by Snake Blocker European Daggers - The “Wingman” Blade

By Snake Blocker, 02 January 2022

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Since time immemorial, every warrior culture had their version of blades. No culture or martial arts can take credit for inventing the first blade or the first Martial Blade Art. Blades have been made for art decor, gifts, bartering, haircuts, kitchen tools, ceremonies, conflict resolution and more. Blades have countless uses. When looking at battle tactics in history, one can reflect on the use of the blade as both a defensive and offensive tool. Daggers are one of many such blades. Would a blade by any other name be so sweet? A dagger is commonly known as have a larger cross-guard than a knife.

One of the popular daggers around the 16th and 17th Century in Europe was called the Guache Parrying Sword and the Sword Breaker. Even if such daggers rarely broke a sword, it made good use for breaking the opponent’s sword incoming angle-of-attack. These daggers were intended to hold in one’s left hand (or off-hand), while the primary sword was held in the right hand (or dominate hand), as is true, in a block/strike beat-one pattern.

Although there are many styles of daggers, I am a fan of the Sail Grip dagger guard and the Ring Dagger cross-guard. Both are gripped with the thumb up and the remaining four fingers gripping on the handle. When an opponent thrusts their primary sword forwards with in-line fighting, the Left-handed dagger gives an outward parry on the incoming force, with a slightly horizontal and forwards movement.

At the same time the Parry Dagger is in play, the primary sword (usually a Rapier or Espada Ropera) extends, trusting forwards at the opponent. The Espada Ropera is slender, double-edged and deadly. This sword and dagger were a common pair found in combat. Many antique parry daggers are found in public and private museums today. Expect to pay $2,000 to $8,000 for a good condition dagger today (2022 Auction sites).

Most think of a dagger as a thrusting blade, however, with the Parrying Dagger, its primary goal is to parry as a defense tool. Such daggers typically hold a wider guard, such as the sail guard, which looks like the sail of a ship, arcing from the wind. These wider guards offer more protection to the holder for defense, and can also be used as defense, should the opponent be in close quarters combat range. These daggers often have one side or two sides with jagged teeth (comb-like serrations), along the blade and/or handle. These teeth often caught the blade for a moment, with enough time for the attacking sword to do its damage. It is a category of small-held weapons, from the late European Middle Ages to the Renaissance period. The Main-Gauche means left hand in French, so the Main-Guache Dagger was typically held in the left hand (also known as off-hand for most orthodox fighters). In length most European daggers measured over nineteen inches, as opposed to most knives that are shorter and most swords that are longer. Some daggers have elliptical impressions for thumb placement along the lower flat side of the blade, to guide the dagger to parry (Historical European Martial Arts, 2020).

The Parry Dagger was made in three sections. One section is called the Quillon. The Quilon is the cross-guard (cross-piece) that protects the hand or/or fingers from attack or moving on one’s blade (Mary, n.d.). The main section is the blade, and the third section is the grip handle. Early design, parry daggers were made of heavy construction, beginning in the 6th Century in Europe and evolved with more elaborate guards by the 1300s. The final designs increased the size of the sail guards and the catch circles by the 16th century and were lighter weight for increased speed. To lighten the weight of the dagger, lighter wavy blades, straight blades, perforated edges and small holes were added. The Sword Breaker was also sold as matching pairs to their primary sword. It you own a matching pair today you could get tens of thousands of dollars for the set. The Parrying Daggers includes the Sword Breaker Dagger, Trident Dagger, and Main-Guache Dagger (Historical European Martial Arts, 2020). The Parrying Daggers are lighter than a shield and therefore, more agile. They are more expensive to make with such features, as they require extra time to form the teeth, sail guard and additional rings (History HQ, n.d.). Two blades are better than one and I would prefer to battle in a sword dual carrying both the Main-Gauche in tandem with my primary Rapier.

Photos:

Snake Blocker and16th-17th Century Daggers, from his private collection.

References

Historical European Martial Arts (HEM). (September 9, 2020). How to use a main gauche, sword breaker and other parry daggers.

historicaleuropeanmartialarts.com

History HQ. (N.D.). History HQ

http://history-hq.com/text/weapons/sword_breaker.html

Survival Knife Mary. (N.D.). Ultimate Survival Knife.

http://www.ultimatesurvivalknife.net/what-is-a-quillon/