SARAH: Profane derives from the latin prefix pro, meaning outside of, and the latin fānum, temple. You profane, or defile, a holy object if you remove it from the temple.

RALPH: So the Prince means that the brawlers have profaned their steel swords by staining them with their neighbors' blood.

SARAH: The prince may be referring to this “unholy” use of swords - killing neighbors - in contrast to killing for holy or religious reasons, as medieval Christians thought they were doing by fighting in the crusades.

RALPH: But the term may simply mean here that killing your neighbor is so contrary to the civic values of the city that it’s as if it were unholy.