Ballock Dagger

3D Model

Date: 14th century

Found: Borremose, Sværdborg, Zealand, Denmark.

Length of sheath: 19.5 cm

Collection: Medieval, National Museum of Denmark.

This model is that of a so-called ballock dagger, a name derived from the distinctly shaped hilt with two oval bulges resembling male testes. The particular ballock dagger is one of the most elaborate examples of this weaponry type. The wooden handle is equipped with a lobe guard and pommel cap consisting of partly gilded silver. The pommel cap and the highly decorative sheath (also of partly gilded silver) bears the coats of arms of the so-called Uldsax family, displaying their distinctive symbol of a pair of sheep shears. The dagger is thus believed to have belonged to Saxe Petersen (born c. 1310, † before 1377), who was knighted in 1330. The blade, which is fragmented, is a single-edged blade with a triangular cross-section.

Extended description: http://combatarchaeology.org/medieval-and-early-modern-arms-and-armour/