Quote:
Originally Posted by werecow
There's an old discussion on myarmoury about what sounds like the same topic and so may be of interest, but nothing close to pierced blades there either. The "lines and dots" features shown in that thread are far more subtle and will no doubt be familiar to most people posting here, e.g.: |
Thank you so much! This is exactly what I was hoping for, some sort of indication of other research into this perplexing question. As can be seen in the discussion (thank you for the link), there were questions toward the motif and decoration on sword blades which lent to perhaps religious invocations. It seems the suggestions of 'rosarial' connection are observed and only at one point is the term 'paternoster' mentioned as an alternative description.
In this 2011 discussion, it reveals what I had been suggesting, that the term paternoster does not seem to have been well known with reference to sword blade features.
I think Burton ("Book of the Sword" 1884) was one of my earliest books as I began this lifelong odyssey in studying the sword, many years ago (60s).
It was here that I first encountered the term, as he described unusual blade features, on p.136:
"...another rare form was the PATERNOSTER blade, fitted with round depressions which enabled the pious to count the number of his vain repetitions even in the dark".
The other reference I found was:
"Inscribed Mottos etc. on Arms and Armor" by Robert Brydell
Glasgow Archaeological Society, Vol.5 #1 (1905) pp.1-22.
" ...in the recent Glasgow exhibition there was an example of what are sometimes called 'paternoster' swords, having crosses perforated in the blade, the supposed purpose of which was to enable the bearer to count his paternosters by running his finger along the groove containing them. It is very doubtful if such swords would ever be relied upon as fighting weapons as the perforation weakens the blade where strength is most required. More frequently such swords had paternoster marks indicated by transverse and vertical rows of small circular hollows punched on the surfaces of the blade near the handle".
As this was 1903-1905, and Burton had written in the 1880s, it would seem that there was some knowledge or awareness of blades of this kind and a term to describe the feature was 'paternoster'. Here I would point out that the use of inscriptions, invocations, acrostics coding phrases etc. and even the curious sigils known as anchors are not the same as 'paternosters' which are entirely holes or depressions arranged in certain configurations.
I have seen rapiers and small swords with blades having a number of holes in the blade, but the only suggestions seem to have to do with 'lightening' the blade.
Thank you again for responding on this! and for the very pertinent discussion aligned with this topic. Hopefully the information we have shared here might bring in other examples to compile on this apparently esoteric type of blade.
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