User blog:Aramirtheranger/Cut, Stab and Bludgeon- The Weapons of Medieval Europe: Daggers

This is the first in what I hope can become a series of posts about the weapons and armors used in Medieval Europe.

The importance of daggers was great to a commoner living in the city during Medieval Times. They needed a close quarters weapon to defend themselves with, and in peace time only travellers and nobles were allowed to wear swords. Here are the three most popular designs.

The Baselard dagger: The hilt of a Baselard dagger makes an I shape, and generally they have broader blades, and are double edged. The oldest of the three designs.

The bollock dagger: Yeah... you read that right. Phallic imagery was quite common in Medieval Europe, contradicting the misconception that they were all prudes back then. The people of Victorian England (who were prudes) christened it the "kidney" dagger, a blatant denial of what was staring them in the face. Narrower than the Baselard and may be single or double edged. This particular example is a more stylized one- others could be more, well, lifelike.



The rondel dagger: By far the most popular design. Either end of the hilt is capped with a round piece of metal, making it near impossible to lose your grip. Single edged and stiff bladed.