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THE HALBERD

AND OTHEREUROPEAN POLEARMS

1300-1650

by George A. Snook, M.D.

M U S E U M R E S T O R A T I O N S E R V I C EAlexandria Bay, N.Y. Bloomfield, Ont.

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Cover Illustration: A poleaxe of the mid 15th century superimposed ov er a late16th century woodblock print by an unidentified artist. This illustration whichwas removed from a 17th century German text, shows warriors (Dopplesold-

ners) carrying two-handed swords with S-shaped quillons, a type which haddisappeared by about 1600, and "half-moon" shaped halberds.

MUSEUM RESTORATION SERVICE 1998

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Snook, George A. (George Aaron), 1925-

The halberd and other European pole arms, 1300-1650

(Historical arms series ; no. 38)

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-919316-3 8-7

1. WeaponsEuropeHistory. 2. WeaponsEurope History Pictorial works. I. Museum Restoration Service. II. Title.III. Series.

U872.S66 1998 623.4'41 '094 C98-900515-1

Printed in Canada for

M U S E U M R E S T O R A T I O N S E R V I C EP.O.Box 70, P.O.Box 390Alexandria Bay, NY Bloomfield , ONU.S.A. 13607-0070 Canada, KOK 1GO

Phone: (613) 393-2980 Fax: (613) 393-3378

EUROPEAN POLEARMS

The years between about 1200 and 1650

saw a decline in importance of armoredhorseman on the battlefields of Europe, adecline which was initiated by the appear-ance of missiles delivered by the longbowor the crossbow and ended with the devel-opment of the firearm. During these yearsan old weapon, the polearm, reappearedwhich gave increased importance to therole of the infantryman and was an addi-tional factor in the end of the dominance ofthe armored cavalryman.

The study of armaments of this periodhas been mainly centered on the sword andarmor, and the polearm is a relatively ne-glected subject, classified as a secondaryweapon, and relegated to the end of theliterature on the subject.

There are probably several reasons forthe neglect of this important weapon: thereis an aura about the sword that mad e it therepresentative of knightly virtue which wasnot extended to the po learm used by peas-ants; many polearms were crudely madeand do not have artistic, aesthetic or mone-tary value; the wooden shafts of theseweapons do not stand the ravages of timeas well as metal, and because of their lesser

value they were not as carefully preserved

as the sword. And finally it must also berealized that their period of significancewas brief.

The definition of a polearm is a weaponmounted on a shaft or a pole. They areclassified according to their use as

thrusting, cutting, percussion, combination types.

The percussive weapons can be subdi-vided into either crushing or piercingtypes. Most polearms are two-handed inuse. The arrow, qu arrel and javelin are notincluded as they are classified as missileweapons.

As the title suggest, the scope of thistreatise will be limited to European infan-try polearms from the later Middle Agesthrough the early Renaissance. It is hopedthat it will serve to promote a greater ap-preciation of these weapons and that it willalso provide a system of identification ofthe many and varied types. The emphasiswill be on the halberd, which along with thepike, is the key to the rise in importance ofthe polearm.

THE HALBERD: CHARACTERISTICS AND DEVELOPMENT

Rex Boemus vidensque corum instrumenta bel l ica et vasainterfectionis gesa in vulgar! helnbarton, amirans ait: o quam terribils

aspectus eat istius cunei cum suis instrumentis horribilius et nonmodicum metuendis (The King of Bohemia saw their weapons calledHalberds and how easy it was to kill with them. He says withamazement "What a terrible aspect of this formation with theirhorrible instruments of death").

1

The stone axe predated the appearanceof modern man and is consistently identi-fied with Homo erectus and Neanderthalsites which are more than 3000 years old.In the beginning, the hand axe, a stone orcelt wielded in the hand, progressed to a

stone axe head fastened to a shaft. The mo stlogical technique was to split the shaft,insert the head and secure it with lashingsof sinews or rawhide. This was follow ed byinserting the shaft into a hole in the headand with this the axe had essentially

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Fig. 1. A stone axe attached to a split shaftand secured by rawhide thongs. This is a mod-ern example made by Iroquois Indians.

reached its final form, only to await ad-vances in metallurgy to obtain stronger andmore durable tools and weapons.

The halberd is an axe blade surmountedby a thrusting point backed by a pointedbeak. This three part head is secured to asix to eight foot long shaft by a number ofnails generally inserted through long strapsknown as langets. The langets extend alongthe shaft from the head towards the butt.The nails may be fastened from one sidestraight through the shaft to appear in ahole in the opposite langet and then pee nedover or alternatively they may be staggeredso that they strike the opposite langet and

are bent in a curved manner to lock them-selves in place. The head weighs about fourpounds depending on the size of the blade.

The first recorded mention of the hal-berd is found in a poem about the TrojanWar by Konrad of Wurzburg written some-time before 1287. It mentions 6,000 men,many carrying halberds.

There are two theories regarding thehalberd's initial appearance. One, sug-

gested by 9th century murals preserved inZurich, argues that the halberd evolvedfrom sword blades fused to wooden shafts.The other and more plausible theory holdsthat the weapon developed from the fight-ing axe. The two handed axe favored by theVikings is well documented. One scene in

the llth century Bayeux Tapestry clearlyshows a Saxon footsoldier with an axe fell-ing a horse, displaying the power of theweapon. It appears doubtful that a haftedsword blade would be sturdy enough toperform the same deed. Furthermore theskill necessary to produce a good swordblade was rare and it would be most waste-ful to use a good sword blade in this man-ner. It is more logical to conclude that thehalberd arises from the axe while the glaiveis the descendant of the hafted sword blade.

The halberd undoubtedly developed asa means to extend the reach of the soldier,and at the same time provide him with amore useful weapon for close combat. Thatit succeeded will be amply demonstrated.

The early halberd is essentially a twoeyed axe: a simple axe blade with two eyesrather than one. The reason for the secondeye was to minimize breakage of the shaftby increasing the attachment to the woodas the single eye maximizes the stress to asingle relatively narrow point. By widen-ing the distance to two separated points the

stress is spread over a wider area and the junction is potentiallystronger.

The earliest halberd that can be positively identified and datedis one in the Berne Historical Museum recovered from the battle-

field of Morgarten which took place in 1315. It has a nearlyrectangular blade with two eyes and the upper end extended to apoint for thrusting. One with a more crescent shaped blade and arudimentary beak is found in the same museum. The blade shownabove (Fig. 3) is consistent with the Morgarten type and the factthat the upper point is not prominent would suggest that this isperhaps an early design.

