Falchion with the Passau wolf.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Dmitry

I will expand the title of this thread, since the editing function is not available.
European falchion mounted with a glaive guisarme/fauchard-like blade with a zoomorphic proto-wolf marking.

Now that is a fantastic title!!! eloquently and actually very artistically described. Speaking of artists, and looking at these markings, I have tried to look at the 'zoomorphic ' image from every angle and while the elements used in the so called 'Passau wolf' are actually there....they are not arranged in a form recognizable as a wolf.......and I got to thinking......Picasso was Spanish wasn't he? While all I can see is amoeba like visually.......maybe I am looking at it upside down. Perhaps the four lines atop the large image are to represent legs, although all in one location rather than symmetrically placed.

Even Oakeshott noted that these running wolf or animal figures were often indiscernable, and many of the forms are truly very much like modern art, ultra stylized...but none I have seen resemble this arrangement. There is no doubt these markings were deliberate, and interpretations of some kind...even the plus signs or 'x' s are familiar from many blade markings. It seems in one of the kaskara articles it was noted that a Sudanese chief looking at a running wolf marking on a blade thought it was a hippopotamus!!

The analogy noting the glaive/fauchard/ guisarme is well placed also, and it is well known that these polearm blades were indeed sometimes used mounted as swords in certain instances.
For some reason it seems I have seen this kind of unusual blade root profile on Spanish edged weapons from the Philippines, but not necessarily this hook shape.