A rondel dagger or roundel dagger is a type of stiff-bladed

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

used in Europe in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

(from the 14th century onwards), used by a variety of people from

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

s to

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

s. It was worn at the waist and could be used as a utility tool, or worn into

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

or in a

jousting Jousting is a medieval and renaissance martial game or hastilude between two combatants either on horse or on foot. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the knight in Romantic medievalism. The term is derived from Old French , ultim ...

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

as a

side arm Sidearm, side-arm or Side Arm(s) may refer to: * Sidearm (weapon), a backup weapon *Sidearm (baseball) In baseball, sidearm is a motion for throwing a ball along a low, approximately horizontal plane rather than a high, mostly vertical plane (Ov ...

Design and construction

The blade is made of

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

, and is typically long and slim with a tapering needle point, measuring or more; the whole dagger can be as long as . ''Rondel'' means 'round' or 'circular'; the dagger gets its name from its round (or similarly shaped, e.g.

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

al) hand guard and round or

spherical A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

pommel (knob on the end of the grip). The blade's tang extends through the handle, which is

cylindrical A cylinder () has traditionally been a Solid geometry, three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a Prism (geometry), prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may ...

, normally carved from wood or bone. In cross section, the blade is usually

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

-shaped, lenticular, or

triangular A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimensional ...

. These blades have a sharpened point, and either one or both edges are also sharpened, while some had no sharpened edges at all. They were principally designed for use with a stabbing action, either underarm, or over arm with a reverse grip (reminiscent of an

ice pick An ice pick is a pointed metal tool used to break, pick or chip at ice. The design consists of a sharp metal spike attached to a handle. Though traditionally made out of wood, modern variants may have a plastic or rubber handle to improve safet ...

). The long straight blade does not lend itself to a slashing or

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

action. Rondel daggers were designed to be ideal for close-quarter combat which often requires

grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

. They were used for puncturing and bursting the links in

mail armour Mail (sometimes spelled maille and, since the 18th century, colloquially referred to as chain mail, chainmail or chain-mail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common milita ...

and they could penetrate the weaker points in

plate armour Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, es ...

and

helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the Human head, head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a Custodian helmet, policeman's helmet in the Unite ...

, such as areas of thinner plate, any gaps and the various joints. The wide, spherical pommel might have assisted by making it easier for the user to push or punch the point of the dagger home. As armour improved, puncturing in such ways was one of the only ways in which the heavy armour of

men-at-arms A man-at-arms was a soldier of the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully-armoured heavy cavalryman. A man-at-arms could be a knight, or other nobleman, a member of a kni ...

could be breached. Examples also exist of four-edged rondel daggers, the blade having a

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

profile. These blades are not suited for cutting, or use as a general utility tool; they were worn as a side-arm in battle as a thrusting weapon, foreshadowing the appearance of the

stiletto A stiletto (plural stilettos) is a specialized dagger with a long slender blade and needle-like point, primarily intended as a thrusting and stabbing weapon.Limburg, Peter R., ''What's In The Names Of Antique Weapons'', Coward, McCann & Geoghega ...

in the 16th century. 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.

Use

The rondel dagger evolved in the 14th century from the early

knightly dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-us ...

of the 12th to 13th centuries, matching the evolution of full plate armour. By the 15th century it had become the standard side-arm for knights, and was carried into battle, such as the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...

in 1415. The contemporary post-mortem on the remains of King Richard III showed that at the Battle of Bosworth, in 1485, he suffered a sharp blow from a pointed weapon such as a rondel dagger on the crown of the head, before other fatal wounds were administered. They were a knight's backup weapon to be used in hand-to-hand fighting, and as such one of their last lines of defense. 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 and be kept for ransom. In the 15th century, the rondel dagger also rose to popularity among the emerging

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

. In a scene from a miniature by

Girart de Roussillon Girart de Roussillon, also called ''Girard'', ''Gérard II'', ''Gyrart de Vienne,'' and ''Girart de Fraite'', (c. 810–877/879?) was a Frankish Burgundian leader who became Count of Paris in 837, and embraced the cause of Lothair I against Char ...

, depicting the construction of twelve churches in France (c. 1448), merchants and tradesmen can be seen wearing rondel daggers at their waists.

Hans Talhoffer Hans Talhoffer (Dalhover, Talhouer, Thalhoffer, Talhofer; – after 1482) was a German fencing master. His martial lineage is unknown, but his writings make it clear that he had some connection to the tradition of Johannes Liechtenauer, th ...

, in his

combat manual Martial arts manuals are instructions, with or without illustrations, specifically designed to be learnt from a book. Many books detailing specific techniques of martial arts are often erroneously called manuals but were written as treatises. Pros ...

s of the 1440s to 1460s, includes numerous examples of techniques for fighting with the rondel dagger, both in unarmoured combat and in single combat in armour. File:Rondel dagger merchants small.jpg, Merchants wearing rondels ( uncropped version) File:Augsburg Cod.I.6.4º.2 (Codex Wallerstein) 107v.jpg,

Armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

longsword A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximatel ...

combatants wearing roundel daggers as backup weapons (plate 214, '' Codex Wallerstein'', 15th century)

References

External links

Spotlight: The Rondel Dagger
(myArmoury.com article)
Website about Talhoffers Fetchbuch

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rondel Dagger Daggers Medieval European swords

Design and construction

Use

See also

References

External links