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93-566: A wide variety of thrusting knives have been described as daggers, including knives that feature only a single cutting edge, such as the European rondel dagger or the Afghan pesh-kabz , or, in some instances, no cutting edge at all, such as the stiletto of the Renaissance . However, in the last hundred years or so, in most contexts, a dagger has certain definable characteristics, including

186-452: A 30 cm (1 ft) shaft and a larger, broader blade one foot (0.3m) long. This weapon is otherwise known as the iklwa or ixwa , after the sound that was heard as it was withdrawn from the victim's wound. The traditional spear was not abandoned, but was used to range attack enemy formations before closing in for close quarters battle with the iklwa. This tactical combination originated during Shaka's military reforms . This weapon

279-552: A blade of 7–12 in (18–30 cm). The design and fabrication of the pugio was taken directly from Iberian daggers and short swords; the Romans even adopted the triangular-bladed Iberian dagger, which they called the parazonium . Like the gladius , the pugio was most often used as a thrusting (stabbing weapon). As an extreme close-quarter combat weapon, the pugio was the Roman soldier's last line of defense. When not in battle,

372-797: A circular schiltron on the first day of the Battle of Bannockburn . However, the rectangular schiltron was much more common and was used by King Robert the Bruce on the second day of the Battle of Bannockburn and in the Battle of Old Byland when he defeated English armies. Throwing spears became rarer as the Middle Ages drew on, but survived in the hands of specialists such as the Catalan Almogavars . They were commonly used in Ireland until

465-554: A clear difference remained between spears designed to be thrown and those designed to be used in hand-to-hand combat. By the Magdalenian period (c. 15,000–9500 BC), spear-throwers similar to the later atlatl were in use. The spear is the main weapon of the warriors of Homer 's Iliad . The use of both a single thrusting spear and two throwing spears are mentioned. It has been suggested that two styles of combat are being described; an early style, with thrusting spears, dating to

558-577: A common arm and tool for civilian use by the late medieval period. The earliest known depiction of a cross-hilt dagger is the so-called "Guido relief" inside the Grossmünster of Zürich ( c.  1120 ). A number of depictions of the fully developed cross-hilt dagger are found in the Morgan Bible ( c.  1240 ). Many of these cross-hilt daggers resemble miniature swords, with cross guards and pommels very similar in form to swords of

651-635: A defensive block. When men on horses tried to get by these blocks, they would often be killed by the spears that could poke through the shield walls. Spears became more common than swords and axes because of how cheap, long, and fast spears were made. Broadly speaking, spears were either designed to be used in melee, or to be thrown. Within this simple classification, there was a remarkable range of types. For example, M. J. Swanton identified thirty different spearhead categories and sub-categories in early Saxon England. Most medieval spearheads were generally leaf-shaped. Notable types of early medieval spears include

744-448: A general utility tool; they were worn as a side-arm in battle as a thrusting weapon, foreshadowing the appearance of the stiletto in the 16th century. Rondel daggers which have survived and found their way into museums and collections are usually those with fine craftsmanship and often ornate decoration. The blades may be engraved, the grips ornately carved, and the hand guards and pommels highly decorated. The rondel dagger evolved in

837-546: A head made from metal. These heads may either be single-edged, double-edged or barbed. Styles vary according to function and origin. For example, a sibat designed for fishing may not be the same as those used for hunting. The spear was used as the primary weapon in expeditions and battles against neighbouring island kingdoms and it became famous during the 1521 Battle of Mactan , where the chieftain Lapu Lapu of Cebu fought against Spanish forces led by Ferdinand Magellan who

930-414: A hunter to dress as a buffalo and lure one into a ravine where other hunters were hiding. Once the buffalo appeared, the other hunters would kill him with spears. A variation of this technique, called the buffalo jump , was when a runner would lead the animals towards a cliff. As the buffalo got close to the cliff, other members of the tribe would jump out from behind rocks or trees and scare the buffalo over

1023-448: A metal spearhead shaped like a triangle , diamond , or leaf . The heads of fishing spears usually feature multiple sharp points , with or without barbs. Spears can be divided into two broad categories: those designed for thrusting as a melee weapon (including weapons such as lances and pikes ) and those designed for throwing as a ranged weapon (usually referred to as javelins ). The spear has been used throughout human history as

