In "Archeology of Weapons", page 253-254, Oakeshott talks about the dagger and it's origins:
"From documentary evidence it seems that the dagger was developed from a weapon used by foot soldiery, or by peasants in defense of their homes. It was in fact simply the descendant of the short sax or skolm of the Viking age, though, with the complete avandonment of Norse terms in England and Normandy, we find it everywhere called Cultellus or Coustel. That this term was used for the dagger is made clear by a passage in a statur of William, king of Scotland (1165-1214), which says: 'Habeat equum, habergeon, capitum e ferro, et cultellum qui dicitur dagger.' From their use of this weapon bodies of foot soldiery came to be called 'Coustillers', and even as early as the middle of the twelfth century the term was applied in an entirely derogatory sense to bands of brigands. We read in a statue of the Count of Toulouse in 1152 : 'Si quis aliquem hominem malum, quem Cultellarium dicimus, [censored] cultellis euntem nocte cause furandi occiderit, nullum damnun patiatur propter hoc' . Another indication of the use and shape of the cultellus is found in Rigord's description of some Imperial troops at the battle of Bouvines in 1214. 'Habeat cultellos longos,' he says, 'Graciles, triacumines quolibet acumine indifferentur secantes a cuspide usque as manubrium, quibus utebantur pro gladius.'
Is there anyone out there who can translate the Latin passages?
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