22nd May 2005, 10:18 PM | #1 |
Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Estonia
Posts: 6
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European sword names
I don't know if it is good custom on this forum to bomb people with different questions, but since you guys have been so helpful, I'd like to ask your help once more.
As probably all of you know, medieval people used to name their swords. Arthur "had" Excalibur, Roland Durendal, Siegfried Balmung and Charlemagne had Joyeuse. Vikings also named their swords (and other weapons) a lot: Fotbitr, Gramr etc. First question is, was naming common in other parts of the world, too (in Japan it was, as far as I know...?) And second question: does anyone of you know other occasions when somebody has named his/her sword? And with what name, who was it, where is it mentioned etc. Of course, this doesn't have to be "historical fact" as such, it can be just a medieval legend or story, but this is exactly as good. The reason for asking is that naming a sword is putting a proper name (semiotical term, if you are familiar) to sword. Which shows the importance of the sword. And mythological thinking (which proliferated in the Middle-Ages) often understands the proper name, the named item and even the user of the item as the same (sword=knight the owner, which seems absurd to logical thinking). Also, considering the mythological thinking again, it shows that sword had kind of a "soul" in the mind of medieval persons. If an item has a proper name, it is a semiotical subject, it has its own history, shades, meanings etc. And of course, any ideas concerning the topic are more than welcome. |
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