Sgian Dubh Dagger
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Sgian Dubh Dagger |
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| Price per Unit (piece):
$49.00
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The Sgian Dubh (pronounced "skee(a)n doo") is a ceremonial dagger (Gaelic sgian) worn as part of the modern Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt. It is worn tucked into the hose with only the pommel visible. Particularly in the Catholic Church, that clergy do not wear the Sgian Dubh. Although it was originally a utility item, clergy do not carry weapons, or even a blade when it was in fashion to do so, and the tradition carries onto the sgian. The sgian dubh may have evolved from the sgian achlais, a dagger that could be concealed under the armpit. Used by the Scots of the 17th and 18th centuries, this knife was slightly larger than the average modern sgian dubh and was carried in the upper sleeve or lining of the body of the jacket. Courtesy and etiquette would demand that when entering the home of a friend, any concealed weapons would be revealed. It follows that the sgian achlais would be removed from its hiding-place and displayed in the stocking top held securely by the garters. The sgian dubh also resembles the small skinning knife that is part of the typical set of hunting knives. These sets contain a butchering knife with a 9-10 inch blade, and a skinner with a blade of about 4 inches. These knives usually had antler handles, as do many early sgian dubhs. The larger knife is likely the ancestor of the modern dirk. The sgian dubh can be seen in portraits of kilted men of the mid 1800s. A portrait by Sir Henry Raeburn of Colonel Alasdair Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland; it shows hanging from his belt on his right hand side a sheath holding nested hunting knives, and visible at the top of his right stocking what appears to be a nested set of two sgian dubhs. A similar sgian dubh is in the collection of The National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. |
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