Early Hungarian Sabre

[Cathey]

Hi Guys

I am trying to find out more about this sword for a friend who collects Austro-Hungarian Edged weapons, but at 82 refuses to go on the internet. The dealer who sold him the sword in 1983 described it as “The sword is 36 ½” with 31 ¾” blade. It is a Mameluke hilted sabre or shamshir with a curved blade with two fullers. At the forte of the blade there is an ornate standing figure of a sword carrying hussar about 3 ½” in height above which is the inscription “RINIERE AUTMO HUMGARIA”. This inscription is in script and it is possible that I have misread on or two of the letters. Above this inscription is an engraved figure of a lion (passant). All the foregoing are on both sides of the blade.

The hilt consists of an iron crossguard of Mameluke form and two piece horn grip covered with leather. The scabbard is wood covered with hand tooled leather and has two suspension loops. There is some splitting of the leather about 3” from the bottom end. The remainder of the sword and scabbard is in good untouched condition.”

My apologies for the quality of the pictures but this is the best we have.

What I am hoping is that someone may specialise in this area and be able to tell me more about this sword, particularly some indication of age.

Cheers Cathey and Rex

[ariel]

The blade is highly likely Hungarian, but the entire sword is not , IMHO.
It strikes me as coming from one of the Arab areas of the Ottoman Empire, and I would bet on Iraq.
Hungarian blades and their local imitations were hugely popular in that part of the world.

[fernando]

VINCER AUT MO HUNGARIA; roughly translated from Latin as 'Victory for My Hungary'.

[Victrix]

Looks like an Arab Saif with a Hungarian ”trophy” blade to me. These links may be of interest:

http://www.swordforum.com/forums/sho...ungarian-blade

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/18147/lot/7/

It’s not impossible that the sword could have been used in the Balkans.

Not sure what the lion passant symbol is doing there as typically the Habsburg eagle was used on these blades. A lion is a heraldic symbol of the Kingdom of Bohemia, but was also the symbol of Sultan Baybars founder of the Mamluk state. I can’t see any details in the pictures of the blade.

[ariel]

Look here:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...sylvanian+knot

[Victrix]

Very similar swords have been discussed here on the forum previously. Please see: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...light=hungaria where I can now see the lion motif.
and: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12450

[Philip]

Originally Posted by fernando

VINCER AUT MO HUNGARIA; roughly translated from Latin as 'Victory for My Hungary'.

Say, wouldn't your English version be VICTORIA HUNGARIAE MEAE?

A Polish saber in my collection is inscribed VINCERE AUT MORI and I've seen others with the same inscription including the country name ...POLONIA. Conquer or die for Poland, in such case.

[Victrix]

Latin was very popular in Hungary and Poland as these are Roman Catholic countries where it’s often still used in church service. In addition, Hungary was part of the Roman Empire when it was first part of the Province of Illyricum and later Pannonia. So you can find remains from this time in Hungary which has an absolutely fascinating history. It’s believed that Marcus Aurelius wrote at least part of his book Meditations in Aquincum (near Budapest) when fighting barbarians in the area.

Latin in these countries also had a renewed following in the classicist revival in the 19thC. Vincere aut mori (to win or die) was another motto common on Hungarian but also Polish sabre blades. Sabres had an almost cult like following in Poland where many of them are also engraved with different patriotic texts. Yes Polonia is Latin for Poland.

[NeilUK]

I agree with Victrix and would suggest that the motto is abbreviated for:
VINCERE AUT MORI PRO HUNGARIA - Conquer or Die for Hungary.
Neil

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Victrix

Latin was very popular in Hungary and Poland as these are Roman Catholic countries where it’s often still used in church service.

Latin in these countries also had a renewed following in the classicist revival in the 19thC.

The popular use of religious/patriotic slogans in Latin on sword blades predates the 19th cent. revival. You see this going all the way back into the 17th cent.

As has been pointed out in previous posts, the blade in question was not necessarily made in either Poland or Hungary. And it's been mentioned that manufacture of sword blades for the mass market tended to be centered in a few areas, with export sales to other regions and countries. Solingen was of course a major location, and it was in a region that was heavily affected by the struggles and after-effects of the Protestant Reformation. As you may recall, Martin Luther and contemporaries emphasized contemporary, local idiom (German) in preference to Latin for religious tracts and the conduct of church services.

Terje Norheim, in the article "A Euro-Japanese Sword in the National Museum in Copenhagen" ( Vaabenhistoriske Aarboger XVI ) discusses the badly written Latin inscriptions on a saber blade thought to be of Dutch or German manufacture, 17th cent.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Philip

Say, wouldn't your English version be VICTORIA HUNGARIAE MEAE?

A Polish saber in my collection is inscribed VINCERE AUT MORI and I've seen others with the same inscription including the country name ...POLONIA. Conquer or die for Poland, in such case.

Well, i was selling this "at cost price"; only caring to figure out the inscription contents, including misspellings and mistranslations.
The wording in the blade, as quoted, was brought from a source in that the interpreter, showing a 19th c. Arabian shamshir mounted with a Hungarian blade from the 1700s, gave it such translation, mentioning that it was a rough one ... maybe then too rough though.
In any case the construction of the phrase in both blades appears to have been both condensed and expanded, as arranged by the smith to give it a nationalist touch, as an approach to "Win or die for Hungary".

Actually the motto VINCERE AUT MORI, more preciously expressed as AUT VINCERE AUT MORI, would be a pledge familiar to VICTORIA AUT MORS (Victory or death) a motto seen in Heraldry.
I wounder whether these Latin mottos were a product of 'contemporary' fashion that not originated in early days, like by Romans.

And by the way, in my lingo we write Polonia and Hungria.


.

[Philip]

Originally Posted by fernando

Actually the motto VINCERE AUT MORI, more preciously expressed as AUT VINCERE AUT MORI,




.

Thanks, Fernando, for clarifying with the complete phrase.