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Let’s
discuss parrying daggers. It came up
recently in an interesting discussion about female arms and armor, so it’s been
on my mind. I’m not going to go into all
the various sundry how-to of sword-and-dagger combinations that can be used, as
there is no real definitive conclusion on the subject. Simply put, parrying daggers add an
offensive/defensive character to a combat style in many of the same ways that
shield or buckler might, while at the same time removing the added force and
control of two hands on a sword or spear—also in the same ways a shield or
buckler might.
This
will just be a quick description of three of the most common (though not exhaustive)
types of parrying-daggers from the 16th century in Europe, when this
style of fighting was at its peak when paired with a saber or rapier:
swordbreakers, trident daggers and main gauche.
Swordbreakers
Despite its name,
the “swordbreaker” was not intended to actually break swords. “Sword catcher” or “thrust breaker” might be a better term for what was
intended. The sturdy, short-blade with
serrated teeth like a comb would be used in combination with a sword to parry
and hopefully trap an opponent’s sword.
Most weapons of this era were made from strong, flexible steel and would
have withstood most attempts to break them.
Swordbreakers, in comparison with other parrying daggers, were a
complicated and likely expensive item that weren’t really worth the
effort. For these reasons, while they
have some mention in fencing manuals and training, they weren’t as prevalent as
other parrying daggers.
Trident
Daggers
This has to be one
of my personal favorites mostly because this is a case, much to my chagrin,
where Hollywood got it right—or at least mostly right. Trident daggers were actually a thing. Two spring-loaded blades are meant to jut out
into a trident-like dagger, surprise the enemy, and trap the blade. Disney’s Three Musketeers featured this
weapon in the hands of Porthos (Oliver Platt), and while again it wouldn’t have
broken a blade, it certainly was a real thing of which we have examples.
Main
Guache
French for “left
hand” this is a category for literally any dagger used to parry or thrust from the subordinate/off
hand. I’m not even certain if it’s
considered a historical term. It may simply
have become the term de rigueur as meurtrière is used to describe “murder
holes” and trebuchet is meant to
describe any number of traction slings from around the world. Still, the main gauche would often be a
dagger specifically paired with a sword for parrying and counter-thrusts
opposite, or together with, the sword hand.
From rondels to misericorde
to, well, any other style of dagger.
There are simply too many to name.
But when used as an off-hand weapon, main gauche is the modern term to
use. Even the previously mentioned
trident dagger is sometimes called a trident main gauche. Go figure!
Two-sword
fighting probably needs a good, bleach-based debunking (and perhaps we’ll get
to that someday), but dagger-and-sword fighting generally doesn’t. The dagger, opposite its sword counterpart
(usually a rapier), was studied and developed as a style of fighting, most
specifically during the Renaissance period.
This wasn’t unique to European sword fighting, as illustrated by other
cultures like the Japanese daisho with
a matched pair consisting of a long katana
and short wakizashi (although other
variations existed).
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