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1116-446: A meteorite discovered in the area, deposited by an ancient meteor shower . One of the earliest objects made of smelted iron is a dagger dating to before 2000 BC, found in a context that suggests it was treated as an ornamental object of great value. Found in a Hattic royal tomb dated about 2500 BC, at Alaca Höyük in northern Anatolia, the dagger has a smelted iron blade and a gold handle. The artisans and blacksmiths of Iberia in what

1209-448: A pointed weapon such as a rondel dagger on the crown of the head, before other fatal wounds were administered. They were a knight's backup weapon to be used in hand-to-hand fighting, and as such one of their last lines of defense. Since they were able to penetrate a suit of armour (at the joints, or through the visor of the helmet), rondel daggers could be used to force an unseated or wounded knight to surrender and be kept for ransom. In

1302-551: A pre-Celtic people dominating the lands west of Iberia (most of modern Portugal and Extremadura ) successfully held off the Roman Empire for many years with a variety of innovative tactics and light weapons, including iron-bladed short spears and daggers modeled after Iberian patterns. During the Roman Empire, legionaries were issued a pugio (from the Latin pugnō , or "fight"), a double-edged iron thrusting dagger with

1395-581: A primatologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Southern California , has suggested that the discovery of spear use by chimpanzees means that early humans may have used wooden spears before this. From circa 200,000 BC onwards, Middle Paleolithic humans began to make complex stone blades with flaked edges which were used as spear heads. These stone heads could be fixed to the spear shaft by gum or resin or by bindings made of animal sinew, leather strips or vegetable matter. During this period,

1488-539: A revival in the 1930s. Spear hunting is still practiced in the United States. Animals taken are primarily wild boar and deer , although trophy animals as large as Cape Buffalo have been hunted with spears. Alligators are hunted in Florida with a type of harpoon . One of the gymnastic exercises performed by the ancient Greeks was the throwing of a spear, referred to as ἀκυντισμός. Like many weapons,

1581-558: A ring from the girdle". In the Late Middle Ages, knives with blade designs that emphasized thrusting attacks, such as the stiletto, became increasingly popular, and some thrusting knives commonly referred to as 'daggers' ceased to have a cutting edge. This was a response to the deployment of heavy armor, such as maille and plate armour , where cutting attacks were ineffective and focus was on thrusts with narrow blades to punch through mail or aim at armour plate intersections (or

1674-607: A short blade with a sharply tapered point, a central spine or fuller , and usually two cutting edges sharpened the full length of the blade, or nearly so. Most daggers also feature a full crossguard to keep the hand from riding forwards onto the sharpened blade edges. Daggers are primarily weapons, so knife legislation in many places restricts their manufacture, sale, possession, transport, or use. The earliest daggers were made of materials such as flint , ivory or bone in Neolithic times. Copper daggers appeared first in

1767-442: A simple hasta and, perhaps, javelins or darts. During the 3rd century AD, although the pilum continued to be used, legionaries usually were equipped with other forms of throwing and thrusting spear, similar to auxilia of the previous century. By the 4th century, the pilum had effectively disappeared from common use. In the late period of the Roman Empire, the spear became more often used because of its anti-cavalry capacities as

1860-573: A spear that was called an az-zaġāyah . Berbers pronounced it zaġāya , but the English term, derived from the Old French via Berber , is " assegai ". It is a polearm used for throwing or hurling, usually a light spear or javelin made of hard wood and pointed with a forged iron tip. The az-zaġāyah played an important role during the Islamic conquest as well as during later periods, well into

1953-472: A stabbing action, either underarm, or over arm with a reverse grip (reminiscent of an ice pick ). The long straight blade does not lend itself to a slashing or sabre action. Rondel daggers were designed to be ideal for close-quarter combat which often requires grappling . They were used for puncturing and bursting the links in mail armour and they could penetrate the weaker points in plate armour and helmets , such as areas of thinner plate, any gaps and

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2046-492: A sword, it remained the main weapon of the common soldier. The Vikings , for instance, although often portrayed with an axe , sword , or lance in hand, were armed mostly with spears, as were their Anglo-Saxon , Irish , or continental contemporaries. Spears eventually evolved into lances; this is where the lance depiction comes from. With a good majority of Medieval weapons being spears they became integrated into many war tactics. Spears were very commonly used while providing

2139-456: A target's shield. Originally the principes were armed with a short spear called a hasta , but these gradually fell out of use, eventually being replaced by the gladius. The third line, the triarii , continued to use the hasta . From the late 2nd century BC, all legionaries were equipped with the pilum . The pilum continued to be the standard legionary spear until the end of the 2nd century AD. Auxilia , however, were equipped with

