Help on mark on Italian sword ca. 1580

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Victrix

Jim, I apologize for letting the thread off a tangent here but I think Fringia and its variations is the same thing as Firangi which comes from Franji. I understand Arabic is a phonetic language, it does not use the latin alphabet, the swordsmiths did not speak Arabic, and were probably at best semi-literate in their own language anyway. So the word ended up spelled in great many variations. The blades must have been intended for export to lands outside of, or at the fringes of, Europe where there were muslims. I think you are right to use the term European, rather than Western European here, as Austrians and Czechs all would probably also be regarded as Franji in Arab eyes. Fascinating to think that the trade went all the way to India with the ever enterprising Portuguese and Armenians.

While really only indirectly off tangent, it should be noted that the 'sickle marks' which are regarded as 'Genoan' and often bracket the FRINGIA word, are on occasion found with this 'mill rind' (twig, fly) marking in place of the word.
As we are looking at the use and possible origin of this mark of the OP, it is interesting that on occasion it is seen within the sickle marks which at times hold the FRINGIA word. I agree with your explanation of the similarity of Fringia and Firangi, and can see how these might be phonetically transcribed.

What is most unusual however is that on East European swords, many are found with these FRINGIA markings. Is it possible that blades intended for release to Middle Eastern trade, might have ended up used in the European context in which they were produced instead of being exported?

We see the Fringia term written, but I have yet to see any with the word Firangi or its variations. Perplexing !

Still the explanation makes perfect sense. It is good to look further into these Italian markings, and these words which sometimes appear related.