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06/20/2013 |
The Dirk
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Dirk
is a Scots word for a long dagger; sometimes a cut-down
sword blade mounted on a dagger hilt, rather than a knife
blade. The word dirk could have possibly derived from
the Gaelic word sgian dearg (red knife). In
Bronze Age and Iron Age Scotland and Ireland, the dirk was
actually considered to be a sword. Its blade length and
style varied, but it was generally 7-14 inches. However, the
blades of Irish versions often were as much as 21 inches in
length.
Daggers and knives
have been part of civilian wear and military dress since the
first knives were crafted from stone. A few cultures
throughout history, though, have taken this utilitarian tool
and really turned it into an item of great cultural
significance. The dirk, as developed by the Scots, is one of
these weapons.
The Scots of the
Middle Ages and renaissance spent much of their time in
conflict whether warring with England for independence or
fighting with other clans for local dominance. As such, the
Scots were known to go through their daily lives fully or
nearly fully armed, more so than other Europeans of the
time. A quote by John Hume perfectly illustrates this:
"Thy [the Highlanders] always appeared like warriors; as if
their arms [weapons] had been limbs and members of their
bodies they were never seen without them; they traveled,
they attended fairs and markets, nay they went to church
with their broadswords and dirks."
Dirks were effective weapons in war as well as a useful tool
for everyday tasks, including eating. They were also more
affordable than a sword. Taking these things into account,
it is easy to see why it was hard to find a Highlander
without such a weapon.
What is a dirk? At its most basic a dirk can be defined as a
"long dagger with a straight blade." This loose definition
of course encompasses many different kinds of knives; in
fact, most daggers will fit within this definition. The
Scottish dirk, though, has unique features that set it apart
from other straight-bladed sidearms.
The Scottish
dirk is a direct descendant of the medieval ballock dagger.
Looking at the late stylized versions of the dirk, it may be
difficult to see a relation to its earlier cousin. The early
versions, though, show its lineage more clearly. |
Ballock
Daggers
A popular dagger of the high Middle Ages with military men and
civilians alike was the ballock dagger. This dagger is named for the
rather phallic shape of its hilt: two round protuberances are
surmounted by a cylindrical grip. Added to this is the fact that it
was often worn front-and-center on the belt, with the grip pointing
straight up. It is easy to see why people in more prudish times have
preferred to call it a "kidney dagger." These knives began to appear
on the continent in the early 14th century; their first appearance
in the British Isles on effigial monuments, notably those of Sir
William de Aldeburgh and Robert Parys, came within a half century of
their continental appearance.
Most ballock daggers were hilted simply with carved wood, though
examples hilted with metal, bone, or ivory have been found, along
with occasional examples hilted with exotic materials like agate. As
they developed and flourished the "pommel" end of the grip began to
swell slightly, giving the grip a more conical shape. Reinforcing
plates also began to appear on both ends of the grip: as a bolster
or reinforcement between blade and grip and as a plate on the butt
end of the grip.
These daggers had blades most suitable for "stabbing," according to
James D. Forman's book The Scottish Dirk. These blades,
however, varied greatly in form. Single-edged blades with wedge
cross-sections have been found as well as double-edged blades with
thick diamond cross-sections. Examples have also been found with
blades of triangular or, more rarely, square cross-sections.
Sheaths for ballock daggers were of heavy leather. Later examples
were known to have metal fittings and places to store auxiliary
knives and other implements.
Early
Dirks
"Dirks, dorks, durckes are frequently mentioned during the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, usually in the Burgh and Court records of
towns on or near the Highland Line," according to John Wallace. Some
writers consider these references to encompass ballock daggers,
dudgeon daggers and dirks. One account, though, seems to
specifically refer to what we think of as a dirk. Richard James
(1592-1638) describes a highlander's arms like this in his account
of Shetland, Orkney, and the Highlands (as quoted by Wallace): "the
weapons which they use are a longe basket hilt sworde, and long kind
of dagger broad in the back and sharp at ye pointe which they call a
durcke."
Researchers such as Ewart Oakeshott, James Forman, and John Wallace
agree on the earliest dateable appearance of the dirk: an effigy
dated to 1502 in Ardchattan Priory shows a knight girded with a
dagger clearly identifiable as a dirk. It is larger than the average
ballock dagger of the time and possesses a blade that is wide at the
hilt and tapers to a strong point. Its sheath contains a by-knife.
Wallace groups early dirks into two categories which overlap in
date. The first group "is akin to the dudgeon dagger, and to its
medieval ancestor the ballock-knife, because of its small, well
rounded haunches. It has a wide, flat pommel, and a cylindrical
grip, with little or no decoration in the way of carving—perhaps a
simple band of interlace at the top and bottom of the grip. The
National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland has a specimen of this
type inscribed and dated FEAR GOD AND DO NOT KIL 1680. It is
unlikely that this type survived the first decade of the eighteenth
century, as it was somewhat archaic even then."
