A Superb Original 11th Century Medieval Knightly Dagger, Made From a Re-Formed Knightly Sword,

Originally made for and used by a knight in the 11th century as a sword, then, in or around the following century, by a skilled sword smith, it was reformed and then used as a knightly dagger, continually until the reign of King Henry Vth into the Battle of Agincourt era [circa 1415].

This fabulous dagger was reformed in the medieval period by cutting down the upper third of the sword; the blade being broad, with shallow fuller and square shoulders, the guard narrow and tapering towards the ends; it bears a later formed 'acorn' style pommel. See Oakeshott, E., Records of the Medieval Sword, Woodbridge, 1991. 942 grams, 47cm (18 1/2"). From a private family collection; previously acquired from a collection formed before 1990; thence by descent. The weapon started life as a two-edged sword, probably of Oakeshott's Type XV with broad tang and narrow guard. There is a trace of bronze latten inlay below the shoulder to one face where one might expect to find inlaid motifs or a symbol. It is likely that the sword was damaged in combat at the time of the Norman conquests of England, from 1066 and thereafter, and using the damaged knights long sword, a large knightly dagger was created, by removing the unusable part, and repointing the shortened blade. Used by a knight [the lower orders were not allowed the use or ownership of fine knightly swords or daggers] as a close quarter combat dagger some time between the time of Henry Ist, King Stephen. [King Stephen and Queen Matilda, in the age of Anarchy,] and right through the reign of King Henry IInd, The King who was regarded responsible for the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket [often erroneously known as Thomas a Becket] the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Henry the 1st was the fourth son of William the Conqueror. Considered by contemporaries to be a harsh but effective ruler, Henry skilfully manipulated the barons in England and Normandy. In England, he drew on the existing Anglo-Saxon system of justice, local government and taxation, but also strengthened it with additional institutions, including the royal exchequer and itinerant justices. Normandy was also governed through a growing system of justices and an exchequer. Many of the officials that ran Henry's system were "new men" of obscure backgrounds rather than from families of high status, who rose through the ranks as administrators. Henry encouraged ecclesiastical reform, but became embroiled in a serious dispute in 1101 with Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, which was resolved through a compromise solution in 1105. He supported the Cluniac order and played a major role in the selection of the senior clergy in England and Normandy.

The early years of Stephen's reign were largely successful, despite a series of attacks on his possessions in England and Normandy by David I of Scotland, Welsh rebels, and the Empress Matilda's husband, Geoffrey of Anjou. In 1138 the Empress's half-brother Robert of Gloucester rebelled against Stephen, threatening civil war. Together with his close advisor, Waleran de Beaumont, Stephen took firm steps to defend his rule, including arresting a powerful family of bishops. When the Empress and Robert invaded in 1139, however, Stephen was unable to crush the revolt rapidly, and it took hold in the south-west of England. Captured at the battle of Lincoln in 1141, Stephen was abandoned by many of his followers and lost control of Normandy. Stephen was freed only after his wife and William of Ypres, one of his military commanders, captured Robert at the Rout of Winchester, but the war dragged on for many years with neither side able to win an advantage. Henry IInd was an energetic and sometimes ruthless ruler, driven by a desire to restore the lands and privileges of his royal grandfather, Henry I. During the early years of the younger Henry II’s reign he restored the royal administration in England, re-established hegemony over Wales and gained full control over his lands in Anjou, Maine and Touraine. Henry's desire to reform the relationship with the Church led to conflict with his former friend Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. This controversy lasted for much of the 1160s and resulted in Becket's murder in 1170.

Henry soon came into conflict with Louis VII and the two rulers fought what has been termed a "cold war" over several decades. Henry expanded his empire, often at Louis' expense, taking Brittany and pushing east into central France and south into Toulouse; despite numerous peace conferences and treaties no lasting agreement was reached. By 1172, he controlled England, large parts of Wales, the eastern half of Ireland and the western half of France, an area that would later come to be called the Angevin Empire. Henry and Eleanor had eight children—three daughters and five sons. Three of his sons would be king, though Henry the Young King was named his father's co-ruler rather than a stand-alone king. As the sons grew up, tensions over the future inheritance of the empire began to emerge, encouraged by Louis and his son King Philip II. In 1173 Henry's heir apparent, "Young Henry", rebelled in protest; he was joined by his brothers Richard (later a king) and Geoffrey and by their mother, Eleanor. France, Scotland, Brittany, Flanders, and Boulogne allied themselves with the rebels. The Great Revolt was only defeated by Henry's vigorous military action and talented local commanders, many of them "new men" appointed for their loyalty and administrative skills. Young Henry and Geoffrey revolted again in 1183, resulting in Young Henry's death.

The Norman invasion of Ireland provided lands for his youngest son John (later a king), but Henry struggled to find ways to satisfy all his sons' desires for land and immediate power. By 1189, Young Henry and Geoffrey were dead, and Philip successfully played on Richard's fears that Henry II would make John king, leading to a final rebellion. Decisively defeated by Philip and Richard and suffering from a bleeding ulcer, Henry retreated to Chinon Castle in Anjou. He died soon afterwards and was succeeded by Richard known as Richard the Lionheart.

This dagger would have likely been used continually past the era of King Richard for another 200 years into to the 1400's, past the Battle of Crecy and into the Battle of Agincourt era, for knightly swords and daggers were extraordinarily valuable, and simply never discarded unless they were too damaged to use and beyond repair. From the time after Agincourt, knightly dagger patterns changed to become longer and much narrower, with considerably smaller guards. There were three main later dagger types then, called called rondel, ear and ballock. Almost every iron weapon that has survived today from this era is now in a fully russetted condition, as is this one, because only some of the swords of kings, that have been preserved in national or Royal collections are today still in a fairly good state of preservation and condition. This dagger is certainly in good condition for its age, it’s cross guard is, as usual, mobile, as organic wooden grips almost never survive in weapons of such great age.
Daggers [bespoke made or adapted from earlier long swords] of this form were clearly used well into the age of Henry Vth as carved marble and stone tombs, or monumental brasses, covering buried knights within churches and cathedrals are often adorned in full armour combined with such knightly daggers and swords, and they are also further depicted at the time in illuminated manuscripts or paintings of knightly battles such as of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt at the time.

Code: 23420