Thanks Glen! You have an amazing memory, thank you for remembering my work studying the 'five ball hilt'. That was a lot of years ago. I was sure that there must be some symbolic value in the representation of this number . Claude Blair in his article in JAAS thought these swords intriguing and hoped further research would evolve.
When my study reached into the symbolism of Freemasonry, Brian Robson disagreed and suggested to me that the number of the ball motif was simply aesthetic . The conundrum remains strictly a matter of opinion.
Cant wait to get my copy of Mowbray, and looking for articles on eagle head pommels in back issues of "Man at Arms" !! and pretty much through your amazingly thorough posts through the years on the forums.
Eric, thank you so much for your answer, beautifully explained!
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