2232-639: A variety of materials such as the sang made completely of steel, and the ballam which had a bamboo shaft. The Arab presence in Sindh and the Mameluks of Delhi introduced the Middle Eastern javelin into India. The Rajputs wielded a type of spear for infantrymen which had a club integrated into the spearhead, and a pointed butt end. Other spears had forked blades, several spear-points, and numerous other innovations. One particular spear unique to India

2325-443: A weapon for hunting and/or fishing and for warfare. Along with the club , knife , and axe , it is one of the earliest and most widespread tools ever developed by early humans. As a weapon, it may be wielded with either one or two hands. It was used in virtually every conflict up until the modern era , where even to this day, it lives on in the form of a bayonet fixed onto the muzzle of a long gun . The word spear comes from

2418-500: Is longer than a Qiang , others say that the main difference is between the stiffness of the shaft, where the Qiang would be flexible and the Mao would be stiff. Scholars seem to lean toward the latter explanation more than the former. Because of the difference in the construction of the Mao and the Qiang , the usage is also different, though there is no definitive answer as to what exactly

2511-421: Is nothing more than a shortened dagger that is compact enough to be worn on the lower leg, usually by means of a sheath clipped or strapped to a boot or other footwear. The dagger is symbolically ambiguous. For some cultures and military organizations the dagger symbolizes courage and daring in combat. However, daggers may be associated with deception or treachery due to the ease of concealment and surprise that

2604-482: Is now southern Spain and southwestern France produced various iron daggers and swords of high quality from the 5th to the 3rd century BC, in ornamentation and patterns influenced by Greek, Punic (Carthaginian), and Phoenician culture. The exceptional purity of Iberian iron and the sophisticated method of forging, which included cold hammering, produced double-edged weapons of excellent quality. One can find technologically advanced designs such as folding knives rusted among

2697-458: Is still being used by certain wandering Sufi ascetics ( Derwishes ) . In the Chinese martial arts , the Chinese spear ( Qiang 槍) is popularly known as the "king of weapons". The spear is listed in the group of the four major weapons (along with the gun ( staff ), dao (a single-edged blade similar to a sabre ), and the jian ( sword )). Spears were used first as hunting weapons amongst

2790-460: Is used from the 1380s. During this time, the dagger was often employed in the role of a secondary defense weapon in close combat . The knightly dagger evolved into the larger baselard knife in the 14th century. During the 14th century, it became fairly common for knights to fight on foot to strengthen the infantry defensive line. This necessitated more use of daggers. At Agincourt (1415) archers used them to dispatch dismounted knights by thrusting

2883-510: The angon , a throwing spear with a long head similar to the Roman pilum , used by the Franks and Anglo-Saxons, and the winged (or lugged) spear , which had two prominent wings at the base of the spearhead, either to prevent the spear penetrating too far into an enemy or to aid in spear fencing. Originally a Frankish weapon, the winged spear also was popular with the Vikings. It would become

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2976-568: The Ba Shu area. In the Han dynasty the Mao and the Ji (戟 Ji can be loosely defined as a halberd) rose to prominence in the military. Interesting to note is that the amount of iron Mao-heads found exceeds the number of bronze heads. By the end of the Han dynasty ( Eastern Han ) the process of replacement of the iron Mao had been completed and the bronze Mao had been rendered completely obsolete. After

3069-658: The Mycenaean period in which the Iliad is set, and, anachronistically, a later style, with throwing spears, from Homer's own Archaic period. In the 7th century BC, the Greeks evolved a new close-order infantry formation, the phalanx . The key to this formation was the hoplite , who was equipped with a large, circular, bronze-faced shield ( aspis ) and a 210–270 cm (7–9 ft) spear with an iron head and bronze butt-spike ( doru ). The hoplite phalanx dominated warfare among

3162-562: The Old English spere , from the Proto-Germanic speri , from a Proto-Indo-European root *sper- "spear, pole". Spear manufacture and use is not confined to humans. It is also practiced by the western chimpanzee . Chimpanzees near Kédougou , Senegal have been observed to create spears by breaking straight limbs off trees, stripping them of their bark and side branches, and sharpening one end with their teeth. They then used

