Obvious is that the term medieval is misused by some for renaissance and later times. The 17th c. and the little ruckus with Cromwell is later than medieval times (Middle Ages- ca. 500AD-ca. 1500AD, but Renaissance students put its end somewhat earlier). Swounds goes back to the 16th C. in print (HuwG is correct) with more than one meaning: to swoon, and as a mild swear word referring to bloody wounds - perhaps meaning God's wounds. Zounds! I hate to admit it, but it is just conceivable that I may have been the tiniest bit mistaken about Zounds! The OED ignores the spelling, but Webster's Collegiate puts it at 16th c. Swear = curse, profanity, etc. seems to have come in about the 15th century; Shakespeare used it a century later in that sense. MTed is correct in that the word is very old; roots uncertain, but used in England for solemn declaration or affirmation by 900 AD (in print).
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