Bulgarian (?) yataghan with inscription

Yannis · 9th March 2005, 10:23 AM

TVV

The script is not Greek. At least in a form (ancient, Byzantine, dimotiki, katharevousa, etc) that we can decipher. But your post is very interesting and reminds me few things.

The majority of people in Balkan peninsula in 19th century were illiterate. Bladesmiths often tried to “write” words without knowledge (or very poor knowledge) of the alphabet. Usually the customer gave them these words on a piece of paper and they copied the symbols.

Imagine a nice phrase on a sword. This sword goes to a bladesmith for restoration. He copies the phrase in a new sword although he is illiterate. Maybe later he copies it again, this time from the new sword. The phrase is not readable anymore…

TVV · 9th March 2005, 05:49 PM

Yannis, you have made a great point and I absolutely agree with you: popular inscriptions and symbols on swords tend to get copied a lot, and with every copy they become more and more unrecognizable. We tried absolutely all types of Cyrillic used in Bulgaria, from the 9th century to nowadays, and nothing seemed to work either. However, if it is indeed Bulgarian, the first word seems to start with the letters "Б" "O" and then "Г" or "З", which is the root of the Bulgarian word for God. This is more of a guess than a certainty, but it is probable as inscriptions from that period were somewhat religious. A very popular inscription on Bulgarian swords and daggers until the 1940s was "БОГ С НАМЪ", meaning "GOD WITH US".
Still, considering the literacy rate in Bulgarian lands under the Ottomans in the early 19th cenury, chances are the inscription is distorted Greek, and you should check for the most popular inscriptions in this language on weapons from the period.
Best Regards,
Teodor

9th March 2005, 10:23 AM	#1
Yannis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Athens Greece Posts: 479	TVV The script is not Greek. At least in a form (ancient, Byzantine, dimotiki, katharevousa, etc) that we can decipher. But your post is very interesting and reminds me few things. The majority of people in Balkan peninsula in 19th century were illiterate. Bladesmiths often tried to “write” words without knowledge (or very poor knowledge) of the alphabet. Usually the customer gave them these words on a piece of paper and they copied the symbols. Imagine a nice phrase on a sword. This sword goes to a bladesmith for restoration. He copies the phrase in a new sword although he is illiterate. Maybe later he copies it again, this time from the new sword. The phrase is not readable anymore…

9th March 2005, 05:49 PM	#2
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,664	Yannis, you have made a great point and I absolutely agree with you: popular inscriptions and symbols on swords tend to get copied a lot, and with every copy they become more and more unrecognizable. We tried absolutely all types of Cyrillic used in Bulgaria, from the 9th century to nowadays, and nothing seemed to work either. However, if it is indeed Bulgarian, the first word seems to start with the letters "Б" "O" and then "Г" or "З", which is the root of the Bulgarian word for God. This is more of a guess than a certainty, but it is probable as inscriptions from that period were somewhat religious. A very popular inscription on Bulgarian swords and daggers until the 1940s was "БОГ С НАМЪ", meaning "GOD WITH US". Still, considering the literacy rate in Bulgarian lands under the Ottomans in the early 19th cenury, chances are the inscription is distorted Greek, and you should check for the most popular inscriptions in this language on weapons from the period. Best Regards, Teodor