 A treasury inventory of the Radziwiłł family 's Nieśwież Castle ( now Nesvizh in Belarus ) made in 1740 includes a detailed description of a sword decorated with symbols of the Evangelists and inscriptions identical to those on Szczerbiec . According to the inventory , it was a gift from Crown Prince Jakub Sobieski to Prince Michał Radziwiłł , but the original source of the supposed replica was not given . An inventory made in 1738 of the treasure vault of the Sobieski family 's Żółkiew Castle ( now <unk> in Ukraine ) mentions " an <unk> ( <unk> ) covered with golden plates bearing images of the Four Evangelists ; <unk> 's . " Based on this record , historian Aleksander <unk> hypothesized that a replica of Szczerbiec was forged as early as 1457 and awarded to George Kastrioti Skanderbeg , the national leader of Albania , in recognition of his victory over the Ottoman forces ( see Battle of Ujëbardha ) . After King John III Sobieski defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Vienna in 1683 , Albanians presumably returned the sword to him . His son , Jakub , possibly passed it on to Michał Radziwiłł as a present . 
