French 1882 Sabre

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by neekee

Thanks Fernando and Iibrahim for the interesting comments.

In France there is a popular belief that a cross on a weapon means "1 kill". Of course there is no way to know when or for what reason such a cross would be made. ^^

Hi Neekee,
I'm most curious about this tally marking for 'kills' as you note is believed to be customary in France. Can you note where this information might be found?

The history of dueling is of course, colorful and intriguing, and I have often had occasion to look into it in varying degree. While there have always been rather glorifying or embellished accounts of these events, as far as I have ever known, no physical tallying of 'kills' or duels fought have ever been applied to weapons. There is no denying that 'duels' of sorts did exist in France, much as in Germany and other parts of Europe, these were most often rather 'ceremonial' despite the more rare occasions where genuine combat duels did result in loss of life or injury . However swords such as these later forms, as Fernando has noted , were not intended for combat, nor of course dueling.

This returns the question to, what would these 'x's represent? I don't believe these are the result of any set or standard kind of marks despite the fact that triple Xs can be associated with many possible symbolisms. Why they are there would be anybody's guess, particularly in this odd location in the grip.

For library refs and further reading, these are the resources I checked:
"The Secret History of the Sword" J.Cristoph Amberger, 1999
I subscribed to his Hammerterz Verlag for some years in 1990s. He has personally fought seven of the 'mensur duels in Germany (1985-87)

"Sword & Masque", J.Palff-Alpar, 1967

"Duelling:Cult of Honor in Fin de Siecle Germany" Kevin McAleer, 1994, p.195
Chapters on dueling in France.

"By the Sword", 2002, Richard Cohen, p.317
extensive detail on fencing, dueling and sword history

The triple poincons on the blade would be for the director, controller and reviser at Chatellerault.

As Ibrahiim has noted, some military swords were indeed used in these 'duels, however there were apparently threaded apertures in the blade where a plate was secured to prevent severe injury. Serious duels were apparently fought with the epee, with the rare occasion as noted of use of a sabre.