Polish sword blade, what are the symbols?

wolviex · 25th September 2007, 10:51 AM

Hello Rand!

Might be Polish but also might be Hungarian

The saint person is probably Saint Mary of Immaculate Conception, the symbol held (for example) by Polish hussars on their armours from the 17th c., not mention the great religious affection of Poles to Saint Mary from the medieval times up to nowadays. According to the liturgy the one was praying to her to receive support and protection ("and through Her intercession, save us from wordly dangers"). But her Person is very often depicted on Hungarian sabres! Especially in the 18th c.!

BUT I'M NOT SURE IT IS HER. Because The Saint Mary of Immaculate Conception was depicted standing on a thin crescent moon, often surrounded by rays of light. Here I can't see any of these, but it's hard to see very details while the picture is not of the high quality. So maybe it is other Saint woman (?). Please check it if you can see more details in the book, maybe there are any attributes in her hands?.

The sun, moon and the stars are common talismanic symbols used on blades in Europe during 18th c., but usually they were etched or engraved on blades, not inlaid with gold. The meaning of these is not clear to me, you can find some remarks in Edward Wagner's book "Hieb- und Stichwaffen" (the big one printed by Artia in 1966), like the Crescent Moon+The Star = conjuction of moon with Venus; the number of 1,3 or 7 means luck etc.

I think the handle of this sabre could tell us if this is Polish, Hungarian or other country sabre.

Regards!

PS. Some pictures of Saint Mary of IC from Polish hussars armours.

25th September 2007, 10:51 AM	#2
wolviex Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Poland, Krakow Posts: 418	Hello Rand! Might be Polish but also might be Hungarian The saint person is probably Saint Mary of Immaculate Conception, the symbol held (for example) by Polish hussars on their armours from the 17th c., not mention the great religious affection of Poles to Saint Mary from the medieval times up to nowadays. According to the liturgy the one was praying to her to receive support and protection ("and through Her intercession, save us from wordly dangers"). But her Person is very often depicted on Hungarian sabres! Especially in the 18th c.! BUT I'M NOT SURE IT IS HER. Because The Saint Mary of Immaculate Conception was depicted standing on a thin crescent moon, often surrounded by rays of light. Here I can't see any of these, but it's hard to see very details while the picture is not of the high quality. So maybe it is other Saint woman (?). Please check it if you can see more details in the book, maybe there are any attributes in her hands?. The sun, moon and the stars are common talismanic symbols used on blades in Europe during 18th c., but usually they were etched or engraved on blades, not inlaid with gold. The meaning of these is not clear to me, you can find some remarks in Edward Wagner's book "Hieb- und Stichwaffen" (the big one printed by Artia in 1966), like the Crescent Moon+The Star = conjuction of moon with Venus; the number of 1,3 or 7 means luck etc. I think the handle of this sabre could tell us if this is Polish, Hungarian or other country sabre. Regards! PS. Some pictures of Saint Mary of IC from Polish hussars armours. Attached Images