An early illustration of this type is found in the Votive Tabletof St. Lambrecht (c.1430) in the Landeszeughaus Graz. A wood-cut discovered by John Waldman, my colleague and fellow col-lector, published by Johann Stumpf in the mid 16th century but

Fig. 2. Examples of early axes with a singleeye socket for the shaft. These could be used asa weapon or a tool.

Fig. 3. Early form of the halberd. Essentially it is an axe with anelongated blade and two eyes. The upper edge is sharp and is a rudimentary

spear. The eyes are square and thelower eye has a single hole f or fasteningto the shaft.

Fig. 4. Another variation of the halberd. The upper edge of the blade hasbeen elongated to form a thrusting spear and the point is reinforced. Thelower eye is elongated to form a rudimentary langet on the back side ofthe eye.

Fig. 5. Early halberd. It still has two eyes but now has a definite spearon the back edge of the blade. This represents the beginning of the truehalberd as the spear is designed for deliberate use in thrusting. It has anearly beak welded to the upper eye.

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Fig. 6. An Early form of hal-berd which has a flat rectangu-lar blade with a rudimentarybeak and no flange. The spearis flat with no median ridge, c.1420.

Fig. 7. Early Landsknech thalberd with the edge of theblade parallel to the shaft. Ithas a flange at the base of thebeak, c. 1480.

Fig. 8. Early Landsk nechthalberd with a slightly obliqueblade, a rudimentary beak, andno flange. The long flat spearhas a median ridge, c. 1450.

depicting an event of the 14th century, il-lustrates a similar example with a woodenshaft extending beyond the blade andsharpened to a point. Wagner shows sev-eral of these types in his illustrations takenfrom sources as early as 1315 which wouldmake this blade contemporary with theMorgarten blade.

At that time the rear facing beak wasadded. This will be found attached to theupper eye or sometimes as a separate de-tached part of the head with its own eyebetween the two eyes of the axe blade. It

The Blade

The most striking change in the hal-berd's appearance is in the shape of theblade. The earliest blades were rectangularas noted above, and the ratio was of greater

was soon simplified by combining the eyesinto a socket and forging the beak to theback of the socket. This gives the halberdthe basic form which persisted throughoutits existence.

The changes in design of the halberdfrom this time onwards is very fluid. Wh ileit would be desirable to precisely date

them, it cannot be done. Instead changes inthe appearance of different parts of theweapon will be noted, and later these willbe combined to make some stylistic orderof its development.

length to the width of the blade. This gradu-ally changed to a greater width of the bladealthough the edge remained parallel to theshaft. (Fig. 7) Realizing that the cutting

action of the blade can be produced eitherby the application of strength and weightor by the use of a slicing motion, the designwas modified. The most common changewas an oblique angle to the cutting edge asseen in the type most comm only associatedwith the Landsknechts of the 15th century.(Fig. 8)

Concurrently, but s l ightly latercurved edges appeared and these devel-oped into pronounced concave or convexcurves. These shapes were less effectiveagainst plate armor although they were ef-ficient against an unarmored opponent. Asthe halberd became more decorative theconcave shape became more pronounced,but the last really effective fighting halberdwas known as the "Sempach" halberdnames after the the 14th century battle atSempach which was introduced in the 16thcentury. It had a slightly convex curve.

The SpearThe spear portion of the halberd began

as a prolongation of the upper point of theaxe blade but it soon became a prominentpart of the head because of the desirab ilityof having a thrusting point. At first it had aflat spike which gradually became elon-gated. As it lengthened, it becomes weakerand more likely to bend. It was then rein-forced with a median ridge which evolvedinto a quadrangu lar shape. It remained with

this appearance, except for the "Sempach"halberd which became shorter and flat,with only a minimal median ridge.

The BeakThe beak started as a simple spike on

the back of the weapon. (Fig. 5) After itbecame attached to the blade it remained asa short flat beak for a short period, but then

became longer and as it did, it graduallyinclined towards the butt end of the shaft.This inclination eventually became a defi-

nite angulated shape and a wider base orflange appeared. As the concave shape ofthe blade appeared, the point became rein-forced by changing to a q uadrangular shape

at the terminations. This same reinforce-ment is also seen at the point of the spearand on the tips of the axe blade.

The Socket

The socket for the shaft is first posi-tioned at the rear of the head when it isformed from a merging of the two eyes. Itthen appears to move forward towards thecenter of the blade and in front of the spear

(Fig. 18). Finally, it occupied a position inline with the spear, but in the process itdeveloped a slight curve backwards to-wards the beak (Fig. 19), before assuminga straight socket in line with the spear.

Fig. 9. Nomenclature of a classic 16th centuryLandsknecht halberd.

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head, additional langets were applied to theshaft. These extra straps were not attachedto the head as they were initially, but sim-ply attached to the unp rotected sides of theshaft. The early langets were usually ap-plied on the surface of the shaft while laterones were often inlaid into the wood.

be available and oak or other varieties ofwood can be seen on the earliest halberds.In the 16th century the "zwinge," a smallmovable collar which strengthened the

jun cti on of the shaf t and the head at thesocket may have been added.

Armorer's marks are many and variedbut only a few, such as those of ErhardtMeillen and Lambrecht Koller who were

active in the 17th century, have been iden-tified to provide a fairly precise date.Marks on the shaft are usually arsenalmarks but they are of little help in dating.

The summary of halberd identificationwhich follows is designed to serve as arough guideline to halberd identificationand dating although they cannot be precise.These weapons were manufactured in

many different parts of Europe and stylesdiffered slightly, even in adjacent townsand one location might be a little more, ora little less, technically advanced than itsneighbor. Armorers would undoubtedlyadapt to the wishes of their customers. Fur-thermore production and use of earliertypes may persist locally into a subsequentcentury.

A HALBERD CHRONOLOGY

13th Century Early prototype is essentially a two eyed axe At end of century: Blade long and thin, slightly curved and comes to a

point Spear not well defined Eyes are square, later becoming round Small beak between eyes or integral with upper eye Blade secured by nail in either the lower or both eyes

14th century Upper eye may be smaller than lower eye Upper edge of blade elongates and indents to form a true spear Head becomes larger and heavier and more rectangular

Fig. 10. Late Landsknecht

halberd with oblique blade.This classic form bears anunidentified star shaped ar-morer's mark on the blade atthe spear's base, c. 1500.

