Odd Sword

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Victrix

The symbols on the blade don't look like West European letters of the alphabet to me at all. Neither does it look like Hebrew. Could it be Ge'ez? Most likely they are talismanic symbols meant to bring luck to the user and may not necessarily mean anything but are based in superstitious beliefs. The cross as part of the decorations suggests the blade is originally from a Christian country. I have seen hussar sabres with these talismanic symbols and haven't felt tempted to try to interpret them. Some of these sabres may have been made by gypsies and could even be marked with Roma symbols.

Salaams Victrix, Whilst to some it may seem obvious that a cross implies a religious context however on many ancient weapons fished from lakes and rivers across Europe the cross is the only obvious recognisable coded inscription amongst often a line of unrecognisable capitals described as feudal religious shorthand !!...(of no known origin). For a balanced view of this please see http://blog.world-mysteries.com/stra...usaders-sword/ and note how the author has done just as you suggest and has focussed on the cross format... This is usually the Jerusalam Cross with tee shaped ends. Where a pommel exists there may be an etched similar cross done after the shock of battle by the owner..And so the cross is something we can be safely confident about...the rest is as yet undiscovered however...Note that letters do not have to be from the same alphabet !! and they may be numbers.

On further reflection I note that the cross on the project sword is not actually the Jerusalem Cross but a variant ... The Forked Cross. It may illustrate a similar provenance and is anyway another of the heraldic crosses..