736
8 Modern Weapons: Possibilities and Limitations
fusetti blade was sawed off in advance and then broken in the filler hole and unriveted
with several strikes.
In turn, citizens in brawls with students also didn’t look like meek lambs and
were unfit for the roles of victims. However, unlike future lawyers, theologists, and
doctors, they didn’t need to stay decent, and they had their own favorite means for a
knife fight. Ballock knives became a fitting reply to sophisticated stilettos. The guard
of this dagger looked like two balls and formed a very peculiar shape in combination
with the long handle (Fig. 8.2). At first, the ballock knife was not even considered
a combat weapon. It was a simple domestic knife that was equally good for cutting
meat in a tavern, fixing harness, and fighting robbers in a dark alley.
The first mentions of this knife date back to the early fourteenth century. It reached
the peak of its popularity in the fifteenth century. During this time, the ballock drew
attention of society lions. Obvious phallic symbolics of this knife quickly made
it popular among aristocrats; while the blade underwent no specific changes, the
handles of ballock knives soon became true works of art. This “ennobled” weapon
was very common in Germany and France. It came to Britain unchanged; however,
here it became known as a kidney dagger due to the reasons of decency.
After moving further to Scotland, the ballock knife got a slightly different, albeit
recognizable, shape, which the Scots today tend to call their national. This dagger
is known as dirk, and now it is a part of the traditional costume of the Scottish
highlanders as much as the famous “skirt”—the kilt. The dirk is accompanied by a
small knife and a fork in the small scabbard, serving as a reminder of its household
purpose.
Cinquedea (Fig. 8.3) is at the opposite end of the long line of daggers and knives.
Its name translates from Italian as “five fingers” or “God’s hand”. However, landsknechts, who were not inclined to give poetic names to weapons, called them in
a much simpler way—the ox tongue. The shape of cinquedea actually resembles a
long and wide tongue. Sometime later, the cinquedea was given a pointed end in an
attempt to add pricking properties to already existing cutting ones. However, it was
mostly a bladed weapon, which resembled a modern entrenching shovel more than
anything else. The wide blade (five fingers near the cross guard) made it possible
not only to slash, but also to block the enemy’s attack with the blade flat, using the
cinquedea as a shield.
At first, cinquedea was also a weapon of citizens. It is believed that cinquedea
gained popularity in the fifteenth century; however, this is not quite true. Judging by
the bronze blades found near the Italian city of Ripatranzone (a treasure of 1800–
1500 BC), this form, up to the forward-cut cross, was used in these places in ancient
times. Verona was the actual capital of distribution cinquedea. This wide blade was
worn under the cape with the edge up so that it partially protected its owner from a
possible back-stab. If the owner wanted to initiate the attack, he took his cape off with
a single rapid movement and covered the enemy’s head with it; the other hand of the
Veronese inflicted a single deadly slashing blow. Taking into account the sharpness
and width of the blade, the enemy had nearly no chances and died from massive
blood loss. It was impossible to fence using cinquedeas (Fig. 8.4).
8 Modern Weapons: Possibilities and Limitations
fusetti blade was sawed off in advance and then broken in the filler hole and unriveted
with several strikes.
In turn, citizens in brawls with students also didn’t look like meek lambs and
were unfit for the roles of victims. However, unlike future lawyers, theologists, and
doctors, they didn’t need to stay decent, and they had their own favorite means for a
knife fight. Ballock knives became a fitting reply to sophisticated stilettos. The guard
of this dagger looked like two balls and formed a very peculiar shape in combination
with the long handle (Fig. 8.2). At first, the ballock knife was not even considered
a combat weapon. It was a simple domestic knife that was equally good for cutting
meat in a tavern, fixing harness, and fighting robbers in a dark alley.
The first mentions of this knife date back to the early fourteenth century. It reached
the peak of its popularity in the fifteenth century. During this time, the ballock drew
attention of society lions. Obvious phallic symbolics of this knife quickly made
it popular among aristocrats; while the blade underwent no specific changes, the
handles of ballock knives soon became true works of art. This “ennobled” weapon
was very common in Germany and France. It came to Britain unchanged; however,
here it became known as a kidney dagger due to the reasons of decency.
After moving further to Scotland, the ballock knife got a slightly different, albeit
recognizable, shape, which the Scots today tend to call their national. This dagger
is known as dirk, and now it is a part of the traditional costume of the Scottish
highlanders as much as the famous “skirt”—the kilt. The dirk is accompanied by a
small knife and a fork in the small scabbard, serving as a reminder of its household
purpose.
Cinquedea (Fig. 8.3) is at the opposite end of the long line of daggers and knives.
Its name translates from Italian as “five fingers” or “God’s hand”. However, landsknechts, who were not inclined to give poetic names to weapons, called them in
a much simpler way—the ox tongue. The shape of cinquedea actually resembles a
long and wide tongue. Sometime later, the cinquedea was given a pointed end in an
attempt to add pricking properties to already existing cutting ones. However, it was
mostly a bladed weapon, which resembled a modern entrenching shovel more than
anything else. The wide blade (five fingers near the cross guard) made it possible
not only to slash, but also to block the enemy’s attack with the blade flat, using the
cinquedea as a shield.
At first, cinquedea was also a weapon of citizens. It is believed that cinquedea
gained popularity in the fifteenth century; however, this is not quite true. Judging by
the bronze blades found near the Italian city of Ripatranzone (a treasure of 1800–
1500 BC), this form, up to the forward-cut cross, was used in these places in ancient
times. Verona was the actual capital of distribution cinquedea. This wide blade was
worn under the cape with the edge up so that it partially protected its owner from a
possible back-stab. If the owner wanted to initiate the attack, he took his cape off with
a single rapid movement and covered the enemy’s head with it; the other hand of the
Veronese inflicted a single deadly slashing blow. Taking into account the sharpness
and width of the blade, the enemy had nearly no chances and died from massive
blood loss. It was impossible to fence using cinquedeas (Fig. 8.4).