3255-468: The Qiang in four categories: "一曰漆枪， 二曰木枪， 三曰白杆枪， 四曰扑头枪。” Roughly translated the four categories are: Qi (a kind of wood) Spears, Wooden Spears, Bai Gan (A kind of wood) Spears and Pu Tou Qiang. The Qiang that were produced in the Song and Ming dynasties consisted of four major parts: Spearhead, Shaft, End Spike and Tassel. The types of Qiang that exist are many. Among the types there are cavalry Qiang that were

3348-540: The Quaternary extinction event was that most of these animals were hunted to extinction by humans with spears. Even after the invention of other hunting weapons such as the bow and sling , the spear continued to be used, either as a projectile weapon or used by hand, such as in bear hunting and boar hunting . Spear hunting fell out of favor in most of Europe in the 18th century, but continued in Germany, enjoying

3441-569: The pollaxe were adopted by knights and this practice ceased. The development of both the long, two-handed pike and gunpowder firearms in Renaissance Europe saw an ever-increasing focus on integrated infantry tactics. Those infantry not armed with these weapons carried variations on the polearm, including the halberd and the bill . At the start of the Renaissance, cavalry remained predominantly lance-armed; gendarmes with

3534-545: The pugio served as a convenient utility knife. The term dagger appears only in the Late Middle Ages , reflecting the fact that while the dagger had been known in antiquity, it had disappeared during the Early Middle Ages, replaced by the hewing knife or seax . The dagger reappeared in the 12th century as the "knightly dagger", or more properly cross-hilt or quillon dagger, and was developed into

3627-560: The razakars of Nizams of Hyderabad State as late as the second half of the 20th century. The hoko spear was used in ancient Japan sometime between the Yayoi period and the Heian period , but it became unpopular as early samurai often acted as horseback archers . Medieval Japan employed spears again for infantrymen to use, but it was not until the 11th century in that samurai began to prefer spears over bows. Several polearms were used in

3720-410: The 14th century from the early knightly dagger of the 12th to 13th centuries, matching the evolution of full plate armour. By the 15th century it had become the standard side-arm for knights, and was carried into battle, such as the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. The contemporary post-mortem on the remains of King Richard III showed that at the Battle of Bosworth , in 1485, he suffered a sharp blow from

3813-471: The 15th century, the rondel dagger also rose to popularity among the emerging middle class . In a scene from a miniature by Girart de Roussillon , depicting the construction of twelve churches in France (c. 1448), merchants and tradesmen can be seen wearing rondel daggers at their waists. Hans Talhoffer , in his combat manuals of the 1440s to 1460s, includes numerous examples of techniques for fighting with

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3906-626: The 20th century. A longer pole az-zaġāyah was being used as a hunting weapon from horseback. The az-zaġāyah was widely used. It existed in various forms in areas stretching from Southern Africa to the Indian subcontinent , although these places already had their own variants of the spear. This javelin was the weapon of choice during the Fulani jihad as well as during the Mahdist War in Sudan. It

3999-636: The Ancient Greek goddess of witchcraft . The social stigma of the dagger originates in its periodic use in the commission of disreputable and murderous attacks, from the 44 BC assassination of Julius Caesar to the use of the stiletto dagger by the Black Hand of early 20th century America. Consequently, it developed a public association with surprise assaults by criminals and murderers intent on stabbing unsuspecting victims. To this day, criminal codes of many nations and some US states specifically ban

4092-550: The Aztecs preferred the sword-like macuahuitl clubs for fighting, the advantage of a far-reaching thrusting weapon was recognised, and a large portion of the army would carry the tepoztopilli into battle. The tepoztopilli was a polearm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices, it was roughly the height of a man, with a broad wooden head about twice the length of the users' palm or shorter, edged with razor-sharp obsidian blades which were deeply set in grooves carved into

4185-576: The British All Arms Commando Course . Daggers are a popular form of what is known as the "art knife", due in part to the symmetry of the blade. One of the knives required of an American Bladesmith Society Mastersmith is the construction of an "art knife" or a "European style" dagger. Rondel dagger A rondel dagger / ˈ r ɒ n d əl / or roundel dagger is a type of stiff-bladed dagger used in Europe in

4278-599: The Greek City States from the 7th into the 4th century BC. The 4th century saw major changes. One was the greater use of peltasts , light infantry armed with spear and javelins. The other was the development of the sarissa , a two-handed pike 550 cm (18 ft) in length, by the Macedonians under Phillip of Macedon and Alexander the Great . The pike phalanx, supported by peltasts and cavalry, became

