Foot Combat with Daggers c. 1512 - 1515

This watercolor on paper depicts two figures engaged in a dagger fight. The artist is unknown, but the work likely comes from late medieval Europe, where aristocratic culture placed great emphasis on martial skills. The image presents us with armored combatants, locked in a deadly embrace, each wielding a dagger. The figures are not simply fighting, but performing; perhaps they are demonstrating a fashionable fighting technique. This speaks to the social function of violence in earlier eras. Skill in combat was a symbol of power, a means of social mobility, and a source of cultural capital. Manuals and treatises, like this image, were created to codify and disseminate these skills. To understand this image fully, one might consult historical fencing manuals, accounts of tournaments, and studies of social customs of the time. These kinds of resources shed light on the values and practices of a warrior culture. Art such as this reflects these values and practices.