Swiss dagger
Encyclopedia
The Swiss dagger is a distinctive type of dagger
used in Switzerland
and by Swiss mercenaries
during the 16th century.
It develops from similar dagger types known as basler
which were in use during the 14th and 15th centuries. The characteristic mark of the Swiss dagger are two crescent-shaped, inward-bent metal bars delimiting the hilt
.
The curved shape of the Swiss dagger hilt appeared as early as the 13th century and remained peculiar to Switzerland, and do not appear to have been imitated elsewhere. The blade was characteristically double edged, tapering to a point and was, on earlier examples, sometimes diamond shape in cross-section.
One of the masterpieces of Hans Holbein the Younger
is a design for a dance of death on the sheath of such a dagger (which was implemented on a number of surviving examples), and for this reason the Swiss dagger has sometimes also been referred to as "Holbein dagger".
After 1550, the Swiss dagger became a prestigious ornamental weapon, with hilt and sheath decorated with precious metal and scenes from the Bible, classical antiquity or Swiss history.
The Swiss dagger disappears after 1600. About 150 specimens in the style of the late 16th centuries are known worldwide, but more than half of this number are modern imitations.
The ordonnance dagger issued to officers in the Swiss Army was modelled after the historical Swiss dagger in 1943.
In Nazi Germany
, the hilts of some political and military dagger
s (worn by members of SS, SA
, and NSKK
formations) were modelled on the Swiss dagger.
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
used in Switzerland
Early Modern Switzerland
The early modern history of the Old Swiss Confederacy , lasting from formal independence in 1648 to the French invasion of 1798 came to be referred as Ancien Régime retrospectively, in post-Napoleonic Switzerland.The early modern period was characterized by an increasingly...
and by Swiss mercenaries
Swiss mercenaries
Swiss mercenaries were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially the armies of the Kings of France, throughout the Early Modern period of European history, from the Later Middle Ages into the Age of the European Enlightenment...
during the 16th century.
It develops from similar dagger types known as basler
Baselard
The baselard is a historical type of dagger or short sword of the Late Middle Ages.In modern use by antiquarians, the term baselard is mostly reserved for a type of 14th...
which were in use during the 14th and 15th centuries. The characteristic mark of the Swiss dagger are two crescent-shaped, inward-bent metal bars delimiting the hilt
Hilt
The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard,grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case...
.
The curved shape of the Swiss dagger hilt appeared as early as the 13th century and remained peculiar to Switzerland, and do not appear to have been imitated elsewhere. The blade was characteristically double edged, tapering to a point and was, on earlier examples, sometimes diamond shape in cross-section.
One of the masterpieces of Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...
is a design for a dance of death on the sheath of such a dagger (which was implemented on a number of surviving examples), and for this reason the Swiss dagger has sometimes also been referred to as "Holbein dagger".
After 1550, the Swiss dagger became a prestigious ornamental weapon, with hilt and sheath decorated with precious metal and scenes from the Bible, classical antiquity or Swiss history.
The Swiss dagger disappears after 1600. About 150 specimens in the style of the late 16th centuries are known worldwide, but more than half of this number are modern imitations.
The ordonnance dagger issued to officers in the Swiss Army was modelled after the historical Swiss dagger in 1943.
In Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, the hilts of some political and military dagger
Dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...
s (worn by members of SS, SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, and NSKK
NSKK
NSKK:* National Socialist Motor Corps * Nippon Sei Ko Kai...
formations) were modelled on the Swiss dagger.
See also
- List of daggers
- Medieval dagger
- Swiss degenSwiss degenThe Swiss degen was a short sword, an elongated version of the Swiss dagger, with the same double-crescent shape of the guard.It was used as a type of side arm in the Old Swiss Confederacy and especially by Swiss mercenaries, from the first half of the 15th century until the mid 16th century.The...
- BaselardBaselardThe baselard is a historical type of dagger or short sword of the Late Middle Ages.In modern use by antiquarians, the term baselard is mostly reserved for a type of 14th...
- Swiss arms and armourSwiss arms and armourThe Swiss developed a number of characteristic weapons during their period of military activity in the 15th and early 16th centuries, perfected further during the Early Modern period ....