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Old 3rd March 2017, 04:39 PM   #6
Jim McDougall
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
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Ibrahiim,
Thank you so much for this entry, and for always finding such pertinent threads and posts to augment the discussions at hand! Your skills at navigating the material archived in these pages is exemplary.

It is great to see these paired crescent moons on these German blades which seem to date from early 18th century and perhaps earlier and seem to occur notably on blades mounted in Scottish and English swords.
This was remarkable information as I recall, as in the course of study on these crescent moons in pairs on takouba blades in North Africa, as well as many kaskara in Sudan, these were native applied.
What was interesting is that it always seemed that the native pairing of these crescent moons (known locally there as 'dukari') may have been configured as such in a native interpretation imitating the moons on many German blades with cosmological themes in motif.

It appears with this information from 2015, and the blades shown by Cathey and discussed with Eljay (very grateful to them both for these valuable contributions) that the dual crescent moons with face indeed did have European origin and posed in that exact manner.

Here we see the appearance of the crescent moon, or half moon with face, being applied on blades in Germany by the beginning of the 18th century and likely earlier. As we have discussed, the use of the crescent moon seems to have evolved in Spain and used in yet undetermined significance on sword blades at the time of the great Toledo masters.

I recall years ago thinking almost fancifully about the similarities between many of these 'faced' half moons used on blades and in other 'magical' motif including some seen in the unique tarot 'moon' cards. I found that the tarot cards, indeed used in various countries in Europe, did have use as early as the 14th c in Spain. These were soon prohibited however in the well known religious events of the times, though covert use certainly prevailed. While unclear on the 'artistic' nature of the illustrations used, the crescent moon was of course in some manner portrayed on the 'moon' card of the sets.

What seems key here is that the 'man in the moon' portrayal of the crescent moon (paradoxically with the female moon association normally observed) seems to have filtered into the theme at some point. It is known that Jewish mysticism, of course with its mysterious cabala, was profoundly present in Spain, and it may well be that this symbolism had some degree of influence in the character of these half moons .

Although the nature of these suggestions may seem fanciful in their nature it must be remembered that in these times, magic and superstition along with many notions and beliefs were very much in place.
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