Fig. 11. Convex bladed hal-

berd. The spear is flat for partof its length before becomingquadrangular, c. 1520.

Fig. 12 Concave axe blade

which is lighter in weight hasreinforced tips indicating thatit is still a weapon and notmerely decorative, c. 1580.

Fig. 13 This illustration which was removed fro m a 17th century German text, shows warriors(Dopplesoldners)with two-handed swords with S-shaped quillons which had disappeared by about1600, and "half-m oon" shaped halberds.

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Beak becomes integral with head Eyes merge to become a socket Axis of spear is in front of shaft Spear is short and sharpened on both edges. May have reinforced points Rudimentary langets integral with small socket appear

15th century Early blades are rectangular, later becoming oblique. Spear moves back towards the beak, to be aligned with the shaft Spear elongates and may develop a medial ridge in the last half of

century.

Beak is more robust, flange appears and beak angulates slightly towardsthe butt

Langets become heavier and longer Second set of langets appear Socket curves towards the flange

16th century Spear becomes very long with pronounced medial ridge producing a

quadrangular cross section Occasionally a flat spike with medial ridge Concave edge appears and head becomes smaller late in the century Langets number two to four and are less robust. Socket becomes straight c. 1530 to 1540

Fig. 14 Small halberd with aconcave blade. The absence ofreinforced points suggests thatit was intended as a ceremonialweapon, c. 1580.

Fig. 15. Late halberd withunreinforced tips, again in-tended for ceremonials butperhaps as a weapon in anemergency, c. 1600.

Fig. 16. The Sempach hal-berd is the final compromiseto create an efficient weapon.This one bears the mark ofLamprecht Koller of Zurich,c.1620.

14th Century

Fig. 17. Evolutio n of the early halberd.

15th Century

c.1430 c.l 440-50 c.1470 c.1490 c.1480-1500

16th Century

c.1510 c.1510 c.1520 c.1530 C.1570I c.1590

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Zwinge (or collar) appears

Crescent shaped blade with reinforced point, appears in latter half ofcentury

17th century Pronounced crescent shape or light square head with short spike Elaborate piercing and engraving Reinforced point eliminated Shaft may be shod in iron at the butt

Tassels and covering may be present (these may also have be added toearlier weapons)

Heavier and utilitarian forms similar to earlier styles produced for Swissarsenals contemporary with light parade and guard halberds. The "Sem-

pach Type"

MEDIEVAL THRUSTING POLEARMS

... they divided themselves into three troops charging our lines inthree places where the banners were: and intermingling their spearsclosely, they assaulted our men with such impetuosity, that theycompelled them to retreat. Almost at a spears length"

2

The premier weapon in the thrustingcategory is the simple spear with a pointedhead on the end of a shaft. The foot soldier

could use it as a stabbing or as a throwingweapon or javelin. In the period that isbeing considered, however, the javelin, had

been replaced by longer ranging missilessuch as the crossbow bolt or quarrel, andthe arrow.

The spear used by the infantry was pri-marily the pike. The shaft was a long polefrom 16 to 20 feet in length. The head wassmall and could be shaped as a leaf, a quad-rangular needle or a lozenge. The smallhead was necessary because relatively littleforce could be used. Defensively the pikewas usually held locked in a static defen-sive position and its penetrating force cameas much from its victim's momentum asfrom any action of the wielder. Offensivelythe penetrating force came from the weightof the wielder and whatever impetus he

could generate by running or lunging. Awide head would would not penetrate itstarget as well as the smaller head.

About 1450, langets appeared on theshaft extending fro m the socket of the pikehead toward s the butt of the shaft for 40 to50 cm (20 inches).

The pike's great length precluded itsuse as a close combat weapon. The use ofthe spear as a stabbing weapon mu st comefrom a shorter spear which generates its

force from the strength of the holder's arm

and back muscles. These weapons ap-peared in many shapes, and frequentlythere were different names fo r what appearto be the same weapon.

The ahlspiess (awlpike) and the mili-tary fork are weapons with narrow heads.The former (Fig. 30) is simply a long thinstrong quadrangular awl or needle with adisc shaped guard at the base between theshaft and the blade to protect the usershand. The blade of the needle or awl wasoften about 5 0 inches in length. It seems tohave developed as a weapon for use whenfighting on foot in the lists, but could beused in combat. The military fork (Fig. 29)

looked somewhat like a rugged type ofpeasant's pitchfork with two tines and oc-casionally a projection at the base whichcould serve as a stop.

The lugged spearwas an early type ofpolearm with a leaf shaped blade which hadtriangular side lugs at the base of the bladeto serve as a stop. This weapon was mostlyseen in northern Europe and is associatedwith, but not limited to, the Vikings. TheViking version orflugellange is found asearly as the llth century.

I I

Fig. 18. Early Landskn echt halberd withoblique blade, a tapered socket in front of theheavily reinforced spear, and a rudimentaryflange, c. 1420.

Fig. 19. Halberd with the socket in line withthe spear but with the tip of the socket inclinedto the rear. The spear is mainly flat and only theupper one-third is quadrangular, c. 1500.

Fig. 20-22. Pike headswhich would have beenon shafts of 16 to 20 feetlength. The heads aresmall to allow moreefficient penetration andthere are three principaltypes: Left: leaf shaped;Center: lozenge shape;

Right:needle shape.

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Fig. 26 Fig. 27

The langue-de-boeuf (Tig.23, 24) or oxtongue has a flat or longitudinally ribbedblade of a either a square or triangularshape, tapering to a point. There are noblade protuberances and the earlier typeshad plain sockets and no central ridge. Inthe 16th century, b elt or band shaped deco-rations occur on the socket and medialridges on the blade. Some 15th and early

16th centuries are difficult to distinguishfrom slender partisans and perhaps toomuch is being made of separating the twoweapons.

The early partisan (Fig. 25, 26) looksvery similar to the langue-de-boeuf andfrom which it probably evolved. The earlyform showed small wings at the base and amore or less pronounced central ridge onan otherwise long nearly flat triangularblade. Langets appeared at about the sametime as on the pike. As time advanced thewings grew larger and assumed more fan-ciful shapes, and the blade became shorter.By the end of the 16th century belted swel-

lings on the socket are found. In the 17thand 18th century it was used mainly byofficers as an indicator of rank although it

was still a useful weapon when needed. Thewings eventually became partly dividedappearing somewhat like a fleur de lis.

