15th to 16th Century North Italian Edged Weapons and Their Marks

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by katana

Excellent post Micheal (AKA Mikey )

Hi Jim ,
notice one of the marks if slightly altered becomes the eyelash mark....started a thread on Ethnograghic
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10871


This mark.....

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By heavens! You may be onto something there Holmes!!!!!
David, you are truly incredibly astute, and the connection does present distinct possibilities.
I am so glad that Mikey posted these pages from this wonderful reference as it really does seem that one of the primary forces in the wider diffusion of weapon forms was that of the trade networks of Northern Italy in those times. You know my long standing fascination with these markings, and it seems that the 'eyelash' (most commonly known as 'sickle' mark) is generally agreed to have originated in Northern Italy probably sometime in the early Renaissance period.
It would seem that it is most likely a guild associated marking, as it is typically congruent to other markings often associated with particular makers rather than a designation for a maker itself.
It was long believed that the markings had begun in Genoa, as it had become associated with trade blades from Genoa and many so marked, but it was as well known in Lucca and other centers as well. What was key was that Genoa was an export port as well as having established colonies in the outer regions of trade networks such as the Black Sea, and from here these blades were diffused widely.
Eventually the markings, in various interpretation, became applied by other European armourers, as well as those in other cultural environments, such as in the Chechen regions (the 'gurda' blades) and in Afghanistan/North India usually on paluoar blades.

This is at least what I have considered plausible thus far, and your observation definitely adds to what seems the true origins of this mysterious marking, in this case used in somewhat more complex grouping.

Thank you so much for adding that, and Michael (aka Mikey again for this magnificent thread! The weapons of North Italy present so many avenues for weapons research, and this thread is the perfect benchmark for many discussions, as can be seen by the new thread started by David.

The game is once again afoot! Forward!!!!

All the very best,
Jim