Scotland, 15th century CE. This is a distinctive dagger with a thin, sharp blade and strongly phallic shape, as suggested by its name, and by the propensity of medieval Scotsmen to wear it directly in front of their girdles. The easily scandalized Victorians tried to rename it the "kidney dagger" but the name "ballock", from the much more sexually frank medieval period, has persisted. This type of dagger is one of five medieval types, and first appeared around 1300; it was in use in Scotland until the end of the 18th century. Based on their depictions in art, these daggers were used by people across society -- knights, merchants, artisans, and churchmen. This particular example can be dated by its blade shape, which is a flattened diamond in cross section and which came into use around the year 1450, and by metal plate reinforcement at the top of the wooden handle, which is an innovation from the early 15th century. The extant wood hilt on this piece is a particularly nice detail -- it is made of a single piece of hardwood, either ebony, holly, rootwood, briar, or heather root. Size: 19" L x 2.4" W (48.3 cm x 6.1 cm)

Provenance: Ex- Duncan collection

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#113440

Intact and quite excellent with minor age crack on handle.