Help solve a medieval mystery -- what is written on this sword's blade?



LONDON, England --  Researchers at the British Library have a mystery on their hands so naturally they turned to the internet to try and sort it out.

But it’s going to take more than a quick search of Bing or Google to crack this one.

The library borrowed a 13th century medieval sword from the British Muesum to display as part of a larger collection of artifacts.

The sword has an inscription on its blade, but no one seems to know what the inscription says.

“It has been speculated that this is a religious invocation, since the language is unknown,” wrote a library staffer on its blog where photos of the sword were posted.

This is the inscription:

+NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI+


The staff hopes by sharing the photos and the inscription the collective internet might be able to track down some answers.

Hundreds of theories have been offered and the comments thread on the library blog has been garnering more theories ever since the photos were first posted.

Researchers have updated the blog post saying it is their belief the language may be Latin and noting that several similar swords with similar mysterious inscriptions have been found in a number of other European countries.

By the way, if you want to get a closer look at the sword and offer a theory in person it will be on display at the British Library in London along with the Magna Carta through September 1st.