Sgian-dubh

The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}}, from sgian ('knife') and dubh ('black', also with the secondary meaning of 'hidden'.{{Cite web |title=Am Faclair Beag |url=https://www.faclair.com/ |access-date=1 January 2024}}; Compare also other Gaelic word-formations such as {{lang|gd|clàr-dubh}} 'hidden agenda',

{{lang|gd|dubh-sgeir}} 'hidden (i.e. underwater) skerry', {{lang|gd|dubh-fhacal}} 'riddle' ({{lit|hidden word}}), {{lang|gd|dubh-cheist}} 'enigma' ({{lit|hidden question}}).).

Although sgian is feminine, so that a modern Gael might refer to a black knife as sgian dhubh, the term for the ceremonial knife is a set-phrase containing a historical form with blocked lenition.{{cite book| last = Bauer| first = Michael| title = Blas Na Gāidhlig: The Practical Guide to Scottish Gaelic Pronunciation| year = 2011| publisher = Akerbeltz| isbn = 978-1-907165-00-9 }}{{Cite web |last=Akerbeltz - An Gobhar Dubh |date=4 August 2023 |title=The homo-organic rule or When not to lenite |url=http://www.akerbeltz.org/index.php?title=The_homo-organic_rule_or_When_not_to_lenite |access-date=4 August 2024 |website=Gaelic Resources on the web}}

Other spellings are found in English, including skean-dhu

{{Cite web |title=Skene dhu |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skean%20dhu |access-date=16 August 2024 |website=Miriam Webster}} and skene-dhu."skene¹" Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd edition, 1989. [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50226218?query_type=word&queryword=skene&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=FOv8-3NMUCy-8022&hilite=50226218] (subscription required). The Gaelic plural, {{lang|gd|sgianan-dubha}}, is only rarely encountered in English.

File:Sir Henry Raeburn - Colonel Alastair Ranaldson Macdonell of Glengarry (1771 - 1828) - Google Art Project.jpg of Alasdair Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry in 1812]]

The {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}} may have evolved from the {{lang|gd|sgian-achlais}}, a dagger that could be concealed under the armpit. Used by the Scots of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, this knife was slightly larger than the average modern {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}} and was carried in the upper sleeve or lining of the body of the jacket.{{cite book |last=Grancsay |first=Stephen Vincent |title=Arms & Armor: Essays From the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1920–1964 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=1991 |location=New York |pages=82–83 |isbn=978-0-87099-338-1}}

Draconian Scots laws introduced by the Scots Privy Council under the Stewart King in the late 1500's; intended to reduce honour interclan feuds and duelling included the outlawing of hidden weapons. {Basilikon Doron 1599}. This writ by the Scots King was impossible to enforce North of the Highland Line and so the carrying of weapons continued in the Highlands until the suppression period post Culloden in 1746. Never the less, the transition from the carrying of the last resort weapon (Sgian) may have begun to transition from armpit pocket to top of hose on the leg at this time.

However, codes of Highland courtesy and etiquette would demand that when entering the home of a friend, any concealed weapons would be revealed. It follows that the {{lang|gd|sgian-achlais}} would be removed from its hiding place and displayed in the stocking top held securely by the garters.{{cite book |last=Ray |first=R. Celeste |title=Highland Heritage: Scottish Americans in the American South |publisher=UNC Press Books |year=2001 |page=212 |isbn=978-0-8078-4913-2}}

The {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}} also resembles the small skinning knife that is part of the typical set of hunting knives. These sets contain a butchering knife with a {{convert|9|to|10|in|cm|adj=on}} blade, and a skinner with a blade of about {{convert|4|in|cm}}. These knives usually had antler handles, as do many early sgian-dubhs. The larger knife is likely the ancestor of the modern dirk.{{cite book |last=Blair |first=Claude |title=European & American Arms, c. 1100–1850 |publisher=B. T. Batsfords |year=1962 |location =Virginia |pages=15–17 |isbn=978-0-8048-1684-7}}{{cite web |url=http://irisharchaeology.ie/2013/03/the-waterford-knife/ |title=The Waterford Knife |work=Irish Archaeology |date=23 March 2013 |access-date=27 December 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://www.knives.com/ireland_iron_age.html |title=Iron Age Ireland |last=Daithi |work=archive.org |access-date=27 December 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028201029/http://www.knives.com/ireland_iron_age.html |archive-date=28 October 2005}}

The {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}} can be seen in portraits of kilted men of the mid-19th century. A portrait by Sir Henry Raeburn of Colonel Alasdair Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland; it shows hanging from his belt on his right hand side a Highland Scottish dirk, and visible at the top of his right stocking what appears to be a nested set of two sgian-dubhs. A similar sgian-dubh is in the collection of The National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland.{{cite web|url=http://sources.nli.ie/Record/PS_UR_088533|title=Holdings: Three Irish knife-daggers (from Co. Mayo).|work=nli.ie|year=1969 |access-date=27 December 2016}}

