Ananelace (or inMiddle Englishanelas) was amedievaldagger worn as a gentleman'saccoutrement in 14th century England.
Frederick William Fairholt (1846) describes it as "a knife or dagger worn at thegirdle",[1] andGeorge Russell French (1869) as "a large dagger, or a short sword, [that] appears to have been worn, suspended by a ring from the girdle, almost exclusively by civilians".[2]
Anelaces had a broad blade "sharp on both edges, and became narrower from hilt to point".[1] Auguste Demmin (1870) also uses the term "anelace" for the similarcinquedeas of 15th century Italy.[3] The term is attested from 1250 to 1300 in the Middle English form ofan(e)las, which is derived from theOld Frenchale(s)naz, a derivative ofalesne (awl), itself derived from theOld High Germanalasna.[4]
French mentions numerous examples of anelaces appearing in 14th century English art.[2] They were also mentioned in literature. InChaucer'sCanterbury Tales, afranklin (a landowner) wears "an anelace and agipciere [pouch] all of silk / Hung at his girdle, white as morwe milk", and in an undated English translation of the poem ofPartonopeus de Blois, King Sornegur wears "an anelas sharp-pointed".[2]