Rondel dagger
Also known as: rondelová dýka
A medieval dagger with a round or many-sided guard and pommel and a needle-like point, meant to pierce mail and the weak points of plate armour.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
The rondel dagger developed in the 14th century from the early knightly daggers of the 12th and 13th centuries, and by the 15th century it was standard military equipment for knights. It was used by people from merchants to knights; in the 15th century it also spread among the members of the emerging middle class, merchants and craftsmen. It got its name from its round or similarly shaped guard, for instance octagonal, and its round or ball-shaped pommel. The blade measures 30 cm or more and narrows to a needle-like point, the grip is cylindrical, and the whole dagger can be up to 51 cm long. It served to pierce and tear the rings of mail and penetrated the weaker points of plate armour and helmets: thinner plates, gaps and joints. Hans Talhoffer, in his manuals from the 1440s to 1460s, gives a number of techniques for fighting with the rondel dagger both unarmoured and in armoured combat. England's King Richard III suffered a sharp blow to the crown of the head at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 from a pointed weapon such as a rondel dagger.
Related weapons
- Gave rise to: Stiletto
Care and maintenance
Historical sources
- Talhoffer Fechtbücher (Hans Talhoffer, 1448–1467) (techniky rondelové dýky bez zbroje i ve zbroji)