The partisan, in one form or another isthe most common and the longest lived ofthe thrusting spears. In fact several of thesespears are merely differen t versions of thepartisan.

The following group of weapons are

really different versions of the partisan de-pending on the shape and style of thewings. The corseque (Korseke) (Fig. 27)had curved wings bending back towardsthe butt of the weapon.The runka (spetum,ranseur) (Fig. 66) had the wings curvingtowards the tip.The chauve soitris(Fig. 31)is a spectacular version of the runka. Thewings are sharply angled towards the tipand notched to give them a bat wing ap-pearance.

Despite the many styles of this class ofpolearms it must be remembered that theywere fighting weapons. The blades of thelangue-de-boeuf and its descendants weresharpened at the edges and on the wings sothey could be used to thrust or to slash, andcause a devastating wound.

CUTTING POLEARMS

"and when the arrows were exhausted, seizing up axes, poles, swords,and sharp spears which were lying about, they prostrated, dispersed,

and stabbed the enemy.3

The cutting type of polearm is typifiedby thecouteau de breche,a weapon whichlooks somewhat like a knife blade mountedon a shaft. It has a mildly convex shapewith its cutting edge on the convex side. Its

probable origin was when either a knife o rsword was attached to a pole to increase thereach of the wielder.

The military scythe (Fig. 42) looksmuch the same, but with a longer blade. It

Fig. 23. Langue de boeuf. A

typical form with a long flattriangular blade and no wingsat the base of the blade. 15thcentuiy.

Fig. 24. Langue de boeuf.Slightly later version with a ru-dimentary median ridge whichstrengthens the blade. Bladehas a node on the socket belowthe blade. There are no wingson the blade. 16th century.

Fig. 25. Early partisan with

flat blade. The long slendermedian ridge and small wingsserve to identify it. c. 1500.

Fig. 26. Later partisan. It hasdefinite median ridge whichstrengthens the blade, thewings are larger and the sockethas a node between the socketand the blade. The blade is 20inches long from socket to thetip, c. 1600.

Fig. 27. Corseque. A form

of partisan with long slenderwings curving backwards to-wards the butt and sharpenedon the side towards the tip.The increased size of thewings would serve to widenits area of effect, but it couldalso hinder recovery from athrust with its tendency to en-tangle the wings in any ob-struction.

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is essentially a scythe-like blade mountedon a pole with the blade being a continu-ation of the pole rather than at right anglesto it. It differs from thecouteau de breche(Fig. 52) as its c utting edge is on the con-cave side as it would be in the agriculturaltool.

The glaive (Fig. 33, 54) andfauchardappear to be the same weapon and the w ord

glaive appears to be the earlier term, possi-bly originating in the 13th century. Theycan be described as a large couteau de bre-che which may have a small extension onthe back which would act as a parryinghook.

The doloire (Fig. 34, 53) is a form ofbattleaxe with a large blade, pointed at thetop and rounded at the bottom. It is a twohanded weapon, and is much the same as abroadaxe. In some sources it is called a

wagoner's axe, but is generally indistin-guishable from the style of a German typeof broadaxe. Some of the doloires haveengraving on the blade.

Two axe like weapons which have na-tional associations are the bard iche and theLochaber axe.

The bardiche (Fig. 41, 47) has a longcrescentic blade extending far beyond the

pole and attached to the shaft with a socketat the upper end and a flange at the bo ttomwhich was nailed to the pole. It is mainlyassociated with Russian infantry of the16th century.

The lochaber (Fig. 32) axe usually hastwo sockets attaching a large curved bladeto a pole. Its characteristic feature is a hookat the upper end facing the opposite direc-tion from the edge of the blade. The hookprobably appeared later than the early Ren-

aissance. Its use is open to speculation.

Along with the Jedburgh axe it is associ-ated with Scotland.The Jedburgh axe is somewhat of a

mystery. In the early 17th century theywere known as Jedburgh staves. The onlypublished picture that this author is awareof is of the one in the Metropolitan Mu-seum of Art in New York which was de-scribed by Dr. Bashford Deane andillustrated in "Stone's Glossary."

The guisarme (Fig. 55) is an unusualweapon consisting of a slender curved

blade with the cutting edge on the concaveside, and with a sharp hook extending fromthe base of the blade at the back and thenturning at a right angle towards the tip ofthe blade so that the wielder has both asharp cutting blade and a slender thrustinginstrument. Its efficiency in combat isdoubtful as they appear too fragile and it

may be that they were used as a weapon forbodyguards.These weapons can also be used for

thrusting, but their primary use appears tobe for cutting. In some respects their use issimilar to the halberd, but we have put themin a separate category because of theirlonger cutting edge and because they do n ot(with the exception of the doloire) have th eweight or heft of the halberd. It is difficu ltto imagine these weapons cutting throughplate armor.

Fig. 28. This diorama in the SchweizerschesLandesmuseum, Zurich of a 15th century Swissphalanx in the armor of the period and the typesof arms which would be appropriate, showsquite vividly the use of spears which wereusually 16 to 20 feet in length.

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PERCUSSION POLEARMS

"You warriors of God and His Law, Pray for God's help and believe in Him,So that with Him you will ever be victorious. You archers and lancers of

knightl y rank, Pikemen and flailsm en of the comm on people, Keep you all inmind the generous Lord . . . . You will all shout "At them, at them!" And feelthe pride of a weapon in your hands, Crying "God is our Lord! "

4

There can be no doubt that the club wasone of man's earliest weapons. In one formor another it still exists today in the police-man's baton. The two handed version of themace was the simplest of the percussionweapons. In most respects it was nothingmore than a peasant's flail and continued

to be known as such. One handed weaponssuch as the mace, war ham mer andbee decorbinwere designed for use on horseback.

The peasant's agricultural flail was ba-sically two thick sticks linked togetherused to beat a pile of harvested wheat as itlay on the ground, separating the wheat

grains from the stalks or chaff. The linking of the two sticksserved to bring a greater striking surface to the wheat and it alsoincreased the striking force.

Reinforcing the primitive flail with metal bands decreasedthe tendency of the wood to break and also increased its impact.The military flail (Fig. 35) had metal knobs or spikes added tothe striking part. When the hinged striker is replaced with aknobbed or spiked wooden or metal ball and attached to the shaft

with one or more chains it becomes a much more complex flail.This weapon, while difficult to master, it is also m ore difficultto defend against because of the flexibility of the chain. Flailswere a principal weapon of Jan Ziska's Taborites in the HussiteWars which took place at the beginning of the fifteenth century.

