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Old 16th May 2018, 10:01 AM   #1
corrado26
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Default French (?) sword with strange number

I have in my collection a what I think French sword that has on both sides of its blade the number "1414". It is certainly not a date as the sword and the blade are probably from the 1720s, but what is this "1414"?
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Old 16th May 2018, 10:15 AM   #2
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I think the general opinion is that inscriptions 1414 are talismanic. Nobody seems quite sure of the meaning but it is certainly not a date.
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Old 16th May 2018, 10:54 AM   #3
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A Walloon sword with a Passau blade marked with the talisman 1414, again meaning unknown by the owner who sold it (not mine).
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Old 16th May 2018, 04:30 PM   #4
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Default 1 4 1 4

An interesting explanation can be found in:
ARMES BLANCHES - SYMBOLISME, MARQUAGES, FOURBISSEURS, MANUFACTURES / Jean LHOSTE, Jean-Jacques BUIGNE / 3e impression / page
107 ff.
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Old 16th May 2018, 05:29 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by canos
An interesting explanation can be found in:
ARMES BLANCHES - SYMBOLISME, MARQUAGES, FOURBISSEURS, MANUFACTURES / Jean LHOSTE, Jean-Jacques BUIGNE / 3e impression / page
107 ff.
Can you please tell us what it is, preferably in English, as many of us a). do not speak French and b). do not have access to that book? Thanks.
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Old 16th May 2018, 07:26 PM   #6
fernando
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Interesting that this talismanic number was still engraved on blades as late as in 1720. It was profusely marked in Passau blades as early as in the 16th century, if not before. Quoting some source, this magic number was composed with multiples and combinations of the number 7, in a mode to plea for divine help (quote) in all directions, when unsheathing the sword. But most probably the source mentioned by canos has a different interpretation, which we would like to know of.
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Old 16th May 2018, 08:09 PM   #7
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Default Conclusion " 1414 "

In conclusion it can said that for the inscription 1414 no exact signification can be found inspire of various attempts of interpretation. The most probable presumption is that the inscription engraved by the armourer was quite mysterious and was only known by the armourer himself. It was probably meant to offer some kind of protection, perhaps even a devine one.
" 1 4 1 4 " is a real talisman, undoutedly of biblical origin.
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