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Old 24th May 2016, 06:03 PM   #8
Jim McDougall
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
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Hi Jean Luc,
Beautiful great sword!!! and for all I can see, in my opinion this may well be a Passau sword, and of the period you suggest. These latten markings could well have been punched in later, but certainly later in the 15th into 16th as the markings comparable I have seen date slightly later.
The 'heart' and cross was a known Passau inlay (Cronau, 1885 p.18; Kinman p.65) end of 15th c. but the heart was usually inverted from the cross.

The encircled cross is the cross crosslet it seems was earlier use and by the 15th century the cross fourchee encircled was more commonly seen. This cross form may well have been used anachronistically or aligned more with specific conventions such as order or other imbuement.

The 'star' is not really a star but appears an interpretation on the 'pi' marks used in Milan early, actually a crown atop two 'tails'. This is of course a highly stylized version, but these kinds of stylizations (common on latten inlays) were known used by Stantlers around early 16thc .

While the early 16th century seems late for these types of swords, it is noted that the forms often remained in use well after the period used in the classifications and forms could remain in use concurrently and transcending those guidelines. Thus more accurate dating is difficult based on style or even these markings which as noted might have been set later.
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