. Joan did not use her sword, but then again I do not know her life story in detail.

War is ugly and if your going into engagements the chances of you using your weapon is very great. If she chose not to use her sword, she may have let one of her friends or soldiers get killed. However because of her importance as a figure head, she was likely kept away from fighting. Yet, she was in so many battles that I am sure she was trained how to fight, and most likely did raise he sword against someone for that reason.

As for modern swordsmenship, it is done for either two reasons or both. As a competitive sport or as a form of character building. We don’t use swords anymore to kill. A live blade would be used for cutting exercises. However, there is always the extremely rare potential for using a sword in self defense or in war, but again, this is highly unlikely. The only time one could use one’s sword morally is if it meets the criteria for a “Just War.” or in self defense in my opinion, but I am no expert.

Blue Knight
 
BlueKnight said:
I find it very hard to believe that St. Joan did not use her sword, but then again I do not know her life story in detail.

War is ugly and if your going into engagements the chances of you using your weapon is very great. If she chose not to use her sword, she may have let one of her friends or soldiers get killed. However because of her importance as a figure head, she was likely kept away from fighting. Yet, she was in so many battles that I am sure she was trained how to fight, and most likely did raise he sword against someone for that reason.

As for modern swordsmenship, it is done for either two reasons or both. As a competitive sport or as a form of character building. We don’t use swords anymore to kill. A live blade would be used for cutting exercises. However, there is always the extremely rare potential for using a sword in self defense or in war, but again, this is highly unlikely. The only time one could use one’s sword morally is if it meets the criteria for a “Just War.” or in self defense in my opinion, but I am no expert.

Blue Knight
Click to expand...
Thanks Blue,

Clearly I’m not intending to use the sword for anything other than sport and character building. Is it possible to have it blessed though? You are a Catholic Knight yourself, do the Knights of the Immaculata have a link to feudal times or are they a more recent order of chivalry? I would imagine some of the trappings of the knights of old would have remained, might this include being able to ask a priest to bless a sword?
 
Dear Friend,

the Knights of the Immaculata is a lay organization that serves Our Lady through prayer, fasting, and the wearing of the miraculous medal. They are not a military organization.

I do find the practice of swordsmanship however contributes to my spirituality and self-understanding as I use it as a form of character building.

You do Kendo, so I will say this. Get your shinai or bokto blessed. For the wood and the bamboo has more meaning spiritually then a real sword for you. The spiritual root of the sword for a samurai is that it was considered the soul of the samurai. However, a real soul is not a killing instrument, but a life giving one. That is the purpose of true kendo, to bring about life, not death.

If you want your kata sword blessed, that would be so that you can fully understand the kata and its spiritual implications of practicing kata for you. In other words character building. Of course you can get that blessed.

You will find that problems you have in your kendo will match your problems in your real life and spiritual life. Try to gain better understanding of these elements as you practice kendo. As you practice, and overcome these flaws, so will you better confront yourself in your work, love, social, and spiritual life.

I have often hoped in my heart that one day some religious order will adopt kendo as part of the training of its order. The benefits would be very great.

If ever there is a call to use a real sword then I can assure you this will be the smallest and most inconsiquential aspect of your training in swordsmanship. Certainly get that sword blessed as well, though I doubt it will improve your swordsmanship or prevent your sword from chipping, who knows. I do not know how such a blessing would work.

Blue Knight
 
I would say it might be a good idea to get the sword blessed. Although, technically, it hasn’t been blessed under Shinto, just made under conditions of Shinto ritual purity. A Shinto blessing, see, would require that the object *remain *ritually pure, which is impossible for something whose purpose is killing and channeling the bloodlust (sakki) of its wielder. Traditionally a warrior had to perform certain kinds of purifications before entering the Imperial palace or performing certain rites, like being married.

The only swords that were really blessed, not purified, were those made as offerings to gods, which were never used.

Our blessings don’t require such ritual purity, so you can get the sword blessed.

PS Kendo is a martial sport, not a martial art. If you’d like to learn real, battlefield swordfighting, take Battoudou–I recommend Ryuuseikan ryuu.
 
BlueKnight said:
Some Kendo practioners do not practice Kendo as a sport.
Click to expand...
Yes, but they don’t practice cutting, and their style doesn’t take account of things like, “what if your blade is hooked on your opponent’s collarbone on its way out of his body?” or “what if I have to break through a helmet?”

That’s why you need to learn battlefield martial arts.
 
Those things have very little meaning to me at the present time.
 
Hastrman said:
Kendo is a martial sport, not a martial art. If you’d like to learn real, battlefield swordfighting, take Battoudou–I recommend Ryuuseikan ryuu.
Click to expand...
At the risk of taking this thread way off topic, your definition of a martial art is very different to mine. Perhaps what you are talking about with Battodo is more of a martial science, i.e. it is concerned mainly with what would work on a real battlefield. The kenjutsu style I practice, Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu contains both Kendo and Iaido elements, and also two-man techniques rehearsed with a bokuto, and is certainly practiced as an art, with clear definitions of good technique that don’t depend on scoring points in competition. As someone who is more interested in perfecting technique to perfect character than in actual battle-field fighting, which I don’t ever expect to be faced with, that is most certainly a martial art.
 
I think that you will especially like the book, “The Way of the Christian Samurai” by Paul Nowak 😉
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top