What a lovely smallsword Cathey, that motto is a fantastic feature. Personally I think its’ presence means that France can be excluded as the origin. To me it says “I’m catholic and proud of it”, in a countries like France, Spain or Italy, this would have been a forgone conclusion and not something that needs to be said.
I my view, this motto assumes that the wearer lived in a country where there was tension between the catholics and (presumably) protestants. Such as the British Isles, The Netherlands or the German states. With the addition of the ivory grips, I think it leans towards the British Isles, possibly the English and Scottish border?
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