Pegasus Research Consortium

or anyone who wants to try..


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sword-mystery-magna-carta_55c83173e4b0f73b20b9c87d?kvcommref=mostpopular
Ed Mazza
Overnight Editor, The Huffington Post

Posted: 08/10/2015 03:51 AM EDT



The blade "could easily have sliced a man's head in two."


(http://img.huffingtonpost.com//asset/crop_0_302_2500_1555,scalefit_630_noupscale/55c8454514000077002e2652.jpeg)
The River Witham Sword and its mysterious inscription. | Trustees of the British Museum


The British Library is calling on the public to help solve a mystery nearly 800 years in the making: Just what is written on this sword?



The double-edged sword, which is part of an exhibition on the Magna Carta and on loan from the British Museum, weighs 2 pounds 10 ounces and measures 38 inches in length and 6.5 inches across the hilt.



"If struck with sufficient force, it could easily have sliced a man's head in two," Julian Harrison, the library's curator of early modern manuscripts, wrote in a blog post.



The British Museum said the blade was likely made in Germany in the 13th or early 14th century, but the sword itself is English. 



"The sword is part of the ceremony of Knighthood, and the cross-shaped hilt of such swords, used by knights, acknowledge the Christian duties a knight must fulfill, defending the church," the museum's description of the sword reads.



But what stands out most about the sword is the mysterious inscription across the blade, the meaning of which has been lost to the ages.



Here's a closer look:


The inscription reads:


+NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI+







In a postscript to the blog, Marc van Hasselt of Utrecht University speculates that the language is Latin and that ND may represent "Nostrum Dominus" (our Lord) or "Nomine Domini" (name of the Lord), and the XOX could refer to the Holy Trinity.



Someone in the blog's comments section wrote that it looked like medieval Welsh, but Harrison told the Daily Telegraph that's not the case.



The British Museum has also ruled out a speculated Viking origin.


"A Viking origin has been suggested for the sword on the basis of the fullers, the pommel and the letter forms of the inscription," the organization said on its website. "However, it is apparent that the pommel, inscription and the blade shape are more characteristic of Medieval European swords than those of Viking origin."

If you think you have the answer, let the British Library know in the comments of the original blog post.

The sword, which was found in the River Witham in Lincolnshire in 1825, is on display until Sept. 1 at the British Library's " Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy" exhibition. 




lots of embedded links in there
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sword-mystery-magna-carta_55c83173e4b0f73b20b9c87d?kvcommref=mostpopular

Mid-blade looks like it has seen good use.

Looks Viking to me :P Certainly Norseman anyway

Bjarki the Black wears two on his back

(http://landoflegendslv.com/40pastmembers/brotherhood/images/members/Brent/Bjarki002.jpg)


Invocation to Odhinn All-Father

Hail Odhinn, Lord of Asgard,
Warrior and wanderer, valiant and wise,
You to whom all the gods of Asgard look,
Sky Father on the eight-legged steed,
You who traded an eye for wisdom
And ruled a turbulent realm,
Give us the wisdom to accept
The twists and turns of Fate
Even as you surrendered yourself
To the mercies of the Norns.
Protect us, All-Father,
From what harm may come to us.
Lead us through the wilderness
And bring us safely to that great hall
That you reserve only for the brave of spirit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSYNRlVqjfA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSYNRlVqjfA

The + sign is a Templar Cross and ND does most likely means something like "Nostrum Dominus"  or "Nomine Domini" (name of the Lord),

As in this image

(http://patchix.com/797-thickbox_default/embroidered-patch-templar-cross.jpg)

The Cross of the sword is merely a coincidence as the bar is ther to stop the enemy blade fron cutting your hand off.

Sometimes there are two at right angles but that makes it hard to wear at your side.

There is also this

(http://www.antiqueweaponstore.com/GTH-2.JPG)

Later on they went to a full cup on the smaller blades like foils and rapiers

(http://www.kultofathena.com/images%5CDT5171_5_l.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RTOoyRnV3U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RTOoyRnV3U

well it says they ruled out Vikings..i don't know what the criteria is for that
but a little English history would be good to know..

The sword, which was found in the River Witham in Lincolnshire in 1825

where they hell is Pimander when we need him? I think he knows his history..
or someone with linguistics knowledge

guess I gotta go search English history now..hummmmmmmmm  well right after ninja warrior..they are in pgh tonight..maybe when I get back someone here..cuase I know there are a lot of smart folk reading here..maybe it will already be figured out by then  :D  8)

just typing the letters into search gets  a lot of sites with ideas that have been turned in already

I liked some parts of this one

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3187667/Can-solve-riddle-NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI-British-Library-appeals-help-cracking-code-carved-medieval-double-edged-sword.html

The weapon was found at the bottom of the River Witham in Lincolnshire in 1825, but it's believed the 13th century sword originally belonged to a medieval knight.

...

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/07/09/2B2C927100000578-3187667-The_sword_is_on_display_as_part_of_the_library_s_exhibition_Magn-a-4_1438937126926.jpg)
The sword is on display as part of the library's exhibition Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy and is on loan from the British Museum. It's displayed alongside a 14th-century manuscript (pictured) of the Grandes chroniques de France, open at a page showing the French invasion of Normandy in 1203

........

The indecipherable inscription is inlaid with gold wire and experts have speculated the letters are a religious invocation since the language is unknown.

The sword was possibly crafted in Germany, meaning it could be written in a version of that tongue.

Harrison said the suggestions are coming in thick and fast and described some of them as 'weird and wonderful'.

'There's nothing that has hit the nail on the head so far.'

'The variety of languages that people are speculating its written in is interesting from Sicilian to Welsh'.

Janet Kennedy believes CHWDRGHD – in the middle of the inscription – is a misspelling of the German word for sword, making ORVI a name.

However, Joe commented on the blog: 'It looks like medieval Welsh: "No covering shall be over me," possibly meaning the sword and it's' owner will always be ready for battle'.

Harrison said this suggestion sounds plausible at first, but having studied the language, he could find no evidence to back up the suggestion.

________________________________

some nonsense with these guesses

http://www.metafilter.com/151980/NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI
87 posts - ?71 authors

_______________________________

at first glance I thought the last four letters were the ones you see on crucifixes but that was wrong
the inscription is INRI  not ORVI and translates this way

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t024.html
The letters "INRI" are initials for the Latin title that Pontius Pilate had written over the head of Jesus Christ on the cross (John 19:19). Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire.

The words were "Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm." Latin uses "I" instead of the English "J", and "V" instead of "U" (i.e., Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum). The English translation is "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."

Artist's impression of Christ on the cross. The Early Church adopted the first letters of each word of this inscription "INRI" as a symbol. Throughout the centuries INRI has appeared in many paintings of the crucifixion

sigh.. so much for that idea



perhaps it is a Templar sword...need more research


but I really thought  someone would have it figured out by now...  :(

One of the ideas I read about somewhere (it's possible that it has been mentioned in this thread already) is that it's possible that they just added those letters to make it look "cool", without any special meaning, like some people do with Chinese or Japanese characters in their tattoos. :)