There was a huge mystique about execution by decapitation. It was reserved for nobles and only performed by a skilled executioner who could take the head off with one blow (as opposed to the English headsman who often required several blows with his axe). This was considered the quickest, most humane way of executing someone. The commoners were hung, strangled, or worse.
Part of the mystique was that the executioner had a special sword that was only used for executions. It was used two-handed but was shorter and heavier than a normal two-handed sword. It usually had a blunt tip so it would never be used for stabbing. The sword usually had three holes near the tip so that it could not be converted into a stabbing weapon without cutting off the end of the blade, making it even shorter.
This was mainly a way of showing that the sword would never be used in war for killing common people.
Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687) was a Polish astronomer based in Danzig (Gdańsk). He worked from his own privately funded observatory, creating maps of the Moon’s surface, discovering the first variable star, and spotting several new comets. His Prodromus Astronomiae, published posthumously and including many of his own engravings, was the most comprehensive and accurate catalogue of the stars yet compiled.
