Can someone help me identify this sword?

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Troy Spurlock

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Or direct me in the right place to find out the identity, maker and age of this sword? I would be most grateful.

I just recently "found" this sword. It is made completely of steel (except the handle, which is made of marble and (dipped?) covered in steel. It's quite heavy.

The handle has detailed design work to include (but not limited to) knights on horseback, a man knealing before another knight with an offering, a family crest (top left cornder is a castle and bottom right corner is a lion and to either side are vertical lines that look like minature flags within), flag with helmet over the top of it and more.

It also has the following inscription: "Me Mento Meto" / "Mater Der Met" on one side of the cross and "Tanto Monta" / "Monta Tanto" on the other side.

On the blade there is intricate design work of flowers on both sides. On one side there is a knight with a cross bow and on the other a knight with a sword. On one side appears to be the sword maker's (or artist's) signature "bledo".

Nearest I've been able to find on the internet is this is a Catholic King's Sword (Either an expensive replica or ??), one like the one used by Queen Isabella when she knighted Columbus upon his return from the Americas.

All the pictures I have avaliable at this time are available for viewing here:

Catholic King's Sword - Replica or ????

sword.jpg


If more detailed pictures are required, please let me know. I have a scanner and can scan the sword parts needed to be viewed in order to identify this sword.

I have emailed Toledo Swords and others and most have replied advising me to come here for assistance in identifying (who made it, where, when, etc.) this sword. Any assistance would be most appreciative in helping do that.

My email is: twsnjs@gte.net

Thank you!
 
That's a very impressive looking piece. I'm not sure about the "Me Mento Meto" and "Mater Der Met" inscriptions, but the "Tanto Monta, Monta Tanto" was the motto that appeared on the Spanish Royal Standard of the Catholic Kings from 1492-1506. It refers to both Catholic monarchs: Isabella and Ferdinand and loosely translates to: "As much as the one is worth, so much is the other." This meant that both King and Queen held equal authority. It was seen on the Spanish flags that Cristóbal Colón brought to the New World. Later the motto was changed to "Plus Ultra" which is Latin for "More Beyond" referring to Spain and her lands in the Americas.

Anyway, I've seen reproductions of this sword which is supposedly the sword that was used to knight Colón on his return to Spain from the New World.

According to Spanish tradition, an Andalusian Muslim blacksmith who later converted to Christianity by the name Julián Del Rey, nicknamed: "el moro" (The Moor) was commissioned by King Ferdinand himself and relocated from Granada to Toledo. Julián had been in the service of the Arab rulers of Al-Andalus in southern Spain before the reconquest and was considered one of the finest bladesmiths at the time. It is thought that he may have made the sword. Toledo has been the swordmaking capital of Spain since Roman times, and became famous in Muslim Spain under the reign of Abder Rahman II. When the Muslims were defeated and Christianity reinstated, Toledo was the centre of production for Spanish weapons.

Now, whether or not the sword in the pic is authentic, I don't know. Copies of the sword have been made for years, even in Toledo.
 
We also have a Sword Discussion Forum.

The inscription might be Mater Dei which would make it the understandable Mother of God. Me Mento might be Memento meaning Remember, as in Memento mori, Remember death.

The Met and Meto which seem to be eluding us might be misread somehow -- I can't see the lettering, but medieval lettering is not always what it seems. Some styles of t and r can be confused, for example.
 
Esav,

If you like I can do a rubbing or just scan the sword itself for a better observation of the lettering and design work, if it will help?

You know what, I think I'll do that and post it.

Until then, thank you to everyone who has replied thus far.

Troy
 
OK, let's try that. I have some experience with old alphabets. Maybe we can puzzle it out.

Of course, if someone ID's the sword itself, that may lead us to the original inscriptions, too!
 
Troy, going with the right side as saying MATER DEI (last word cut off) then that 'I with the wings on top' is the same letter on the left in MEMENTO MEIO or MEMENTO MEID -- it's hard to tell that O from the D. I don't know if El Cid can help with a translation: I am certain it is Very Ancient Spanish (otherwise known as Latin :) ) As Latin, I guess it is MEIO, a form of MEIUS (MEUS), 'my'. Can you get a shot of the far right MET?
 
Whether you have an authentic sword or not I can not say, but a Catholic Kings sword it is. When I checked out Google I found many swords that looked somewhat like the one you have. They all seem to have the same words inscribed on them. My recommendation would be to find a museum that has an expert on swords and have it authenticated.
 
And yes, I'll get a better scan of the "met" on the right side for you Esav.

QUESTION: How old is the method of 'threading' (like the threads on a bolt to screw on an end piece)?
 
Originally posted by Esav Benyamin
Troy, going with the right side as saying MATER DEI (last word cut off) then that 'I with the wings on top' is the same letter on the left in MEMENTO MEIO or MEMENTO MEID -- it's hard to tell that O from the D. I don't know if El Cid can help with a translation: I am certain it is Very Ancient Spanish (otherwise known as Latin :) ) As Latin, I guess it is MEIO, a form of MEIUS (MEUS), 'my'. Can you get a shot of the far right MET?
Click to expand...

Esav, ancient Spanish: Latin of course. :D It could be Medieval Spanish or one the other Spanish dialects spokenat the time like Asturian.
 
So far as I know threaded tangs are not historically accurate at all. Rather anciently pommels were peened to the tang. If you have a threaded tang I suspect it's a reproduction. The odd handle construction might also point to this.

I might also suggest posting this stuff here: www.netsword.com

and here: http://forums.swordforum.com. Some real experts on all things sword related can be found there.
 
Troy, I think I don't need another scan. I took KWM's advice and did a Google search, which brought me to a picture of a reproduction with a clearer view of the lettering:

MEMENTO MEIO -- MATER DEI MEI

We may need an ancient Spaniard :D or it might mean: Remember me, Mother of my God.

Actually, some of my ancestors were ancient Spaniards, too, but we left just about that time ... in fourteen hundred ninety two, Columbus sailed the Ocean blue, when Ferdinand and Isabella, too, threw out of Spain every Moor and Jew.
 
And the Vandals! Don't forget the Vandals of Vandalusia! Everybody knows what they were like: they invented writing just so they could scribble graffiti.
 
Originally posted by Triton
So far as I know threaded tangs are not historically accurate at all. Rather anciently pommels were peened to the tang. If you have a threaded tang I suspect it's a reproduction. The odd handle construction might also point to this.
Click to expand...


Others whom have responded to the threaded tang and a search on the internet shows that tangs/pommels were threaded back then. I'm still searching.

Thanks for your reply and further links to explore my question(s) about this sword of mine.
 
It really is ironic that the Vandals, a byword for barbarism in the West, gave their name to Al Andalus, the epitome of civilization in its day.

Times change, and people stay the same. One of the present-day sources of information on Medieval Spanish is Ladino, the language of those Spanish Jews who retreated to North Africa with the Moors -- the Moroccans.
 
Esav, you're correct. It is the Vandals for which the Spanish region of Andalucía was named, but it is the Moorish and Sephardic people who helped shape the Andalusian character, music and culture as well as the Spanish and Portuguese people as a whole. As far as the Sword in the pic, I really think it's a reproduction.
 
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