The second group "also has a large flat pommel, and a cylindrical
grip. But the haunches are parallel-sided, though they have a round-ness
which marks them out from the later, fully-developed dirk... This
second group could have been manufactured at any time in the late
seventeenth or early eighteenth century."
Early dirks shared common characteristics, according to Wallace. The
lower edge of the hilt was curved and without metal reinforcement.
The blades were long and single-edged with the tang peened over "a
large burr or button." Some examples show "gimping" of the blade
spine, an effect that makes the spine of the blade look like it has
dull saw teeth.
The leather sheaths extended upward to cover the haunches and often
contained pockets for by-knives and forks. The hilts were normally
of wood, though Wallace puts most of the non-wooden-hilted dirks
(those hilted with materials such as horn or brass) into this early
category.
The early dirks seem to have suffered from basic design flaws. The
pommel plate did not offer full protection to the pommel end of the
grip. Also unprotected were the wooden haunches. This is most likely
why many examples of early dirks show damage to those areas.
Traditional
Dirks
The earliest "traditional" dirks seem to appear shortly after the
oppression, reign, and life of Oliver Cromwell ended in 1658,
according to James Forman. The fully developed dirk seems to address
these weaknesses more effectively. Dirks of traditional form
featured an evolved pommel; the pommel plate laps over the edges of
the wooden pommel, forming a pommel cap. The curve at the bottom of
the haunches remained, though it was now reinforced with a plate of
metal and sometimes additionally with strips of metal up the sides
of the haunches. The haunches, too, underwent development, becoming
less rounded with "sides flattened in the same plane as the blade,"
according to Wallace. The knotwork carving on the grips became more
intricate, usually covering the entire grip and extending down onto
the haunches. Small studs appeared in the gaps of the knotwork.
Blades of the old single-edge tapered form made solely for dirks
still existed, though cut-down sword blades (often imported from the
blade-making centers of Solingen and Passau) became increasingly
common. This could be an early example of recycling for cost
purposes, though most experts agree it was done more because the
imported blades were better tempered than those of local
manufacture. Disarming acts such as the one issued in 1716 "seems
only to have encouraged the cutting down of worn-out sword blades to
be remounted as dirks" according to Forman.
The older sheaths of leather were increasingly reinforced with metal
as well, though their tops no longer covered the haunches. Instead,
the tops of the sheaths were curved to nestle within the curve of
the haunches. When present, pockets for by-knives and forks were
also metal bound. Rather than being carried side-by-side, the
by-knife/fork pair began to be carried one beneath the other, though
examples have been found in the old configuration.
Dirks of this form enjoyed their heyday for less than a century. The
disaster at Culloden in 1745 led to prohibitions of wearing highland
dress and accoutrements by those not in the army. These conditions
caused the dirk to be worn less frequently unless you had
connections with authorities willing to look the other way. Dirks up
to this point had shown a preference for function over form. The
carving, while complex and often beautifully executed, did not
detract from the usability of the dirk. In fact, the interlaced
knots on the grips (whose origins can be traced to the Celts and the
Norse) may have added needed traction in the heat of battle when
sweat and blood had made the hands slick.
Final
Evolution of the Dirk
Fully-developed Scottish
dirks, left to right: Circa 1550-1600, Early 17th century,
Early 18th century, Circa 1790, Circa 1810-1880
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The
final stages of the dirk show a marked change from the early weapons
becoming, as Oakeshott called it, "a dress accessory." Wallace notes
that the grips grew larger while the curve between the haunches grew
shallower until it became straight. The shape of the grip changed
from the more cylindrical form handed down by the ballock and
dudgeon daggers to a shape intended to represent the thistle;
thistle-shaped grips became common by the beginning of the
nineteenth century. The studs in the knotwork were replaced with
more fashionable nails and tacks of brass and silver, sometimes
gilt. The carving on the grips also evolved (or degenerated
according to some historians), moving from interwoven bands of
knotwork to a style looking much like a basket weave.
Fancier fittings for both grip and scabbard, often of silver, became
even more common after 1800 and the decorations showed direct
correlations to silverware of the day. By-knives and forks were
similarly decorated. These extra implements began to feature
cairngorms and other precious stones on their pommels, a feature
that found its way to the pommel of the dirk itself. Late examples
have the pommel of the dirk canted forward to better show off the
stone.
Dirks of this late form were issued to Highland regiments after the
'45. The musket and bayonet grew in popularity in military and
circles while many regimental budgets became stretched thin. The
dirk was dropped from the gear of the rank and file soldier, though
officers still carried them, more as status symbols than weapons of
war. Each regiment adopted its own pattern, many which can still be
positively linked to a particular unit and time.
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