Rondel dagger

Rondel dagger

A rondel dagger (pronEng|ˈrɒndəl) or roundel dagger was a type of stiff-bladed dagger in Europe in the late Middle Ages (from the 14th century onwards), used by a variety of people from merchants to knights. It was worn at the waist and might be used as a utility tool, or worn into battle or a jousting tournament as a side-arm.

tructure

The blade was typically long and slim, measuring 12 inches (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. octagonal) hand guard and round or spherical pommel (knob on the end of the grip).

The blade was stiff, made from steel, and the tang extended through the handle, which was cylindrical, normally carved wood or bone. In profile, the blade was usually diamond-shaped, lenticular, or triangular. 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 or sabre action. Rondel daggers were ideal in battle for puncturing chain mail, and although they would not have been able to punch through plate armour, they could be forced between the joints in a suit of armour and helmets. 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 in France (c. 1448), merchants and tradesmen can be seen wearing rondel daggers at their waists. Before the 1400s, daggers were actually a peasant's weapon. However, in the 15th century they became the standard side-arm for knights, and would have been carried into battles such as the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. 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

*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]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Rondel Dagger — A conical shaped dagger, rather than flat bladed, that came to a point. a military dagger witht he pommel and hand guard formed of roundels. The dagger was often 18” long or more, with a single edged, or even triangular, blade …   Medieval glossary

  • Rondel — (from Old French, the diminutive of roont round , meaning small circle ) may refer to: * Rondel (dagger) or roundel , type of medieval dagger * Rondel (armour), a circular piece of steel, as part of an armour harness, that normally protects a… …   Wikipedia

  • Dagger — This article is about the weapon. For other uses, see Dagger (disambiguation). A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.[1][2] The design dates to human prehistory, and… …   Wikipedia

  • dagger — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. dirk, stiletto, poniard, knife, bodkin. See arms. II (Roget s IV) n. Syn. stiletto, dirk, blade; see knife . • look daggers at, Syn. glower, look at with anger, look at with hatred, scowl at; see… …   English dictionary for students

  • Bollock dagger — Design of a guard for a ballock dagger with top mount of the scabbard, by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1536–38 …   Wikipedia

  • Parrying dagger — An example of unsuccessful main gauche use A parrying dagger demonstrated in a modern bout …   Wikipedia

  • Ear dagger — An ear dagger is a relatively rare and exotic form of dagger that was used during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. It is so named because the pommel of the dagger has a very distinctive shape, in some cases not unlike a human ear. Ear… …   Wikipedia

  • Dirk — For other uses, see Dirk (disambiguation). Japanese WW2 naval dirk A dirk is a short thrusting dagger, sometimes a cut down sword blade mounted on a dagger hilt rather than a knife blade. Like the cutlass historically used as a boarding weapon… …   Wikipedia

  • Waster — Infobox Weapon name=Waster caption= From the left: arming sword, longsword, rondel, longsword, falchion. origin= Western Europe type= Practice Weapon is ranged= is bladed=yes is explosive= is artillery= is vehicle= is UK= service= Late Bronze Age …   Wikipedia

  • Misericorde (weapon) — A misericorde was a long, narrow knife, used in medieval times to deliver the death stroke (the mercy stroke, hence the name of the blade, derived from the Latin misericordia mercy ) to a seriously wounded knight. The blade was thin enough so… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”