Oakeshott Type XVa.3 Arming Dagger – Castillon Hoard, 15th Century

The Castillon Hoard of 1453 is one of the most significant battlefield finds in medieval archaeology - a cache of arms and armour recovered from the site of the last battle of the Hundred Years' War. Among the finds were daggers of the Oakeshott Type XVa.3, the quintessential knightly sidearm of the late medieval period - slender, thrust-optimised, and carried by every serious man-at-arms of the era. Also, known as the Arming dagger.

The Battle of Castillon, fought on 17 July 1453, ended the Hundred Years' War and marked the final expulsion of English forces from France. The arms recovered from the site - including blades, fittings and fragments - represent a unique snapshot of late medieval military equipment at the very moment the medieval world was ending and the Renaissance beginning.

The Oakeshott Type XVa.3 dagger follows the same typological framework that sword historian Ewart Oakeshott applied to swords - a slender, steeply-tapering blade designed primarily for thrusting, capable of finding gaps in plate armour or delivering a coup de grâce to a fallen opponent. By the mid-15th century, as plate armour had become near-universal among knights and men-at-arms, the thrusting dagger had become the essential secondary sidearm of the battlefield.

Deepeeka's version is a faithful reconstruction of the type, with a tempered high carbon steel blade featuring hollow ground geometry that reduces weight while retaining a strong central spine for durability. The blade tang is peened over the pommel for a robust hilt assembly. The steel guard and pommel are paired with a stout wooden grip overlaid in finely-stitched leather treated with beeswax and shrunk for a tightened fit - exactly as documented in medieval sources. The wooden scabbard is overlaid in tight, form-fitting leather.

• Overall Length: 18.5″
• Blade Length: 12.6″
• Blade: High carbon steel, hollow ground
• Edge: Unsharpened
• Hilt: Steel guard and pommel, wooden grip with beeswax-treated leather
• Tang: Peened over pommel
• Scabbard: Wood overlaid in leather
• Type: Oakeshott XVa.3
• Variants: AH6991 (standard) / AH6991R (light combat)
• Period: 15th Century - late Hundred Years' War