Identification makers mark

Jim McDougall · 18th June 2020, 11:25 PM

Regarding those 4 number combinations, particularly used with the 'running wolf' (passau wolf as used in Solingen) these I have always considered to be magic number configurations. Wagner ("Cut and Thrust Weapons", Prague, 1967) presents a lot of interesting detail on magic numbers, markings etc.

While there are of course many instances of religious invocations and patriotic mottos and slogans occurring on blades either outright or in acrostic groupings, I am not familiar with Biblical verses being represented.

The 'Passau wolf' was in my opinion primarily a talismanic symbol which became indicative of quality and protective imbuement. As Victrix has well noted, despite powerful religious Faith, Europeans in these times were highly superstitious, and even more so in military ranks, where they faced mortal danger often. In Wagner (op. cit.) he describes the case for 'Passau art' where forces acquiring weapons from there relied considerably on the talismanic properties imbued in these arms.

The magic using values assigned to these numbers in accord with occult materials of the time were placed along with the wolf to become a kind of amulet in the weapon itself. While Wagner does suggest the possibility of Biblical association, the potential for magic connotation seems more compelling in this context.

18th June 2020, 11:25 PM	#12
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,190	Regarding those 4 number combinations, particularly used with the 'running wolf' (passau wolf as used in Solingen) these I have always considered to be magic number configurations. Wagner ("Cut and Thrust Weapons", Prague, 1967) presents a lot of interesting detail on magic numbers, markings etc. While there are of course many instances of religious invocations and patriotic mottos and slogans occurring on blades either outright or in acrostic groupings, I am not familiar with Biblical verses being represented. The 'Passau wolf' was in my opinion primarily a talismanic symbol which became indicative of quality and protective imbuement. As Victrix has well noted, despite powerful religious Faith, Europeans in these times were highly superstitious, and even more so in military ranks, where they faced mortal danger often. In Wagner (op. cit.) he describes the case for 'Passau art' where forces acquiring weapons from there relied considerably on the talismanic properties imbued in these arms. The magic using values assigned to these numbers in accord with occult materials of the time were placed along with the wolf to become a kind of amulet in the weapon itself. While Wagner does suggest the possibility of Biblical association, the potential for magic connotation seems more compelling in this context.