4371-603: The Han dynasty toward the Sui and Tang dynasties the Mao used by cavalry were fitted with much longer shafts, as is mentioned above. During this era, the use of the Shuo (矟) was widespread among the footmen. The Shuo can be likened to a pike or simply a long spear. After the Tang dynasty, the popularity of the Mao declined and was replaced by the Qiang (枪). The Tang dynasty divided

4464-612: The Japanese theatres; the naginata was a glaive-like weapon with a long, curved blade popularly among the samurai and the Buddhist warrior-monks , often used against cavalry; the yari was a longer polearm, with a straight-bladed spearhead, which became the weapon of choice of both the samurai and the ashigaru (footmen) during the Warring States Era ; the horseback samurai used shorter yari for his single-armed combat; on

4557-533: The Scots and the Flemish. Spears usually were used in tightly ordered formations, such as the shield wall or the schiltron . To resist cavalry, spear shafts could be planted against the ground. William Wallace drew up his schiltrons in a circle at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 to deter charging cavalry; this was a widespread tactic sometimes known as the "crown" formation. Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray used

4650-591: The Vietnam War, the Gerber Mark II , designed by US Army Captain Bud Holzman and Al Mar, was a popular fighting knife pattern that was privately purchased by many U.S. soldiers and marines who served in that war. Aside from military forces, most daggers are no longer carried openly, but concealed in clothing. One of the more popular forms of the concealable dagger is the boot knife . The boot knife

4743-403: The ancestor of later medieval polearms, such as the partisan and spetum . The thrusting spear also has the advantage of reach, being considerably longer than other weapon types. Exact spear lengths are hard to deduce as few spear shafts survive archaeologically, but 180–240 cm (6–8 ft) would seem to have been the average length. Some nations were noted for their long spears, including

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4836-760: The ancient Chinese. They became popular as infantry weapons during the Warring States and Qin era, when spearmen were used as especially highly disciplined soldiers in organized group attacks. When used in formation fighting, spearmen would line up their large rectangular or circular shields in a shieldwall manner. The Qin also employed long spears (more akin to a pike) in formations similar to Swiss pikemen in order to ward off cavalry. The Han Empire would use similar tactics as its Qin predecessors. Halberds, polearms, and dagger axes were also common weapons during this time. Spears were also common weaponry for Warring States, Qin, and Han era cavalry units. During these eras,

4929-546: The artifacts of many Second Iberian Iron Age cremation burials or in Roman Empire excavations all around Spain and the Mediterranean. Iberian infantrymen carried several types of iron daggers, most of them based on shortened versions of double-edged swords, but the true Iberian dagger had a triangular-shaped blade. Iberian daggers and swords were later adopted by Hannibal and his Carthaginian armies. The Lusitanii ,

5022-524: The barbarian invasions were often conducted by people with a developed culture of cavalry in warfare. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the spear and shield continued to be used by nearly all Western European cultures. Since a medieval spear required only a small amount of steel along the sharpened edges (most of the spear-tip was wrought iron), it was an economical weapon. Quick to manufacture, and needing less smithing skill than

5115-410: The battlefield. Its last flowering was the half-pike or spontoon , a shortened version of the pike carried by officers of various ranks. While originally a weapon, this came to be seen more as a badge of office, or leading staff by which troops were directed. The half-pike, sometimes known as a boarding pike, was also used as a weapon on board ships until the late 19th century. Muslim warriors used

5208-414: The blade of the spearhead near the socket, these holes were presumably used to attach tassels, much like modern day wushu spears. In the early Shang , the Mao appeared to have a relatively short shaft as well as a relatively narrow shaft as opposed to Mao in the later Shang and Western Zhou period. Some Mao from this era are heavily decorated as is evidenced by a Warring States period Mao from

5301-646: The carrying of the dagger as a prohibited weapon. The dagger is in military use as a close combat and ceremonial arm. Many nations use the dagger pattern in the form of the bayonet. Daggers are commonly used as part of the insignias of elite military units or special forces, such as the US Army Special Operations Command, the US Army Special Forces, or the Commando Dagger patch for those who have completed

5394-428: The cliff. Other hunters would be waiting at the bottom of the cliff to spear the animal to death. One of the earliest forms of killing prey for humans, hunting game with a spear and spear fishing continues to this day as both a means of catching food and as a cultural activity. Some of the most common prey for early humans were megafauna such as mammoths which were hunted with various kinds of spear. One theory for

