Juan de Austria Pontifical Estoc

The rapier is a long sword with a slim blade which narrows from the hilt to the tip. This means it wounds with the tip and is not a cutting weapon. Only the blade, made by an unknown Italian craftsman, remains of the original rapier. "Pius V" is acid engraved on both sides, along with the mark of the Pope's third year in office: "PIVS.V.PONT.MAX.ANNO III." His coat of arms also appears, as does the mark of the swordsmith. The original silver guard was lost and subsequently replaced in 1869 by armorer Plácigo Zuloaga, using gold and silver Damascus steel.

As well as their military function, swords represented an element of distinction in Renaissance court culture, as many were gifted for historical events or military feats. This one was a gift from Pope Pius V to John of Austria, the illegitimate son of Emperor Charles V, who had subdued the Moors in the Alpujarras region and led the Holy League Armada to victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. The pontiff's gift may have been linked to this victory, in keeping with a tradition between popes and Spanish royalty since the end of the Middle Ages. Since the time of Pope Julius II, rapiers and longswords had been awarded to worthy Christians to reward their work defending the Catholic faith.