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Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
... I knew you would have a reference on Jewish smiths , which seems to have escaped the English language references I had used...
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It wouldn't be easy to find 'my' source. It is in fact a two tome old publication that i once found and immediately bought . One tome (1907) is dedicated to white arms smiths and the other (1908) to firearms makers. Hundreds of them, since the XIV century, listed with full texts of their Royal letters of privilege, as often events of their personal lives.
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Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
...I think they must have assumed that these artisans must have not been noted as such as so much of the motif, markings and inscriptions which were covertly encoded with Cabbalistic devices and numerology, that their identities must have been equally encrypted...
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Going into such encrypted universe, we face riddles that are not easy to crack as also so often involved by esoteric fans into the mantle of fantasy.
On the other hand, in this great work written by Viterbo, with read details on smiths so exhaustively narrated but no comments being made on marks, except for the sketch of a couple used in firearms, those from the XVIII century, a period in which high end gun smiths fancied applying their seal.
I guess (guess) the habit of marking swords (blades) is a procedure adopted by the (guild) smiths of some countries, Portugal not included. One can spot one or two smiths names, one or two owners names, one or two patriotic or (common) religious inscriptions, but not actual smiths seals, whatever religion they practiced.
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