5487-520: The commandos, who used it primarily for sentry elimination. Some units of the U.S. Marine Corps Raiders in the Pacific were issued a similar fighting dagger, the Marine Raider stiletto , though this modified design proved less than successful when used in the type of knife combat encountered in the Pacific theater due to this version using inferior materials and manufacturing techniques. During

5580-525: The dagger gets its name from its round (or similarly shaped, e.g. octagonal ) hand guard and round or spherical pommel (knob on the end of the grip). The blade's tang extends through the handle, which is cylindrical , normally carved from wood or bone. In cross section, the blade is usually diamond -shaped, lenticular , or triangular . These blades have a sharpened point, and either one or both edges are also sharpened, while some had no sharpened edges at all. They were principally designed for use with

5673-531: The dagger. These techniques in some respects resemble modern knife fighting , but emphasized thrusting strokes almost exclusively, instead of slashes and cuts. When used offensively, a standard attack frequently employed the reverse or icepick grip , stabbing downward with the blade to increase thrust and penetrative force. This was done primarily because the blade point frequently had to penetrate or push apart an opponent's steel chain mail or plate armor in order to inflict an injury. The disadvantage of employing

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5766-491: The differences are between the Mao and the Qiang . Spears are known as Bhala in Indian languages. Spears in the Indian society were used both in missile and non-missile form, both by cavalry and foot-soldiers. Mounted spear-fighting was practiced using with a 300 cm (10 ft), ball-tipped wooden lance called a bothati , the end of which was covered in dye so that hits may be confirmed. Spears were constructed from

5859-400: The dominant mode of warfare among the Greeks from the late 4th century onward until Greek military systems were supplanted by the Roman legions. In the pre-Marian Roman armies, the first two lines of battle, the hastati and principes , often fought with a sword called a gladius and pila , heavy javelins that were specifically designed to be thrown at an enemy to pierce and foul

5952-434: The early Bronze Age , in the 3rd millennium BC, and copper daggers of Early Minoan III (2400–2000 BC) were recovered at Knossos . In ancient Egypt, daggers were usually made of copper or bronze, while royalty had gold weapons. At least since pre-dynastic Egypt , ( c.  3100 BC ) daggers were adorned as ceremonial objects with golden hilts and later even more ornate and varied construction. One early silver dagger

6045-438: The end of the 16th century. Spears began to lose fashion among the infantry during the 14th century, being replaced by polearms that combined the thrusting properties of the spear with the cutting properties of the axe, such as the halberd . Where spears were retained they grew in length, eventually evolving into pikes , which would be a dominant infantry weapon in the 16th and 17th centuries. Cavalry spears were originally

6138-634: The eye slits of the helmet visor). These late medieval thrusting weapons are sometimes classed by the shape of their hilt as either roundel , bollock or ear daggers. The term dagger is coined in this time, as are the Early Modern German equivalents dolch ( tolch ) and degen ( tegen ). In the German school of fencing , Johannes Liechtenauer ( Ms. 3227a ) and his successors (specifically Andres Lignizer in Cod. 44 A 8 ) taught fighting with

6231-569: The head, and cemented in place with bitumen or plant resin as an adhesive. The tepoztopilli was able both to thrust and slash effectively. Throwing spears also were used extensively in Meso-American warfare, usually with the help of an atlatl . Throwing spears were typically shorter and more stream-lined than the tepoztopilli, and some had obsidian edges for greater penetration. Typically, most spears made by Native Americans were created from materials surrounding their communities. Usually,

6324-469: The heavy knightly lance and lighter cavalry with a variety of lighter lances. By the 1540s, however, pistol-armed cavalry called reiters were beginning to make their mark. Cavalry armed with pistols and other lighter firearms, along with a sword, had virtually replaced lance armed cavalry in Western Europe by the beginning of the 17th century. Ultimately, the spear proper was rendered obsolete on

6417-751: The influx of a new population brought innovations around bronze technology. Unlike other cultures who wielded spears at this time, the Egyptians did not treat their javelins (around 1 meter to 3.3 feet long) as disposable, using them both for thrusting and throwing. As advanced metallurgy was largely unknown in pre-Columbian America outside of Western Mexico and South America , most weapons in Meso-America were made of wood or obsidian . This did not mean that they were less lethal, as obsidian may be sharpened to become many times sharper than steel. Meso-American spears varied greatly in shape and size. While