File:Skean.jpg

{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}

The early blades varied in construction, some having a "clipped" (famously found on the Bowie knife) or "drop" point. The "spear-point" tip has now become universal. The earliest known blades, some housed in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, are made from German or Scandinavian steel, which was highly prized by the Highlanders. Scalloped filework on the back of the blade is common on all Scottish knives. A short blade of {{convert|3|to|3.5|in|cm|round=0.5}} is typical.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

Traditionally the scabbard is made of leather reinforced with wood and fitted with mounts of silver or some other metal which may be cast or engraved with designs ranging from Scottish thistles, Celtic knotwork, or heraldic elements such as a crest. While this makes for more popular and expensive knives, the sheath is hidden from view in the stocking while the {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}} is worn. The sheaths of many modern sgian-dubhs are made of plastic mounted with less expensive metal fittings.

Since the modern {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}} is worn mainly as a ceremonial item of dress and is usually not employed for cutting food or self-defence, blades are often of a simple construction. These are typically made from stainless steel. The hilts used on many modern sgian-dubhs are made of plastic that has been molded to resemble carved wood and fitted with cast metal mounts and synthetic decorative stones. Some are not even knives at all, but a plastic handle and sheath cast as one piece. Other examples are luxurious and expensive art pieces, with hand-carved ebony or bog wood hilts, sterling silver fittings and may have pommels set with genuine cairngorm stones and blades of Damascus steel or etched with Celtic designs or heraldic motifs.

When worn as part of the national dress of Scotland, the {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}} is legal in Scotland, England, and Wales: in Scotland under the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 s. 49(5)(c);{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/39/part/VI/crossheading/offensive-weapons |title=Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 |work=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=27 December 2016}} in England and Wales under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (s. 139){{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/contents |title=Criminal Justice Act 1988 |work=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=27 December 2016}} and the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 (s. 4).{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/26/contents |title=Offensive Weapons Act 1996 |work=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=27 December 2016}}

However, the wearing of the {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}} is sometimes banned in areas with zero tolerance weapons policies or heightened security concerns. For example, they were banned from a school dance in Scotland,{{cite web |url=https://www.scotsman.com/education/top-private-school-bans-sgian-dubhs-ahead-of-christmas-dance-1-1417293 |title=Top private school bans sgian-dubhs ahead of Christmas dance |date=26 November 2006 |publisher=The Scotsman |access-date=20 October 2019}} and initially banned for the June 2014 celebration of the Battle of Bannockburn.{{cite web|url=http://www.clans2014.com/no-more-sgian-dont-its-sgian-dubh-at-bannockburn/ |title=No More 'Sgian Dont!' Its Sgian Dubh at Bannockburn! |website=clans2014.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808053359/http://www.clans2014.com/no-more-sgian-dont-its-sgian-dubh-at-bannockburn/ |access-date=15 June 2014 |archive-date=8 August 2014}}.

Air travellers are now globally required by airport security to put {{lang|gd|sgian-dubh}} in their checked baggage.{{cite web|url=https://www.aviation.govt.nz/passenger-information/travelling-with-culturally-or-religiously-significant-items/|title=Travelling with culturally or religiously significant items|website=www.aviation.govt.nz|access-date=22 February 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tsa.gov/blog/2018/02/22/tsa-travel-tips-travelling-religious-cultural-items|title=TSA Travel Tips: Travelling with Religious & Cultural Items|website=www.tsa.gov|access-date=22 February 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.edinburghairport.com/help/faqs|title=Can I carry sharp-edged religious/cultural regalia/accessories (e.g. Kirpans, Sgian Dhub or Dirks) on my person or in my hand baggage?|publisher=Edinburgh Airport |access-date=22 February 2023}}

A Montreal piper received a ticket from police for wearing his sgian-dubh in public. Police gave Jeff McCarthy a $221 ticket for sporting it in his kilt hose while performing at the McGill University convocation ceremony on 2 November 2016.{{cite web |title=Montreal bagpiper to contest ticket for carrying ceremonial knife |url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-bagpiper-to-contest-ticket-for-carrying-ceremonial-knife |work=Montreal Gazette |date=19 November 2016 |access-date=27 December 2016}} McCarthy immediately contested the fine and after some delay the ticket was cancelled by The City of Montreal in May 2018, and his knife was returned.{{cite news |title=Ticketed Montreal bagpiper to get ceremonial knife back, have case dropped |url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/ticketed-montreal-bagpiper-to-get-ceremonial-knife-back-have-case-dropped |work=Montreal Gazette |date=19 May 2018 |access-date=20 May 2018}}

• {{section link|Dirk#Highland dirk}}
• Mattucashlass

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Sgian dubh}}

{{Wiktionary|sgian dubh}}

{{Knives}}

{{Scottish clans}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sgian-Dubh}}

Category:Edged and bladed weapons

Category:Ceremonial knives

Category:Daggers

Category:Knives

Category:European weapons

Category:Highland dress

Category:Scottish Gaelic language

Category:Weapons of Scotland