Dirk with Sheath ca. 1650-1700 French In addition to functioning as essential military side arms, daggers were worn by all classes of society as a part of everyday dress in medieval and Renaissance Europe. They were used as tools, as eating utensils, and as a ready means of self-defense. Daggers were generally carried in a sheath at the belt and varied greatly in size. The amount and type of decoration displayed on a dagger depended entirely upon the taste and means of its owner. Few, however, exhibit images as elaborate and detailed as the Old Testament subjects that adorn the carved wood grip of this example. The old Testament was adapted by early Christians from the Tanakh, the most sacred teachings of Judaism, to provide the scriptural foundation for the advent of Jesus Christ as told in the New Testament. The events and characters of the New Testament are seen in the Christian tradition as the divinely ordained culmination and fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures. Therefore, figur