6510-483: The late Middle Ages (from the 14th century onwards), used by a variety of people from merchants to knights . It was worn at the waist and could be used as a utility tool, or worn into battle or in a jousting tournament as a side arm . The blade is made of steel , and is typically long and slim with a tapering needle point, measuring 12 in (30 cm) or more; the whole dagger can be as long as 20 in (51 cm). Rondel means 'round' or 'circular';

6603-399: The length of one zhang (approximately 320 cm or 10 ft), Litte-Flower Spears (Xiao Hua Qiang 小花枪) that are the length of one person and their arm extended above his head, double hooked spears, single hooked spears, ringed spears and many more. There is some confusion as to how to distinguish the Qiang from the Mao , as they are obviously very similar. Some people say that a Mao

6696-425: The medieval dagger in this manner was that it could easily be blocked by a variety of techniques, most notably by a block with the weaponless arm while simultaneously attacking with a weapon held in the right hand. Another disadvantage was the reduction in effective blade reach to the opponent when using a reverse grip. As the wearing of armor fell out of favor, dagger fighting techniques began to evolve which emphasized

6789-531: The momentum of the horse and knight to be focused on the weapon's tip, whilst still retaining accuracy and control. This use of the spear spurred the development of the lance as a distinct weapon that was perfected in the medieval sport of jousting . In the 14th century, tactical developments meant that knights and men-at-arms often fought on foot. This led to the practice of shortening the lance to about 150 cm (5 ft) to make it more manageable. As dismounting became commonplace, specialist polearms such as

6882-501: The narrow blades through helmet vents and other apertures. The baselard was considered an intermediate between a short sword and a long dagger, and became popular also as a civilian weapon. Sloane MS . 2593 ( c.  1400 ) records a song satirizing the use of oversized baselard knives as fashion accessories. Weapons of this sort called anelace , somewhere between a large dagger and a short sword, were much in use in 14th century England as civilians' accoutrements , worn "suspended by

6975-456: The only weapon commoners were allowed to carry on their person. In English, the terms poniard and dirk are loaned during the late 16th to early 17th century, the latter in the spelling dork , durk (presumably via Low German, Dutch or Scandinavian dolk, dolch , ultimately from a West Slavic tulich ), the modern spelling dirk dating to 18th-century Scots . Beginning in the 17th century, another form of dagger—the plug bayonet and later

7068-530: The other hand, ashigaru infantries used long yari (similar with European pike ) for their massed combat formation. Filipino spears ( sibat ) were used as both a weapon and a tool throughout the Philippines . It is also called a bangkaw (after the Bankaw Revolt .), sumbling or palupad in the islands of Visayas and Mindanao . Sibat are typically made from rattan, either with a sharpened tip or

7161-576: The period. Others, however, are not an exact match to known sword designs, having for example pommel caps, large hollow star shaped pommels on so-called "Burgundian Heraldic daggers" or antenna style cross and pommel, reminiscent of Hallstatt era daggers. The cross-hilt type persisted well into the Renaissance The Old French term dague appears to have referred to these weapons in the 13th century, alongside other terms such as poignal and basilard . The Middle English dagger

7254-520: The rondel dagger, both in unarmoured combat and in single combat in armour. Spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood , with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as bone , flint , obsidian , copper , bronze , iron , or steel . The most common design for hunting and/or warfare, since ancient times has incorporated

7347-456: The sabres worn by officers, which were too long and clumsy for trench warfare. They were worn with pride as a sign of having served front line duty. Daggers achieved public notoriety in the 20th century as ornamental uniform regalia during the Fascist dictatorships of Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany. Dress daggers were used by several other countries as well, including Japan, but never to

7440-414: The same as infantry spears and were often used with two hands or held with one hand overhead. In the 12th century, after the adoption of stirrups and a high-cantled saddle, the spear became a decidedly more powerful weapon. A mounted knight would secure the lance by holding it with one hand and tucking it under the armpit (the couched lance technique) In combination with a lance rest , this allowed all

7533-650: The same extent. As combat equipment they were carried by many infantry and commando forces during the Second World War . British Commando and other elite units were issued an especially slender dagger, the Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife , developed by William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes from real-life close-combat experiences gained while serving on the Shanghai Municipal Police Force. The F-S dagger proved very popular with

7626-425: The shaft of the spear was made with a wooden stick while the head of the spear was fashioned from arrowheads, pieces of metal such as copper, or a bone that had been sharpened. Spears were a preferred weapon by many since it was inexpensive to create, could more easily be taught to others, and could be made quickly and in large quantities. Native Americans used the buffalo pound method to kill buffalo, which required

