This was a good move to bring this thread and the concurrent thread titled 'odd sword' to the European forum given the subject matter, which decidedly focuses on these European blades and their inscriptions.
At this point I think it is important to consider some of the perspective which is important in approaching this most arcane and often even occult related subject matter with the understanding of these curious inscriptions and their ever elusive meanings. The term 'polluted' pertaining to some references to the descriptions and references to these indeed 'mysterious' inscriptions perhaps well describes the unfortunate posture often taken toward much of the investigation and research concerning these kinds of topics.
Descriptions and news pertaining to old swords and these 'mysterious ' inscriptions are of course rendered sensationally in the media, and allude to all manner of sometimes almost bizarre notions and suggestions. Most academic and scholarly works typically avoid including the terms magic or occult in discussing inscriptions on blades such as these. However, most of these same mediums will recognize the reference to many of these inscriptions and acrostics in various letters and groupings as 'sacerdotal' or religious invocations.
Indeed, many of these apparent groupings of letters and sometimes included symbols or devices, particularly crosses, have been compellingly revealed to have been just that, religiously oriented. This is of course clearly reminiscent and profoundly associated with the crusades and the fact that swords and weaponry were most often closely associated with and directly connected to the Church.
However these practices of using letters in acrostic groupings, as well as the use of symbolic devices has been held to have roots in the pagan use of runes and invocations to their gods for strength and protection in battle.
While this would of course well explain the well known and plausibly suggested use of these inscriptions from religious standpoint, it is important to note that in the Middle Ages, as suggested in one article within the link Lee noted, there were few who would differentiate between religion, science and magic.
The well known sciences of today had not yet been developed, and along with the well established fiber of religion, practices such as alchemy (later chemistry); astrology (later astronomy) and magic, strongly associated with superstition and other metaphysics fluourished.
The largely illiterate population while hugely uninformed on these of course, could very distinctly relate to symbols and devices.
Even blacksmithing and the forging of swords and weapons was considered magical, and these men were regarded with great caution though of course recognized as quite essential. It would seem quite natural that these weapons would temporally or in decoration be imbued with talismanic powers, whether religiously oriented or as noted, amalgamated with other occult or esoteric associations.
It is with these things in mind that I hope that members and readers here alike, might join together in looking further into our understanding of these particular blades in these two threads, as well as into the entirely fascinating study of the swords of these times.
While many often scoff at the idea of including occult or mystical matters in the study of weapons and their decoration and embellishment, in my view it is profoundly held that.....we do not need to believe in or approve of the beliefs or symbolic meanings being investigated, but it is absolutely essential that we try to understand what the people who made and used these weapons believed.
Best regards,
Jim
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