Herp Derp Doodle

art-of-swords:

The Pugio

The pugio (Plural: Pugiones) was a dagger used by Roman soldiers as a sidearm. It seems likely that the pugio was intended as an auxiliary weapon, but its exact purpose to the soldier remains unknown for sure. Attempts to identify it as a utility knife are misguided as the form of the pugio is not suited to this purpose and in any case utility knives of a variety of sizes are common finds on Roman military sites, meaning there would be no need for a pugio to be used in this way.

Officials of the empire took to wearing ornate daggers in the performance of their offices, and some would wear concealed daggers as a defense against contingencies. The dagger was a common weapon of assassination and suicide; for example, the conspirators who stabbed Julius Caesar used pugiones. Like the gladius, the pugio was probably a stabbing weapon, the type said to have been preferred by the Romans.

Although it is impossible to be really sure, the word pugio possibly descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *peug-, “stab, stick.” The root is the same as in English pugilist, “boxer.” It is still possible to use punch and stab synonymously in many Indo-European languages; hence, Latin pugnus meaning “fist.”

The Smith article cited below proposes that the pugio was the weapon grasped by the fist; however, the Latin word for swordplay was pugna, an exchange of thrusts without the intermediary of fists, although it could also be a fistfight.

The pugio became an ornate sidearm of officers and dignitaries as well, a custom reminiscent of the knives after which the Saxons were named. These Germanic mercenaries served in the Roman army. The emperors came to wear a dagger to symbolize the power of life and death.

The emperor, Vitellius, attempts to resign his position and offers his dagger to the consul, but it is refused and Vitellius is forced to stay by popular acclaim and the Praetorian guard. Tacitus also relates that a centurion, Sempronius Densus, of the Praetorian guard drew a dagger to save Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus momentarily.

Source: Wikipedia

art-of-swords:

The Dirk 

A dirk is a long thrusting dagger. Historically, it was a personal weapon of officers engaged in naval hand-to-hand combat during the Age of Sail, as well as the personal sidearm of the officers of Scottish Highland regiments, and Japanese naval officers.

The term is associated with Scotland in the Early Modern Era, being attested from about 1600. The term was spelled dork or durk during the 17th century, presumably from the Dutch, Swedish and Danish dolk, via German “dolch”, “tolch” from a West Slavic tulich.

The exact etymology is unclear; the sound change from -lk to -rk is rather common in Scots and Northern English loanwords from Danish (as in kirk, smirk from Danish kilche, smilke).

The modern spelling dirk is probably due to Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary. The term is also used for “dagger” generically, especially in the context of prehistoric daggers such as the Oxborough dirk.

There are more versions of the dirk:

• The Naval Dirk: a thrusting weapon, the naval dirk was originally used as a boarding weapon and functional fighting dagger. It was worn by midshipmen and officers during the days of sail, gradually evolving into a ceremonial weapon and badge of office.In the British Navy, the naval dirk is still presented to junior officers; their basic design has changed little in the last 500 years.
• The Scottish Dirk: also “Highland dirk”, Scottish Gaelic: Biodag, is the traditional and ceremonial sidearm of the officers of Scottish Highland regiments. The development of the Scottish dirk as a weapon is unrelated to that of the naval dirk; it is a modern continuation of the 16th-century ballock or rondel dagger. The traditional Scottish dirk is a development of the second half of the 17th century, when it became a popular item of military equipment in the Jacobite Risings.

Source & Copyright: Wikipedia

aventuraexp:

Dagger on Flickr.

I wanted to throw this up here (and I’ll probably throw up a few of my other projects I’ve made in the past). This is a dagger I made from scratch for my IB Visual Arts course in high school. Blade is made from a ground down old Nicholson file and hand polished; it has a full length tang. The guard was welded on and the handle itself is made of blocks of sugar maple and white oak, with a small cap of black water buffalo horn and copper.
The sheath was also hand tooled, dyed and sewed. It’s not super, and was definitely part of my leather-working learning curve. But I enjoy it, and I still use it to this day for stabbing random crap and cutting things around my room.

(via art-of-swords)