7719-534: The socket bayonet —was used to convert muskets and other longarms into spears by mounting them on the barrel. They were periodically used for eating; the arm was also used for a variety of other tasks such as mending boots, house repairs and farm jobs. The final function of the dagger was as an obvious and ostentatious means of enhancing a man's personal apparel, conforming to fashion which dictated that all men carried them. WW1 trench warfare caused daggers and fighting knives to come back in play. They also replaced

7812-523: The spear would develop into a longer lance-like weapon used for cavalry charges. There are many words in Chinese that would be classified as a spear in English. The Mao is the predecessor of the Qiang . The first bronze Mao appeared in the Shang dynasty . This weapon was less prominent on the battlefield than the ge ( dagger-axe ). In some archaeological examples two tiny holes or ears can be found in

7905-497: The use of the dagger with a conventional or forward grip, while the reverse or icepick grip was retained when attacking an unsuspecting opponent from behind, such as in an assassination. The dagger was very popular as a fencing and personal defense weapon in 17th and 18th century Spain, where it was referred to as the daga or puñal . During the Renaissance Age the dagger was used as part of everyday dress, and daggers were

7998-514: The user could inflict upon an unsuspecting victim. Indeed, many assassinations have been carried out with the use of a dagger, including that of Julius Caesar . A cloak and dagger attack is one in which a deceitful, traitorous, or concealed enemy attacks a person. Some have noted a phallic association between daggers and the succession of royal dynasties in British literature. In European artwork, daggers were sometimes associated with Hecate ,

8091-421: The various joints. The wide, spherical pommel might have assisted by making it easier for the user to push or punch the point of the dagger home. As armour improved, puncturing in such ways was one of the only ways in which the heavy armour of men-at-arms could be breached. Examples also exist of four-edged rondel daggers, the blade having a cruciform profile. These blades are not suited for cutting, or use as

8184-744: The weapons to hunt galagos sleeping in hollows. The Clacton Spear found in England and the Schöningen spears found in present-day Germany document that wooden spears have been used for hunting since at least 400,000 years ago. A 2012 study from the site of Kathu Pan in South Africa suggests that hominids, possibly Homo heidelbergensis , may have developed the technology of hafted stone-tipped spears in Africa about 500,000 years ago. Wood does not preserve well, however, and Craig Stanford,

8277-535: Was not found in Egypt, making the iron dagger rare, and the context suggests that the iron dagger was valued on a level equal to that of its ceremonial gold counterpart. These facts, and the composition of the dagger had long suggested a meteoritic origin, however, evidence for its meteoritic origin was not entirely conclusive until June 2016 when researchers using x-ray fluorescence spectrometry confirmed similar proportions of metals (Iron, 10% nickel, and 0.6% cobalt) in

8370-562: Was recovered with midrib design. The 1924 opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun revealed two daggers, one with a gold blade, and one of smelted iron. It is held that mummies of the Eleventh Dynasty were buried with bronze sabres; and there is a bronze dagger of Thut-mes III. (Eighteenth Dynasty), c.  B.C. 1600 , and bronze armour, swords and daggers of Mene-ptah II. of the (Nineteenth Dynasty) c.  B.C 1300 . Iron production did not begin until 1200 BC, and iron ore

8463-472: Was subsequently killed. The various types of the assegai (a light spear or javelin made of wood and pointed with iron or fire-hardened tip) were used throughout Africa and it was the most common weapon used before the introduction of firearms . The Zulu , Xhosa and other Nguni tribes of South Africa were renowned for their use of the assegai. Shaka of the Zulu invented a shorter stabbing spear with

8556-527: Was the vita or corded lance. Used by the Maratha Army , it had a rope connecting the spear with the user's wrist, allowing the weapon to be thrown and pulled back. The Vel is a type of spear or lance, originated in Southern India , primarily used by Tamils . Sikh Nihangs sometimes carry a spear even today. Spears were used in conflicts and training by armed paramilitary units such as

8649-520: Was typically used with one hand while the off hand held a cowhide shield for protection. Similar to most armies of their period, Ancient Egyptian forces were centered around the use of the spear. In battle, spearmen would be armed with a bronze -tipped spear (dja) and shield (ikem), which were used in elaborate formations much like Greek and Roman forces. Before the Hyksos invasion into Egypt, wooden spears were used, which were prone to splinter, but

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