Szczerbiec () is the ceremonial sword used in the coronations of most Polish monarchs from 1320 to 1764. It now is displayed in the treasure vault of the royal Wawel Castle in Kraków, as the only preserved part of the medieval Polish crown jewels. The sword is noted for its hilt, decorated with magical formulae, Christian symbols, and floral patterns, as well as for the narrow slit in the blade which holds a small shield with the coat of arms of Poland. The name of the sword, derived from the Polish word szczerba ("gap", "notch", or "chip"), may be rendered into English as "the Notched Sword" or "the Jagged Sword", though the edges of its blade are straight and smooth. A legend links Szczerbiec with King Boleslaus I the Brave who was said to have chipped the sword by hitting it against the Golden Gate of Kiev during his intervention in the Kievan succession crisis in 1018. However, the Golden Gate was only constructed in 1037 and the sword is actually dated to the late 12th or 13th century. It was first used as a coronation sword by Ladislaus the Short in 1320. Looted by Prussian troops in 1795, it changed hands several times during the 19th century until it was purchased in 1884 for the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. The Soviet Union returned it to Poland in 1928. During the Second World War, Szczerbiec was evacuated to Canada and did not return to Kraków until 1959. In the 20th century, an image of the sword was adopted as a symbol by Polish nationalist and far-right movements. Description Szczerbiec is a ceremonial sword bearing rich Gothic ornamentation, dated to the mid-13th century. It is classified as a type XII sword with a type pommel and a type 6 crossguard according to the Oakeshott typology, although the blade may have changed its shape due to centuries of corrosion and intensive cleaning before every coronation. Hilt The hilt consists of a round pommel, a flat grip and an arched crossguard. The grip is long, thick, and from wide. It is rectangular in cross-section and its hard edges make it difficult to handle and impractical for fighting, which is indicative of the sword's purely ceremonial usage. The pommel is in diameter and thick, with a chamfered outer ring that is wide. The crossguard forms an arch that is wide in the middle