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Old 19th June 2008, 10:57 PM   #3
katana
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Location: Kent
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Hi Jim ,

thinking outside the box, I wondered about the connotations of the name Andrea Ferrara .

Andrea, is an Italian 'form' of Andrew (the patron saint of Scotland from the middle of the 10th Century)

"...According to legend, in 832 A.D. King Ķengus (II) (or King Angus) led the Picts and Scots in battle against the Angles under a king named Athelstan near modern-day Athelstaneford in East Lothian. King Angus and his men were surrounded and he prayed for deliverance. During the night Saint Andrew, who was martyred on a saltire cross, appeared to Angus and assured him of victory. On the following morning a white saltire against the background of a blue sky appeared to both sides. The Picts and Scots were heartened by this, but the Angles lost confidence and were defeated. This saltire design has been the Scottish flag ever since....."

FERRO is Italian for "iron" , could Ferrara be a mis-spelling (Italian) of "iron ***"
You have mentioned that Scotish blades or re-hilted Scots blades tend to have this 'name', perhaps it is Talismatic, perhaps it meant something like

(St) Andrew ( bringer of victory) iron (????)

Bearing in mind the Scots were predominately Catholic ....Latin or Italian wording may have been believed to be more 'powerful' ?

I told you it was 'outside the box'

Regards David
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