Close-up photos of the Florian Satanic dagger reveal further symbolism not previously noticeable.
The pommel end of the hilt shows a bat with the ‘body’ in a heart shape.
The sacred heart (if winged) usually has ‘birds’ wings. Could suggest satanic meaning or that the heart of an individual/ Nation has been taken or ‘captured’ by an 'evil' / malignant force
The ‘winged hour glass’ signifies the ‘fleetness’ of time…mortality or time running/run out. Again the wings are very bat like, bats are seen as dwellers of the underworld, the abode of the dead.
On the cross guard is a face…which has been suggested ( B.L. Forum) as the ‘green man’... a pagan symbol. However I think the features are more Lion –esque, it could be a lioness or young male lion due to the lack of a full main. Alternatively, it could be, the lack of main may be symbolic that the lion has lost its prestige and power. The Lion symbolises strength, loyalty, courage, royalty; power; guardian or fallen hero
On the cross guard are coiled Ram’s horns
The ram has come to represent male fertility, aggression, and courage. A ram's horn is part of a cornucopia, the "horn of plenty", symbolizing abundance. In history, rams were often symbols of leadership. It is also associated with sacrifice both physical and spiritual.
In English, the word trumpet appears many in scripture and many times it is referring to the ram's horn as opposed to the Chatzotzrah, a long, straight trumpet made usually of silver or gold. At Mount Sinai when the Jewish people received the law of Moses, it was accompanied by several miraculous signs (Exodus 19:16) among which was the shrill sound of a shofar that emanated from the sacred mountain. Later on when Joshua led the siege of Jericho, it was the blasts of the shofars (Joshua 6:20) that triggered the collapse of those impregnable walls. Still later, in the time of Gideon, it was a band of only 300 men (Judges 7:15-23) which at God's command scattered the mighty Midianites by smashing pitchers and blowing the shofar. A shofar is a curved horn taken straight from a male sheep commemorating the sacrifice of Isaac when at the last moment God provided a ram that had its horn caught in the thicket. Horns of cows were rejected because these animals were associated with the worship of the Golden Calf by the Children of Israel in the desert, a sin vigorously condemned by Moses.
In classical mythology……
In China and India, rams were the steeds of the gods. There and in other countries, rams were associated with unicorns. The nations around Israel portrayed Baal and Rashap with ram's horns. Ea, the pagan god of Destiny and the Ocean was represented by a ram's head set on top of a column. In Egypt, rams were sacred to Amun, Khnum, Osiris, and the cult sites of Elephantine and Mendes. Each year, Amun, the ram-headed creator of the universe, was sacrificed in the form of a ram which was mourned and buried with great honour in a sacred tomb at Thebes. The Celtic fertility god, Cernunnos, had a ram-headed serpent as one of his attributes. The bleating of the ram and the spiral shape of its horns made it a universal symbol of thunder and thunder-gods such as Shango, Thor, and Benin.
Interestly there is also this …
The golden ratio is present in the horns of the Ram
It has also been known for a long time that the Golden Ratio (Golden Section, Golden Mean or Divine Proportion) enables to build a logarithmic spiral easily.
Some of the greatest mathematical minds of all ages, from Pythagoras and Euclid in ancient Greece, through the medieval Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa and the Renaissance astronomer Johannes Kepler, to present-day scientific figures such as Oxford physicist Roger Penrose, have spent endless hours over this simple ratio and its properties. But the fascination with the Golden Ratio is not confined just to mathematicians. Biologists, artists, musicians, historians, architects, psychologists, and even mystics have pondered and debated the basis of its ubiquity and appeal. In fact, it is probably fair to say that the Golden Ratio has inspired thinkers of all disciplines like no other number in the history of mathematics.
More info here. Or Google ‘Golden Ratio’
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
The Freemasons also hold the ‘Golden Ratio’ in high esteem, also here is shown the ‘pentagram’ and its relation to the ‘GR’..
http://209.85.129.104/search?q=cache...k&ct=clnk&cd=3
The Crossed Swords. And Inverted Torch.
As can be seen the two swords are of differing styles…..symbolic of conflict, also posted an American emblem dispaying this configuration with the torch ‘right way’ up (The French were beaten) and therefore, in this case, it means victory.
As stated before…..the inverted torch usually means death….a life extinguished. However, if you compare the Tomb symbol with the torch on the scabbard you will notice the flames are rising upward, and as I mentioned before, feel that this symbolises that the life is still ‘smouldering’…not extinguished.
The demonic / Satan figure
It is mentioned on the B.L. forum that the face is a Fleur de Lys a French National symbol. The three petals of the heraldic design reflect a widespread association with the Holy Trinity, a tradition going back to 14th century France.
IMHO I’m not so sure. I am wondering whether it is ‘demonisation’ of the enemy (German stereotype or of an individual) I found an image of a statue of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Tiergarten, Berlin. He organised and directed the attack on France in the Franco-Prussian war. I cannot date the statue…..but notice the unusual pose……strange for a Military leader…..crossed arms and legs…(also an unusual pose for Satan) ..facially similar too. Or also quite likely a demonisation of Napoleon III , the ruler that had let his people down, notice the ‘long’ nose and very similar beard/moustache with the ‘Satan’ decoration.
To me there are no definitive interpretation of the symbolism that associates this with Satan or that of the turmoil of the Franco-Prussian conflict. The fact that it is dated and was made in Nancy, a city heavily affected by the conflict suggests to me that the Satanic angle is less likely…..but that is only my opinion.
Bernard Levine actually states that this ‘satanic’ dagger is the first and only one he has seen that is ‘signed’. He also states that these daggers seem to increase in number after major conflicts that the French have lost i.e. the Napoleonic wars, the Franco-Prussian war, WW1, WW2 etc. Could this be a traditional attitude… to produce a sort of ‘revenge’ dagger full of evil intent to her enemies ???
The last two images are a German Busby, Braunschweig’s Hussar Regiment Nr 17. Whose honors covered both the Napoleonic Wars and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The sight of the 'skull and crossbones' would be fresh in the minds of the people of Nancy...