Misericorde (weapon)

An illustration of a misericorde from a 1908 textbook

A misericorde (/ˌmɪzərɪˈkɔːrd/ or /-zɛrɪ-/; from French miséricorde, "mercy"; itself derived from the Latin misericordia, "act of mercy") was a long and narrow knife used during the High Middle Ages to deliver mercy killings to mortally wounded knights, as it was designed to be thin enough to strike through the gaps in their armour.^[1]

The misericorde was used to dispatch knights who had received mortal wounds, which were not always quickly fatal in the age of bladed combat; it could also be used as a means of killing an active adversary, for example during a struggle.^[1] The blade could be pushed through the visor or eyeholes of the helm with the aim of piercing the brain, or thrust through holes or weak points in plate armour, such as under the arm, with the aim of piercing the heart.

History

[edit]

The misericorde was known from the 12th century and has appeared in the armaments of England, Germany, and Persia.^[2]^[3] It was also used by Polish knights and princes from at least the 14th century.^{[citation needed]}

References

[edit]

1 2 Bradbury, Jim (2004). The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-22126-9.
↑ Boutell, Charles (2004). Arms and Armour in Antiquity and the Middle Ages: Also a Descriptive Notice of Modern Weapons. Paul Lacombe (trans.). University of Michigan Library. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-217-17547-0.
↑ Riley, Henry Thomas, ed. (1868). Memorials of London and London Life, in the XIIIth, XIVth and XVth Centuries. Being a Series of Extracts Local, Social, and Political, from the Early Archives of the City of London A.D. 1276–1419. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 940160319.

v t e Knives and daggers
List of daggers
Kitchen and table knives	Boning Boti Bread knife Butcher knife Butter knife Caidao Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Electric knife Fillet knife Grapefruit knife Lame Mezzaluna Parmesan knife Pizza cutter Splayd Steak knife Tomato knife Japanese kitchen knives Deba bōchō Maguro bōchō Nakiri bōchō Santoku Sashimi bōchō Udon kiri Unagisaki hōchō Usuba bōchō Yanagi ba
Other knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boot knife Bowie Cane knife Ceramic knife Clip point Coin slasher Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Golok Gravity knife Guna Hacking knife Higonokami Hunting knife Husa knife Ivan's Knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kard Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Marking knife Military knife wz. 98 Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife OSS Escape Utility Knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pesh-kabz Pirah Pocketknife Phurba Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Sheath knife Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Verlängerungsmesser Warrior knife Wedung X-Acto Yakutian knife Yarara Parachute Knife Yatagan
Daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh nakh Balarao Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dha Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Gunong Hunting dagger Jambiya Jile Kabutowari Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Liaoning dagger Mark I trench knife Microtech Jagdkommando Parrying dagger Poignard Pugio Push dagger RAF Aircrew Knife Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō U.S. Marine Raider stiletto V-42 Yoroi-dōshi
Manufacturers	Aitor Knife Company Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Aritsugu Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Chroma Cnife Clauss Cutlery Company Cobray Company Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Dalian Hanwei Metal Dexter-Russell Ek Commando Knife Co. EKA Emerson Knives F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Gerber Legendary Blades Füritechnics Glock Ges.m.b.H. Imperial Schrade Ivan's Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives Marble Arms Medford Knife and Tool Microtech Knives Morseth Muela Murphy Knives OLFA Ontario Knife Company Opinel Randall Made Knives Ranz Cuchillos Rösle Sabatier Shun Cutlery Slice, Inc. SOG Specialty Knives Spyderco STI Knives Strider Knives Thiers Issard TOPS Knives Tramontina Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Carl Walther GmbH Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Wüsthof Yoshida Metal Industry Global Zero Tolerance Knives Zwilling J. A. Henckels
Knifemakers	Rex Applegate James Black Tom Brown Jr. Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Jack W. Crain Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Bill Harsey Jr. Phill Hartsfield Gil Hibben Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve A. G. Russell Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler
Associations	American Bladesmith Society Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Knifemakers' Guild
Category:Knives / Daggers

This article relating to knives is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

A page that knows where it met you.

History

See also

References