Basket hilted swords

Jim McDougall · 19th January 2019, 08:03 PM

Thank you for adding more detail and specifications on this phenomenal example! I cannot emphasize enough how important this find is, and I am so grateful that you have shared it here.
As Cathey has noted, the book by the Baron of Earlshall is a powerfully important reference which has brought forward the knowledge and key details on these weapons.

The running wolf on the blade is actually believed to be a kind of talismanic device placed on blades made in Solingen, and became a recognized symbol associated with quality. The 'anchor' (cross with multiple arms) is also a device often used on Spanish blades and adopted in German blade motif.

The curious X's and letters are German applications often imitating the indecipherable groupings of such letters found on many blades. These are typically magic/talismanic acrostics or letters with sometimes numeric values. Often these were patriotic slogans or religious invocations which were 'coded' in this manner. The 'X' represents a cross, and in the position of the letter X may have been perceived as St. Andrews cross in Scotland, and as such among favored symbolism just as the famed 'ANDREA FERARA' markings.

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19th January 2019, 08:03 PM	#11
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,190	Thank you for adding more detail and specifications on this phenomenal example! I cannot emphasize enough how important this find is, and I am so grateful that you have shared it here. As Cathey has noted, the book by the Baron of Earlshall is a powerfully important reference which has brought forward the knowledge and key details on these weapons. The running wolf on the blade is actually believed to be a kind of talismanic device placed on blades made in Solingen, and became a recognized symbol associated with quality. The 'anchor' (cross with multiple arms) is also a device often used on Spanish blades and adopted in German blade motif. The curious X's and letters are German applications often imitating the indecipherable groupings of such letters found on many blades. These are typically magic/talismanic acrostics or letters with sometimes numeric values. Often these were patriotic slogans or religious invocations which were 'coded' in this manner. The 'X' represents a cross, and in the position of the letter X may have been perceived as St. Andrews cross in Scotland, and as such among favored symbolism just as the famed 'ANDREA FERARA' markings.