Anelace

14th century English gentleman wearing an anelace on his girdle

An anelace (or in Middle English anelas) was a medieval dagger worn as a gentleman's accoutrement in 14th century England.

Frederick William Fairholt (1846) describes it as "a knife or dagger worn at the girdle",^[1] and George Russell French (1869) as "a large dagger, or a short sword, [that] appears to have been worn, suspended by a ring from the girdle, almost exclusively by civilians".^[2]

Anelaces had a broad blade "sharp on both edges, and became narrower from hilt to point".^[1] Auguste Demmin (1870) also uses the term "anelace" for the similar cinquedeas of 15th century Italy.^[3] The term is attested from 1250 to 1300 in the Middle English form of an(e)las, which is derived from the Old French ale(s)naz, a derivative of alesne (awl), itself derived from the Old High German alasna.^[4]

French mentions numerous examples of anelaces appearing in 14th century English art.^[2] They were also mentioned in literature. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, a franklin (a landowner) wears "an anelace and a gipciere [pouch] all of silk / Hung at his girdle, white as morwe milk", and in an undated English translation of the poem of Partonopeus de Blois, King Sornegur wears "an anelas sharp-pointed".^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Fairholt, Frederick William (1846). Costume in England: A History of Dress from the Earliest Period Till the Close of the Eighteenth Century: To which is Appended an Illustrated Glossary of Terms for All Articles of Use Or Ornament Worn about the Person. Chapman and Hall. pp. 411-412.
^ ^a ^b ^c French, George Russell (1869). A Catalogue of the Antiquities and Works of Art, Volume 1. London: Harrison and sons. p. 184.
^ Demmin, Auguste (1870). Weapons of War: Being a History of Arms and Armour from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Part 1. Bell & Daldy. p. 378.
^ "Anelace". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2020-05-05.

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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 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 Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel 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 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 Janbiya Jile Kabutowari Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Liaoning dagger Mark I trench knife Microtech Jagdkommando Parrying dagger Poignard Pugio Push dagger 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 KitchenAid 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

References

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