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Antoine Marçal Rondel Dagger A hands-on review by Bill Grandy The knife is one of mankind's oldest tools. From ancient stone implements to modern blades, the knife and its martial cousin the dagger have served as both daily tools as well as weapons. Despite its timeless nature, though, its design has taken on many forms, always dependent on the knife's intended use. The rondel dagger was a popular design in the Middle Ages. Named so for its distinctive disc-shaped guard and/or pommel, which were known as rondels, this design could be seen in period art throughout the later Medieval time period and even into the Renaissance. The design is quite prevalent in period fencing treatises as well, and is quite often illustrated in use in both unarmoured fighting and fully plate-armoured combat. While just about any dagger could be utilized for such fighting, the fact that this design was so commonly depicted is telling if we look at the properties of such weapons. Rondel daggers vary in design. Nonetheless, a great number are single-edged with a sharp thrusting point. Some rondel daggers were not even sharp along the edge and in some cases were completely edgeless. These weapons were primarily thrusting weapons, even if they had the ability to cut. Medieval clothing oftentimes involved multiple layers for warmth, perhaps covered with some form of wool outer-garment. Slashing attacks would have little effect against an opponent except for exposed areas such as the hands. It is because of this that the thrust was the predominant method of attack. Furthermore, when used in armoured combat, cuts were all but useless, even with swords. Thrusting into the exposed joints and openings of the armour was necessary to defeat a well-defended opponent. Quite often a knight was forced to subdue his opponent by closing in to grapple and wrestle him to the ground. In this scenario a weapon such as a sword would be too large and awkward for the close press, and was often dropped. The dagger would be quickly called into play for thrusting into the exposed openings of a pinned knight. It was important for the dagger to have a sturdy blade in order to handle such thrusts, as one did not want a blade snapping as it got caught between the plates of the armour, or as it thrust into mail defenses. Even still, an edge was clearly thought to be useful, as evidenced by the many antique daggers that are sharpened. Slices to the exposed dagger hand are shown in period manuals for unarmoured combat. In armoured combat there are instructions to cut the leather straps of the opponent's armour once he is pinned on the ground. Ultimately, though, the thrust was the most vital aspect of dagger combat for the 14th and 15th century. Overview This dagger is the product of Could not connect to link database |
