There is a huge amount one can write on the Sword (and I will attempt to do so when I have time!)

As can be seen from the above post, the Sword is delivered to the Sovereign in the same section of the Rite as the Spurs, and there is the obvious connotation of chivalry here.

The most important thing to say straight away is the emphasis on the dual purpose of the Sword: it punishes those, who do wrong; but it equally protects those, who do well. It is wielded by the Sovereign but it is handed over by the Church, whereby the Sovereign is answerable to God in its use. One of the titles of the Pope is Vicar of Christ, describing his function of protecting the Church; here we see the Sovereign invested as Viceroy of Christ, protecting the State in Christian virtue. The Christian virtues of Justice, Prudence, Temperance and Fortitude pervade the whole Investiture: they are seen as strongly in Ring, Orb, Sceptre and Rod.

The perhaps-strange element of the Sword being redeemed by its bearer is clear when we remember that the State wields the Sword 'in hock' to the Church. The Sword is used to promote and defend the Christian virtues: Faith, Hope, Charity, Justice, Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude.