Posted on 11/24/2014 3:37:22 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Intrigue over how German-made 12th century blade, adorned in Sweden, reached Siberia...
An exciting new theory has now emerged that it could have belonged to Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and came from the royal armoury as a gift at the time of the conquest of Siberia. The hypothesis, twinning an infamous Russian ruler and a revered battle hero, could turn it into one of the most interesting archaeological finds in Siberian history, though for now much remains uncertain.
What Siberian experts are sure about is that the beautifully engraved weapon was originally made in central Europe, and most likely in the Rhine basin of Germany before going to the Swedish mainland, or the island of Gotland, to be adorned with an ornate silver handle and Norse ruse pattern...
'Both sides of the blade have 'rune' inscription which was abbreviated', said archaeologist Vyacheslav Molodin, the man who led the excavation - in Vengerovo district - which found the weapon. 'The style of calligraphy proves that it was made by people with knowledge of advanced epigraphic writing techniques'.
Russia's leading experts at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg decoded the Latin wording on the one metre long blade.
The main inscription reads: N[omine] M[atris] N[ostri] S[alva]t[ORis] Et[eRni] D[omini] S[alvatoRis] E[teRni], with an additional one on the same side of the blade saying C[hRis]t[us] Ih[esus] C[hRis]t[us]. This means:'In the name of the mother of our saviour eternal, eternal Lord and Saviour. Christ Jesus Christ.'
The inscription on the reverse side is harder to read, but the first word 'NOMENE' - clearly seen - helps reconstruct the rest as 'N[omine] O[mnipotentis]. M[ateR]. E[teRni] N[omin]e', which means 'In the name of the Almighty. The Mother of God. In the name of Eternal'...
(Excerpt) Read more at siberiantimes.com ...
I don’t think a gladius had a blood gutter.
I’ve seen them both with and without. But the handle, pommel, guard and general shape of the blade are the same.
CC
Well how else could they start the Democrat Party?
That’s not a big deal in Russian museums.
I was involved with an art show in the 1990s with the State Historical Museum on Moscow’s Red Square, entitled The Sacred Art of Russian from Ivan the Terrible to Peter the Great. In included the Central Iconostasis from the Novedevichi Convent, before it was reconsecrated by the Patriarch.
There were hundred of icons and fragile objects.
When visiting the textile portion of the collection in moscow, we were asked if we wanted to try on Peter the Great’s robes.
Sword Ping!
The hilt is of a X-XI century type, the blade is narrowing to the end too much for a sword of that age. But still... I doubt that Yermak, a Cossack ataman, was a collector of some sort, while different swords were used during his lifetime. It was already the age of firearms. You can find some pictures of XVI-XVII Russian swords here.
I think this house organ of Pooty-Poot’s just participating in the peace offensive he’s been waging.
Thanks Joe!!
Sword Ping!!!
The sword doesn’t look late-medieval. That it was a cherished gift that Yermak carried around I can understand but the legend that he actually fought with it seems far-fetched. Soldiers tend to prefer weapons modern to them; a commander would also want to encourage the men to use their customary weapons and so would not want to provide an example to the contrary. The Russian infantry weapon as Freelance Warrior showed was a saber, not a straight double-edge sword.
The design is Viking in design. You see it in the pommel.It would be nice to find it is an Uthbert original design.
Looks elven to me!
or maybe nordic
I thought all Ulthberts had the distinctive markings inset into the blade.
‘knockoff
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