In fantasy games and literature (as well as mythical traditions) characters often wield powerful named weapons such as mjolnir or oathkeeper in battle in ways that are intimately tied with their characters. Did this happen in historical settings or were elaborate named weapons (such as these listed here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_historical_swords?wprov=sfla1) used primarily for ceremonial purposes? The list includes some that were said to be used like the Wallace sword, but would that have been the primary sword used by William Wallace or would it be be used in a more symbolic fashion most of the time (also I consider the Wallace sword to be a bit of cop out since it simply shared his name) ? Are there any historical figures that were defined by the use of their specific named weapon in ways similar to a fictional character?
Named swords (and other weapons) have a long history in many cultures around the world. From Europe to Asia, the naming of weaponry was commonly practiced in various ways.
The naming of weapons no doubt has a lot to do with ceremony. Tao Hongjing (456 - 536 AD), a patriarch of the Shanqing school of Daoism, compiled a record of famous swords at the request of Emperor Wu of Liang (r.502 – 549). In the text “Records of Ancient and Recent Swords” (古今刀劍錄), Tao gives a listing of the swords that belonged to various kings and emperors and the inscriptions that were made on the sword. The inscriptions were often representative of aspirations or desires of the owner. A number of swords were named after the owner or the reign period of the ruler in which the sword was made. Some were given what we might consider “actual” names. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty (r. 180 – 157 BC) supposedly had a sword named “Divine Tortoise” (神龟) which had many engravings of tortoises on it. Emperor Xuanwu (r. 499 – 515 AD) of Northern Wei had a sword called “White Deer” (白鹿). The most famous sword, of course, was the sword belonging to Emperor Gaozu, founder of the Han Dynasty. Tao notes that the sword had an inscription that read “Red Sky [heaven]” (赤霄), but it is most commonly known as the “Snake Cutting Sword” (斩蛇剑). The name refers to a legendary event where the emperor, before he became such, slew a great white serpent. As with many swords, Gaozu’s Snake Cutting Sword became a symbol of imperial authority and miraculous power, much like King Arthur’s Excalibur. There was an apocryphal story which related that one of the emperors of the Jin Dynasty (the ruling dynasty following the famous Three Kingdoms period) had stored Gaozu’s sword in a military warehouse. However, the warehouse burned down and the sword was lost. Subsequently, the Jin Dynasty’s control over China was smashed by invaders from the north.
On a more practical level, we can look to Europe for examples of swords being named in a more military context. There were a number of Iron Age swords and spears recovered across Germanic areas with runes inscribed upon them. A spearhead found in Sweden had the word “Howler” carved into it. Another spearhead found in Germany had the word “Router” carved into it. There were also the famous mythical and literary swords such as Sigurd’s Gram (“Wrath”) and Beowulf’s Hrunting (“Thrusting”). These names could easily be seen as representing the qualities of the weapon (a spear howls through the air or a sword is good at thrusting) or the actions that you would want to accomplish with the weapon (the spear routes the enemy). From the 11th Century, there were a few swords recovered which had various forms of “In the name of the Lord” inscribed upon them in the Latin alphabet. The inscriptions had a very practical purpose to them. In the “Lay of Sigurd”, Brynhild tells Sigurd that “Victory-runes you must cut if you want to have victory, and cut them on your sword hilt; some on the blade-guards, some on the plates, and invoke Tyr twice” (Larrington 167).
In both the Chinese and Germanic examples, the point is that naming a weapon imbues that weapon with a certain quality or certain property. Names are what define us and, in turn, we give meaning to names. With weapons, it is no different. The naming of weapons was a means of imbuing the weapon with quality and meaning. Often times the names were there for a practical purpose, other times it was for a more ceremonial or aesthetic purpose. Either way, the weapons so often take on a personality of their own and an association with their owner that goes simply beyond owner and property. As with King Arthur and Excalibur, Gaozu and the Snake Killing Sword, and many other famous and literary individuals and their swords, the sword and its owner become mirrors of each other, inextricably linked in quality and action.
Sources:
Tao, Hongjing. Gujin Daojian Lu 古今刀劍錄 [Record of Ancient and New Swords]. Accessed December 18, 2016. http://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&res=493867.
Fukunaga, Mitsuji. “Daojiao de Jing yu Jian – Qi Sixiang de Yuanliu” 道教的鏡與劍 - 其思想的源流 [Daoist Mirrors and Swords – The Origin of its Thought]. In Riben Xuezhe Yanjiu Zhongguo shi Lunzhu Xuan yi di Qi Juan Sixiang Zongjiao日本学者研究中国史论著选译 第七卷 思想宗教 [Selected Translations of Japanese Scholars on Chinese History: Volume 7 – Ideological and Religious Studies], edited by Liu Junmen, 389-442. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1993.
Larrington, Carolyne, trans., The Poetic Edda.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Macleod, Mindy and Bernard Mees. Runic Amulets and Magic Objects. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2006.
Peirce, Ian. Swords of the Viking Age. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2002.
Tambiah, S.J. “The Magical Power of Words.” in Man: New Series, vol.3 (Jun. 1968): 175-208.
Follow-up question: how common was it to name your sword? Would it be comparable with when some people name their cars or guitars?