Uploaded February 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Cinquedea was a popular sidearm in Northern Italy in the early part of the 16th century. They can vary in size immensely from being a small dagger to a full size sword, however most fit into the category of a very short sword. These training examples made by Black Fencer represent a roughly avarage example with a 50cm blade length.
There is no documented style for how they were used (arguably a little of Marozzo perhaps with his large dagger type involving some cutting actions), and so we are mixing the styles of short swords we do practice with (messer/dussack) with some dagger techniques. With its very broad blade and zero flexibility as a result, these training examples are a lot of fun but must be used with the appropriate levels of control.
The Cinquedea was a popular sidearm in Northern Italy in the early part of the 16th century. They can vary in size immensely from being a small dagger to a full size sword, however most fit into the category of a very short sword. These training examples made by Black Fencer represent a roughly avarage example with a 50cm blade length.
There is no documented style for how they were used (arguably a little of Marozzo perhaps with his large dagger type involving some cutting actions), and so we are mixing the styles of short swords we do practice with (messer/dussack) with some dagger techniques. With its very broad blade and zero flexibility as a result, these training examples are a lot of fun but must be used with the appropriate levels of control.
