- Rondel dagger
A rondel dagger (pronEng|ˈrɒndəl) or roundel dagger was a type of stiff-bladed
dagger inEurope in the lateMiddle Ages (from the14th century onwards), used by a variety of people frommerchant s toknight s. It was worn at the waist and might be used as a utility tool, or worn intobattle or ajousting tournament as a side-arm.tructure
The blade was typically long and slim, measuring 12
inch es (30 cm) or more; the whole dagger might be as long as 20 inches (50 cm). "Rondel" means round or circular; the dagger gets its name from its round (or similarly shaped, e.g.octagon al) hand guard and round or sphericalpommel (knob on the end of the grip).The blade was stiff, made from
steel , and the tang extended through the handle, which wascylindrical , normally carved wood or bone. In profile, the blade was usually diamond-shaped, lenticular, ortriangular . These blades would have a sharpened point, and either one or both edges would also be sharpened. They were principally designed for use with a stabbing action, either underarm, or over arm with a reverse grip (think ice pick). They would also have been used for cutting. The long straight blade would not have lent itself to a slashing orsabre action. Rondel daggers were ideal in battle for puncturing chain mail, and although they would not have been able to punch throughplate armour , they could be forced between the joints in a suit of armour andhelmet s. This was often the only way in which a heavily armoured knight could be killed.A few examples also exist of four-edged rondel daggerss, the blade having a cruciform profile. These blades would not have been suited for cutting, or use as a general utility tool; they would have been worn as a side-arm in battle. The rondel daggers which have survived and found their way into museums and collections are usually those with fine craftsmanship and often ornate decoration. The blades may be engraved, the grips ornately carved, and the hand guards and pommels highly decorated.
Usage
In a scene from a miniature by
Girat de Roussillon depicting the construction of twelve churches inFrance (c.1448 ), merchants and tradesmen can be seen wearing rondel daggers at their waists. Before the 1400s, daggers were actually apeasant 's weapon. However, in the15th century they became the standard side-arm for knights, and would have been carried into battles such as theBattle of Agincourt in1415 . They were a knight's backup weapon to be used in hand to hand fighting, and as such one of their last lines of defence. Since they were able to penetrate a suit of armour (at the joints, or through the visor of the helmet), rondel daggers could be used to force an unseated or wounded knight to surrender, for a knight might fetch a good ransom. Daggers may also have been thrown at unseated enemy knights to force them to engage in battle, though a mace was perhaps better suited to this task.ee also
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List of daggers
*List of medieval weapons
*Military technology and equipment External links
* [http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_spot_rondel.html Spotlight: The Rondel Dagger] (myArmoury.com article)
* [http://www.truefork.org/DragonPreservationSociety/dagger1/Talhoffer.php Website about Talhoffers Fetchbuch]
** [http://www.truefork.org/DragonPreservationSociety/TalhofferDaggerClass.php photographs of people practicing Talhoffer's rondel fighting techniques]
* [http://www.vanillachrist.com/kmarmor/arms.html Overview of Medieval arms and armour] - link broken 2005-12-20
* [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/warriorchallenge/print/print_knights_profile.html Overview of the 15th century knight's weapons and armour]
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