The spiked club (Fig. 36) was similar but without the mobileend. It is basically a two handed mace with additional refine-ments such as spikes . It usually had a spear type point to use asa thrusting weapon. This weapon was known by many namessuch as a "holy water sprinkler" or "morgenstern." The

Fig. 29. Military Fork - A develop-ment of the pitchfork. The tires arestraight and there is usually a stop atthe base to limit penetration.

Fig. 30. Awlspiess (awlpike) - Along but rugged needle which has acircular hand guard mid way betweenpoint and butt.

Fig. 31 Chauve souris (batwinged). An elaborate form of therunka with upward pointing sharp-ened wings. The central blade is 20inches long from base to tip andthe wings are 11 inches wide at thetips. Its use in combat would belimited by its tendency to becomeentangled.

Fig. 32. Lochaber axe. A later version with the posterior facinghook. Earlier versions did not have the hook.

Fig. 33. Glaive. A weapon with the cutting edge on the convex side.

This is actually a knife or sword-like blade mounted on a shaft. It differsfrom the military scythe in that the cutting edge is on the concave sideof the scythe.

Fig. 34. Doloire. A two handed axe which was also called a wag-goner's axe. The blade may be mounted at a slight angle to the socket.Engraving is present in this specimen.

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"goedendag" is a Flemish term whichprobably refers to the same weapon. It wasused at the battle of Courtrai in 1302 andhas been variously described as a primitivehalberd or a pike. William Gu iart, a cross-bowman in the French army at the timedescribed it as

Grans bastons pesansferrezA un longfer

agu devant. (Long heavy shafts reinforcedwith iron with a long sharp iron point)

and again:

Cil baton sont longs et traitis Pourferir adeux mains faitis. (The shafts are madelong in order to permit swing with bothhands).5

COMBINATION POLEARMS

Combination polearms are those whichcombine several func tions and in this cate-gory the halberd takes precedence. Theother weapons are similar to the halberd infunction if not in appearance. Each com-bines at least two of the function s and theyall have the capacity for thrusting andeither cutting or percussion.

The English bill(Fig. 37, 38, 49) can beconsidered as the English halberd. The

blade differs from the halberd as it has apronounced forward curve at the upper endwhich accounts for either its name or thename of its agricultural counterpart thebillhook. The shape of the blade may takedifferent forms but the forward curve orhook to the blade is characteristic. Thespear and the fluke may be round, squareor flat in cross section. The shaft can beeither round or octagonal. Most seem to

have a slightly conical socket and somehave an unusual open space on the socket.The reason for this is obscure but it mayhave relationship to its agricultural ances-tor. The major difference between the hal-berd and the bill lies in the weight. Whileprobably as lethal to an unarmored m an the

bill does not have the weight or strength tostrike through armor. Its spear and beak,while they might possibly be efficientagainst mail, would be of very little useagainst plate. Some bills also seem to bemore fragile than their halberd counter-parts.

A mid 16th century weapon which isknown to some by the German name ofkriegsgertel (Fig. 39, 56), looks like atype of bill that has lost its spear. Becauseof this close similarity it has also been

called a bill so it has been includ ed in thissection.

The Italian version of the bill is calledthe roncone (Fig. 40, 65). This weapondoes not really look like a halberd at all, butit does have the same function viz. cuttin g,thrusting and piercing. The cutting edge is

convex and appears to have been developedfrom the glaive rather than the axe. Thespear and beak are not as pronounced as onthe halberd. It has two small beaks projec t-ing forwards and backwards at the lowerend of the blade. Its use is more clearlyindicated by its German name "rosschin-der" and it would be the perfect shape todisable a horse. Its appearance could be asearly as the 13th century.

The Lucerne Hammer (Fig. 42, 43, 58)

Fig. 35. Flail. A sop histicated version of theagricultural flail. The ball is wooden with metalspikes inserted. While its flexible chain makes itmore difficult to parry the weapon would seemto be harder to control.

Fig. 36. Morgenstern (Holy Water Sprinkler,Godendag). This is a simpler version of the flail.It is an elaborate form of a club and much easierto control than the flail in.

Fig. 37. The English bill isthe English form of halberd.The slender spear and beakwould not be of use againstarmor and the curved theblade may indicate its originwas the agricultural bill.

Fig. 38. English bill. Anearly version. It is more robustand therefore of better useagainst armor. This styleseems to be designed as aweapon rather than as the ad-aptation of a tool.

Fig. 39. Kriegsgertel. Thisweapon is more robust thanthe bill. It looks like a bill withthe spear removed but there isno evidence of this. It hasthree unidentified armourermarks on the blade.

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is a variant of the halberd. It has a spearpoint and a pointed beak, but the axe bladeof the halberd is replaced by a four prongedhammer. The prongs are prominent and are

clearly meant for piercing rather thancrushing. At the level of the beak and ham-mer, but at right angles to them are twoshort quadrangular lugs. It is a 15th to 17thcentury weapon and takes its name fromLucerne, Switzerland.

The poleaxe, (Fig. 44 & cover) anothervariant of the halberd, was popular with theknightly class for use in foot combat in thetournament (the lists). Its major use was "a

outrance" (serious combat) using sharp-ened weapons rather than "a plaisance"(friendly combat) in which blunted weap-ons were used and little harm done to an

opponent and was probably an answer tosturdier armor. It had a spear point and anaxe blade but the beak was replaced by ahammer with rudimentary knobs to serveas a crushing tool. They were frequentlyornamented with brass inlays and they areheavier than the halberd with a shortershaft, and might have a rondel for a handguard. It appea rs in the first half of the 15thcentury and disappears shortly thereafter.

USE OF THE HALBERD AND OTHER POLEARMS

Habeba nt quoq ue Switen ses in manib us queda m instru menteoccisionis gesa in vulgari illo appellata helnbartum valde terribilia,quibus adversarios ftrmissime armatos quasi cum novaculadiviserunt et in frusta conciderunt(The Swiss had in their hands aterrible sort of weapon called a halberd with which they cut theirheavily armored oppon ents to pieces as though with a razor).

