と言う

[spank]

I have a question about this. I've seen it many places and heard that it means something like......"the so called, the named..., said of..."

Can someone please explain how it works in the following sentence? The finer grammatical explanations are always appreciated.

１９世紀末でも、イギリス海軍の船員は、そうすることが弱さの印だという理由で、ナイフとフォークを使うことを許されていなかった。 [T]
Even at the end of the nineteenth century, sailors in the British Navy were not permitted to use knives and forks because using them was considered a sign of weakness.

ya.....i really don't understand how .....to iu .....functions in this sentence.
"the impression of weakness was the so-called reason"?

anyone?

[richvh]

I'd make it, "the reason was said to be that doing so was a mark of weakness."