Medieval Cruciform Knife Brass Handle

The daggers are sharp weapons very similar to the knife, but with a reduced size (between 8 and 12 inches). Its blade does not cut (it can only be wounded with the tip) and its use has been documented throughout history as a defensive weapon by soldiers, from ancient times to the present day.

Among the most popular types of daggers, the following stand out:

• The bayonet: it is a dagger that is placed in the mouth of a rifle to give it utility in close combat. It was very popular between the 17th and 19th centuries.

• The ‘almarada’: of Arab origin. This type is characterized by having three edges. They are usually made of steel and with a wooden handle.

• The gumía: dagger of Arab origin and that can be made of various materials, from ivory to camel bone.

• The pugno: it was widely used by the Romans during the Republic. It was adopted from the Hispanic people.

But the typical daggers are slightly longer, but without being considered a sword. The first examples of daggers are found in the third millennium BC. in the Bronze Age. At that time, the materials of which they were composed were bone, ivory or flint. Throughout history it has been gaining prominence in different cultures. We highlight two types:

• -The stiletto -or mercy dagger-: it is a small dagger with a very sharp blade. It is of Italian origin.

• The sail dagger: Spanish variant whose use spread in the seventeenth century because fencing began to fight with two hands. In the hand in which the sword was not wielded, this candle dagger - or left-hand dagger - was carried. This had several functionalities: blocking the opponent's blow, breaking the tip of the opponent's sword or directly wounding at close range. In addition, the long hawks that some specimens incorporated were used to catch the blade of the opponent's sword. These daggers always matched the sword they complemented.