notched sword has not been preserved and even its very existence is doubtful, its legend had a great impact on Polish historical memory and the treatment of its successor, the modern Szczerbiec. From a sword of justice to a coronation sword The sword currently known as Szczerbiec was forged and decorated in a style characteristic of the late 12th and 13th centuries, so it could not have belonged to any of the three great Boleslauses of the 11th and early 12th centuries. Additionally, it is a purely ceremonial sword which, unlike the original Szczerbiec, was never used in combat. It was originally used as a sword of justice (gladius iustitiae), or insignia of the sovereign's judicial power, by one of the many local dukes during Poland's Age of Fragmentation. A silver plate, now lost, on the sword's grip bore an inscription which indicated a duke by the name Boleslaus as its original owner. An inscription on the Radziwiłłs' replica of Szczerbiec, now also lost, could provide an additional hint as to the duke's identity: "Boleslaus, Duke of Poland, Masovia, and Łęczyca" – except that no duke of this name and titles ever existed. Historians have variously identified the duke in question as Boleslaus the Curly (), Boleslaus the Chaste (), Boleslaus I of Masovia () or Boleslaus the Pious of Greater Poland (). As a coronation sword, Szczerbiec was first specifically mentioned by Jan Długosz in his account of the crowning of King Casimir IV (), but it was probably first used in a coronation ceremony by King Ladislaus the Short () in 1320, by which time he had reunited most of the core territories of Poland. If Szczerbiec had previously belonged to his uncle, Boleslaus I of Masovia, or his father-in-law, Boleslaus the Pious, then he could have inherited it. If it had belonged to any of the two Boleslauses who had ruled from Kraków as high dukes of all Poland, then Ladislaus could have simply found it in the Wawel Cathedral. Thereafter, Szczerbiec became an integral part of the Polish Crown Jewels, shared their fate, and was the principal ceremonial sword used in coronations of all Polish kings until 1764, except Jogaila (1386), Stephen Báthory (1576), Stanislaus I Leszczyński (1705), and Augustus III Wettin (1734). Szczerbiec, together with other crown jewels, was removed from the Wawel Hill on several occasions during that period. After his Polish coronation in