Parrying dagger

Parrying daggers were an important development of the ubiquitous quillion dagger form, appearing in the early to mid-16th century starting with the so-called left hand dagger. Although this is often used as a term of convenience for parrying daggers in general, it also refers more specifically to the earlier and simpler form of the weapon. It had stout quillons (straight or curved) for effective parrying as well as an additional guard in the form of a ring or shell on one side of the quillons where they crossed the grip. In addition to straight blades, there are examples of left hand daggers with wavy blades, those with saw edges and blades that are perforated along the central fuller with small holes, all designed to make the weapon lighter or to aid in defense. This form of dagger largely disappeared in the early 17th century in favor of the much more important main-gauche which was especially popular in Spain and Italy. The triple dagger and swordbreaker were rare and relatively late developments, first appearing around 1600. Parrying daggers were often made en suite, or similar in terms of construction and decorative technique, to the sword with which they were paired as a companion weapon. ==Dagger types==

Main-gauche The main-gauche (French for "left hand", ) was used mainly to assist in defense by parrying enemy thrusts, while the dominant hand wielded a rapier or similar longer weapon intended for one-handed use. It was a relatively large dagger, having a longer and heavier blade (often measuring or slightly more in length) and very long, straight quillons. Its most characteristic feature was a wide knuckleguard that curved from the quillons to the pommel and protected the hand. The guard was usually (but not always) triangular in outline, and the quillons typically measured or more from tip to tip. Despite the name swordbreaker, it is uncertain whether they could in fact break sword blades as suggested by some scholars, as swords of this era were intended to stand up to substantial forces, well in excess of what could be generated by a fighter's off-hand. Swords are sometimes depicted in Fechtbüchern as withstanding a two-handed attempt to break them (or show off their resilience). Late Renaissance rapiers and smallswords may not be as robust as the cutting swords of earlier times, however, and have indeed been known to break on occasion, so the claim may have more veracity in relation to the typical civilian weapons of this period. The term is also applied in modern times to the various devices (such as hooks or spikes) found on some bucklers which served the same purpose as the parrying dagger to entrap an opponent's blade. Trident dagger , France. Trident daggers (or triple daggers) have blades divided lengthwise into three parts which fold together to resemble a conventional blade. When a mechanism near the hilt is released the two side blades open under spring pressure to form the "trident", flying apart until they are stopped by the ends of the curved quillons. This creates a dagger capable of trapping blades more securely and easily. Like the swordbreaker, the triple dagger was a rare form of parrying dagger compared to the main-gauche. ==Modern usage==

An off-hand weapon is rarely used in modern sport competition. In fact, the use of the off-hand as a defensive measure is often prohibited by the rules of many sport fighting styles that are common in the Western world today. However, in HEMA (historical European martial arts) Rapier and Dagger is a common sparring method, and backsword and dagger is also practised. Another exception is kendo where the use of two shinai of different size is allowed but uncommon; this style is known as nito-ryu (literally "two sword-style"). Several other fighting styles not only incorporate but even promote off-hand weapons, for example classical styles of Filipino Martial Arts which commonly have Espada y Daga or Sword-and-dagger systems. Simultaneous use of two weapons is also frequently featured in fiction, particularly in video games, literature, and other media from the fantasy genre, where it is commonly dubbed "dual wielding". In the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), rapier combat makes use of various forms of off-hand device, including parrying daggers, batons, cloaks, and a second sword, which in fencing is termed a "case of rapier". ==See also== • Buckler • Jian (sword breaker) • Companion weapon • Dagger • Eskrima • Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu| • Jitte (weapon)| • Katar • List of daggers • Sai (weapon)| ==References==