 During a typical Polish coronation ceremony in the times of the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth , the king @-@ elect received Szczerbiec after his anointment and before being crowned and enthroned . The primate of Poland , that is the archbishop of Gniezno , picked up the unsheathed sword from the altar and handed it to the kneeling king . At the same time , he recited a formula which asked the monarch to use the sword to rule justly , defend the Church , fight evil , protect widows and orphans , and to " rebuild what is damaged , maintain what is rebuilt , avenge what is unjust , reinforce what is well managed , " etc . Then , the king handed the sword to the Crown sword @-@ bearer ( miecznik koronny ) , who slid it into the scabbard and passed on to the primate . The primate , aided by the Crown and Lithuanian sword @-@ bearers , fastened the scabbard to the king 's belt . The king stood up and , facing onlookers , withdrew Szczerbiec , made three times the sign of the cross with it , and wiped it against his left arm before replacing it in the scabbard . The king 's sword @-@ wielding abilities were closely watched by his new subjects during this part of the ritual . When Augustus III betrayed his poor fencing skills at his coronation , nobles joked that they were going to have " a peaceful lord " . After Szczerbiec , a bishop handed the sovereign the Grunwald Swords symbolizing the monarch 's reign over the two constituent nations of the Commonwealth . 