6

In the introduction it was stated that thepolearm was a significant factor in the de-cline in the supremacy of the armoredhorseman on the battlefields of Europe.This happened gradually, but it must be

emphasized that no single weapon was re-sponsible for the development. Severalavailable weapons had to be used togetheras any single weapon had its particularweakness.

Fig. 40. Roncone (Italian bill, rosschinder). This is a much more sophisticated weaponthan the bill, it does not have the weight of the halberd, and there are more piercing points.It is called a bill because of the upper curve of the blade. The German name (rosschinder)best describes its use (horse cutter) as it could easily hamstring a horse.

Fig. 41 The Bardiche is a cutting poleami with a long crescentic blade attached to theshaft by a socket at the lower end and in the mid point of the blade.

Fig. 42. Military Scythe. A scythe-like blade attached in line with the shaft with thecutting edge on the concave side. It diff ers from the agricultural scythe only in the angleof the tang and the blade.

Fig. 43 Lucerne hammer. This weapon utilizes a four pronged hammer in place of theblade of the halberd. The shorter the points on the hammer the better it would be forcrushing armor. The longer points would be better used against unarmored opponents. Itappears in the 15th century and the soldier was usually placed in the middle of the Swissphalanx along with the halberdiers. It seems to be a local favorite with the city of Lucerneand takes its name from that city.

Fig. 44. Pole axe with a four-prong beak. Another version had a hammer-like beak asseen on the cover. In either case it is sturdier and shorter than the halberd and can easilycrush or pierce armor. Many poleaxes are engraved or otherwise decorated and wereprobably used in the tournaments.

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The long spear or pike as it was knownin the 16th century had two separate peri-ods of ascendancy. In the 4th century B.C.,the Macedonians under Philip II took theshort spear of the Greeks and lengthened itto approximately 18 feet. This weapon, thesarissa, when presented in serried ranksformed a nearly impenetrable hedge ofpoints which the hoplite, the heavily ar-

mored Greek soldier, with his shorter spearcould not disrupt.An 18 foot spear which had to be

handled with two hands precluded the con-ventional use of a shield. The Macedonianssolved this problem by decreasing the sizeand weight of the Hoplite shield. It washung by a strap around the neck andstrapped to the arm of the soldier so thatboth hands could be used to wield thespear. The advance of a Macedonian pha-lanx must have been an impressive andterrifying sight. This compact phalanxwhen used in conjunction with cavalry andlighter forms of siege weapons dominatedthe battlefield of its time.

At Cynocephalae, in 197 BC, the moremobile Romans lured the ponderous Mace-donian phalanx onto uneven ground, andattacked it from the flank. The Macedoni-ans with the long sarissas were helplesswhen facing the Romans with their shortstabbing swords. This open formationquickly dominated tactics, the phalanx for-mation was abandoned, and military a ffairsfor the next few centuries were controlledby the Roman legions.

Their success was mainly due to theirtight discipline in combat and on themarch. This coupled with good generalshipled to their continued success unless poor

leadership such as that of Varus in theTeutoburgerwald intervened.7 At Adri-anople, in 378 AD, the Roman legions werecrushed by the Gothic armored horsemenending the battlefield supremacy of the in-fantry for nearly the next 1000 years.

Armored cavalry in turn was not invin-cible. Terrain was certainly a factor, asmountainous country, bogs and forests re-stricted its movement. Missile weapons

such as the crossbow and the longbow weresignificant as well, but only in goodweather. In the rain or in open fields unpro-tected by other weapons the archer was atthe mercy of the horseman unless he couldflee (as in the case of the steppe horsearcher). Furthermore in close combat onfoot, the archer was also at a disadvantageas the bow and crossbow are ineffectual

hand to hand weapons.In Scotland the long spear or pike ap-

peared to be an established weapon as e arlyas 1298 at Falkirk, and it had been seen inWales even earlier. The Scottish spear wasabout 12 feet long; a length that could behandled with two hands or on occasion,even with one hand. At Falkirk in 1298 theformations of spearmen theschiltronsweredefeated by the English under the astutegeneralship of Edward I. His cavalry firstrouted the Scottish archers, and then heproceeded to destroy the schiltron forma-tion with his own archers.

It is at this point that we see the rise in

importance of the polearm. It appears tohave started in the more agrarian ruggedterrains where a fierce degree of inde-pendence coupled with relative lack ofwealth prohibited the general use of armor.In Wales while spearmen were an impor-tant part of their levies, it is probable thatthe abundance of the yew tree favored thedevelopment of the archer. In Scotland andespecially Switzerland, however, it was thepolearm that appeared.

The pike rose to prominence as a resultof two battles. At Courtrai in 1302 theFlemish burghers and peasants inflicted acrushing defeat on the French armoredhorse. At Bannockburn, (1314) the Scots

maintained steady discipline in the ranks ofpikemen, and with the judicious use of ter-rain and supporting cavalry and archers,successfully defeated the English army ofEdward II. It must be stated, however, thatin each case the ineptness of the attackingforces contributed to their defeat. The oftenoverlooked factor at Bannockburn was thatwhile the pikemen were used as a defensivewall at the start they were also used as an

active part of the offense. Much in themanner of the Macedonians they drove theEnglish knights deeper into the bogs wherethey perished.

It was in Switzerland that the polearmrose to especial prominence. At first it wasthe halberd that became the principalweapon. The axe-like blade on a five to sixfoot shaft coupled with the thrusting spearpoint and beak was a formidable weapon inthe hands of a powerful mountaineer fight-ing on the rugged Swiss terrain. The rela-tive isolation of the various Swiss citiesand cantons led to a fierce loyalty to theirvillage and a disinclination to suffer anoutsider's interference. They had much op-portunity to learn the use of their weaponsin their internecine quarrels which natu-rally led to their resistance to Habsburgrule and eventually to the Forest Oath of1291.8

The Swiss soon developed a reputationwhich led to the profession of soldiering asmercenaries called "Reislaufer." This wasdue to their ability to choose commanderson the basis of ability, their loyalty to theirclan or village, their early training starting

around age 12 and their reputation for ruth-lessness.

In 1315 the Austrians invaded the For-est Cantons and suffered a crushing defeatat Morgarten where they were caught on amountain trail between the hills on one side

and the lake of Aegeri on the other. TheAustrians were either hacked to pieces bythe halberds or pushed into the nearby lake.No quarter was given.

The success of these tactics resulted inthe belief that the halberds were the essen-tial part in the victory. At Laupen in 1339,Berne was opposed by Fribourg and Bur-gundy. The Bernese with the assistance ofa force from the Forest Cantons were vic-torious. This success obscured the fact thatthe soldiers from the Forest Cantons werevery hard pressed by the Burgundianknights and were saved by the Bernesewho, after dispersing the Fribourg contin-gent, attacked the Burgundians in the flank.

The battle increased the Swiss faith in thehalberd and their contempt for armoredcavalry.

The battle of Sempach in 1386 con-vinced the Swiss of the efficacy of thehalberd which was rapidly becoming theirsecond national weapon (the crossbow wasthe first). This campaign was the secondlarge Austrian invasion and the Swiss metthem on a hillside above the town of Sem-pach. As the terrain was unsuitable for cav-

Fig. 45, 46. Human remains excavated on thebattlefield of Doirnach, 1499. The are thewounds one would expect from halberds and twohanded swords. While it could be that somethingelse was responsible for the victims demise thesize of the wound would suggest a polearm.

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airy the Austrian commander dismountedhis knights confident that armored spear-men could defeat the halberd. In this he wasnearly correct as the Austrians with theirlances used as pikes were gradually push-ing the Swiss off the field when the Swisschanged tactics to an assault against theAustrian flank. Aided by the sudden ap-pearance of the delayed Uri contingent the

Austrian ranks were penetrated.When the Austrian pike line was bro-ken, the halberds and two handed swordswere free to perform their terrible work.Approximately 1800 Austrians were killedas compared to 200 Swiss, and Swiss inde-pendence was secured.

The subtle point of Sempach wasmissed, however, as the use of the spear or,as it was later known, the pike, was nearlysuccessful. At Arbedo in 1422 a Swissforce was badly defeated when their de-pendence on the halberd could not prevailagainst an overwhelming force of dis-mounted knights using lances as pikes.

With this defeat as a lesson, the final

form of the Swiss phalanx appeared. It util-ized a two handed spear or pike which wasapproximately 16 feet in length. This wasbacked up with a force of halberdiers anddopplesoldners armed with two handedswords. Crossbowmen and handgunnerswere also used, but their slowness in re-loading rendered them less effective in theSwiss style of fighting. The Swiss worevery little armor. The c ontingents formedup in the villages and marched in the battleformation that they would use. The resultwas that they were ready to fight as soon asthey arrived and no time was lost in deploy-ment. They were able to attack almost im-

mediately and advanced at a fast pace.Long pikes could be a problem on along march. It was awkward and tiresometo carry upright. If carried on the shoulderthe pressure and bouncing could createsore shoulders. The solution was to carrythe pikes in a wagon until near the enemy.

It was these tactics that brought thepolearm into prominence. The proper useof the pike and shorter weapons such as

halberds and two handed swords enabledthe Swiss to dominate the battles of the15th century. At Grandson , Mo rat, Nancyand Dornach the Swiss were supreme, butthese formations were soon to be doomedby newer innovations and techniques. Ar-tillery, sword and buckler, and the musket(envisioned as a longer pike) spelled theend of the Swiss phalanx. The Spanish gen-

eral Gonsalvo de Cordoba developed the"tercio" with techniques of field fortifica-tions to protect the camp, extensive use ofthe musket (arquebus) with fewer pikemenand the use of the sword and buckler atclose quarters. These newer ideas wereused at Ravenna (1512), Marignano(1515), Bicocca (1522) and Pavia (1525).The tercios were the formation of choiceuntil Maurice of Nassau and GustavusAdolphus of Sweden developed linear tac-tics in the late 16th and early 17th centu-ries.

The pike, however, continued to beused even with the appearance of firearms.The musketeer with the matchlock musketwas at the mercy of the cavalry when hewas in the process of reloading. This pro-cedure took nearly a m inute and a systemhad to be developed to protect him. Thepike was still the only successful means ofopposing cavalry in the field and pikemencontinued to exist to nearly the end of the17th century as a necessary adjunct to themusketeer. In fact in early 17th centuryarmies the pike was considered the morecomplicated weapon and required the mosttraining. Any new recruit could be ade-quately proficient in the use of the musketin a few weeks and as long as he did notblow himself or his neighbor up he could

take his place in the line. The pike, how-ever, required a soldier to be in good physi-cal condition and to undergo exacting,precise and complicated drill instructionbefore becoming a valuable addition to thegroup.

The other polearms can be treated asbeing similar to the halberd but less effi-cient. None of them possess the weight ofthe axe head of the halberd. Some of the

piercing weapons while effective againstunarmored men would not be of much useagainst armor (Lucerne hammer). Glaivetype weapons have the same disadvan-tages, but are useful against horses andunarmored men (roncone, glaive, guis-arme). The flails have some use againstarmor, but cannot be considered as effi-cient as cutting weapons against the foot

soldier.There have been questions raised in the

past as to just how effective the halberdwas. It has been portrayed by some as anawkward clumsy weapon which had littleor no chance against the more agile swords-man and was useless against the armoredhorseman.

These statements need to be criticallyexamined. The halberdier would be at adisadvantage against a single swordsman,but it was never designed for this use.Against the armored horseman, however,there is considerable historical evidencethat it was very effective when used in aproper manner.

So impressed are the many witnesses tothe use and effect of the halberd throughoutits useful life (c.1315 to 1550) that one isforced to consider these accounts realistic,even allowing for the usual and expectedexaggerations.

The eye witness accounts and realisticillustrations by artists such as Hans Hol-bein the Younger, Albrecht Altdorfer, andUrs Graf, show the effect of the halberd.

The accoun t of the deat h of Charles theBold who allegedly died, from the strokeof a halberd which cleaved his head to hischin, may be apocryphal. Even though thebody was "half eaten by wolves" by the

time it was discovered, the diagnosis wouldnot have been different.There are examples in the Zeughaus at

Solothurn of skulls which were found at thesite of the battlefield of Dornach (SwabianWars, 1499), which demonstrate the terri-ble wounds that these victims suffered.These were probably from either halberdsor two handed swords because of the deep

wounds inflicted. It should also be notedthat these wounds were fatal as there is noevidence of healing. This may be con-trasted with late 19th century skulls show-ing saber wounds against heads without theprotection of helmets which show healingof the wounds indicating that they were notfatal.

9

Schneider, in trying to test the effects of

halberds, performed an experiment in 1928in which his locksmith at the Landes-museum, Zurich, after some practice,swung a halberd of about 1600 (sic!) fittedwith a new ash shaft, against a munitionsarmor of the third quarter of the 16th cen-tury mounted on a dummy.10

He was not able to pierce or seriouslydamage the comb of the helmet or theshoulder pieces, the halberd head on theother hand moved backwards off the shaftwith its langet and was itself disabled.

Turning the halberd so as to use thebeak, however, he succeeded in piercingthe skull of the helmet easily and thrustingwith the spike produced penetration of the

rounded breastplate.It is quite certain that early halberds in

the hands of a practiced 14th or 15th cen-tury Swiss, or German, soldier would eas-ily damage armor, flesh, and bone. Theliterature and graphics of the period pro-vide ample proof.

The halberd had enormous strikingpower. Velocity experiments measuredwith a speed gun timed a halberd head in awide swing at 12 miles per hour. With theknown weight of a 15th century halberdhead of four pounds the impact can be cal-culated.

The halberd of about 1600, however,was diminutive when compared with thatof one or two centuries earlier. By 1600 itwas not made to pierce plate armor, havinga far smaller mass than the older style al-though the beak would, probably, piercearmor because the mass of the weapon con-centrated at the point would bring enor-mous pressure to bear on the metal.

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GLOSSARY

In probably no other field of arms history is the vocabulary so confusing as in the study ofmedieval arms and armor. This is due to many factors including language, personal bias, lackof communication, tradition, and sometimes pedantic obfuscation. This glossary makes nopretensions to being the only correct one, It is included to be of assistance to readers.

Ahlspiess A polearm having a long needle

like blade with a rondel hand guard. Theblade is about as long as the shaft.

Bardiche (Berdysh) A cutting type ofpolearm with a long crescentic blade at-tached to the shaft by a socket at the lowerend and in the mid point of the blade. Theblade extends beyond the shaft. It was aweapon of Russian infantry.

Beak the rearward facing point on a halberd.Is sometimes called a fluke.

Bearded Axe. An axe which has a straightor only slightly curved upper edge and apronounced curve at the lower edge such thatit appears to have a beard. It was an impor-tant weapon of the Vikings and of the House-carles of Saxon England.

Bill A British weapon which has several

forms. It could be called a variant of thehalberd. It has an axe like blade which ter-minated at the upper end in a forward curv-ing sickle shaped point. It also has athrusting point and may have a beak.

Celt A paleolithic tool, a stone sharpened onone edge and used as a scraper or knife, andif held in the hand to strike anything it couldbe called a hand axe.

Chauve Souris (Bat winged) A form ofrunka which has forward pointing wings oflarge size. The wings and the main blade aresharpened and have notches which give it anappearance of a bat's wings.

Corseque (Korseke, Spetum) A form of parti-san with wings which curve backwards to-wards the butt of the weapon. The forward

edges are sharp.Couteau de BrecheAn early form of cutting

polearm which basically is a knife m ounted

on a shaft. It has a convex cutting edge.

Doloire A two handed axe originally prob-ably a hewing axe. It is pointed at the top andround at the bottom looking something likea flattened teardrop. Also called a wagonersaxe.

Dopplesoldners Swiss soldiers who foughtwith two-handed swords. They receiveddouble pay because of hazardous duty. (Pos-sibly hacking a path through the enemy'spikes).

Fauchard see Glaive.

Flail An agricultural tool devised for thresh-ing grain by pounding it. It consisted of twoheavy hinged pieces of wood. The militaryflail was bound with iron. Certain types hadspiked wooden or iron balls attached to thestaff with a chain. It was an important

weapon of the Hussites.Glaive (Fauchard) A cutting polearm con-

sisting of a long cutting convex blade whichmay have a small parrying hook on the back.It is the basic cutting polearm. The couteaude breche is an early glaive.

Godendag (Good Day) a Flemish term forwhat may be a spiked club which also couldhave a spear point on the end. See Mor-genstern, Holy Water Sprinkler. Opinionsvary as to its precise appearance

Holy Water Sprinkler see Morgenstern

Hoplite A heavily armored Greek Infantry-man.

Korseke see corseque.

Landsknecht German Mercenary soldier of

the late 15th century.Langets Metal strips along the shaft of a

polearm to reinforce the wood and protect

Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.

47.48.49.50.51.52.53.

Bardiche.Bearded Axe.Bill.Chauve Souris.Corseque.Couteau de Breche.Doloire.

Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.

54.55.56.57.58.59.60.

Glaive.GuisarmeKriegsgertel.Lochaber Axe.Lucerne Hammer.Lugged Spear.Military Fork.

Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.Fig.

61.62.63.64.65.66.

Military Scythe.Ox Tongue.Partisan.Poleaxe.RonconeRunka.

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Fig. 60 Fig. 61 Fig. 62 Fig. 63 Fig. 64

the head from being cut off. The primarylangets were extensions of the socket. Latertwo more were added which were not at-tached to the socket.

Lochaber Axe A polearm with a long con-vex cutting edge which in later forms had abackwards facing hoo k at the upper end. Theweapon is associated with Scotland.

Lucerne Hammer A Swiss polearm thatcombined a spear point, a robust cylindricalbeak and a hammer faced with fou r prongs.There might be pointed lugs at the base ofthe head at right angles to the hammer. Ittakes its name from the city of Lucerne.

Lugged Spear. A thrusting spear with pro-jecti ng lugs at the base of the blade to stoppenetration.

Military Scythe A primitive polearm con-sisting of mounting a scythe blade to a poleas an extension of the pole. It had a slightlyconcave blade with the cutting edge on theconcave edge in contrast to the glaive whichwas on the convex edge.

Morgenstern (Godendag, Holy Water Sprin-kler) A club covered on the striking end

with metal studs or more commonly withspikes giving it a star like appearance. Itcould also have a rudimentary spear point atitsend.

OxTongue (Langue de Boeuf) A polearmwith a broad thrusting blade

Partisan A polearm with a broad triangularblade with projecting wings at the base. Thewings gradually took on elaborate shapes(Chauve Souris) but by the mid 17th century

it gradually became smaller and emerged inthe 18th century as an indicator of rank.

Phala nx A close packed unit of soldiers. TheGreeks used heavily armored infantry. Thephalanx was improved by the Macedonians,but was superseded by the Roman open for-mation. It was revived in a modified mannerby the Swiss in the 14th century.

Pike An infantry spear designed for thrust-ing rather than throwing. In this time periodit was usually 14 to 20 feet in length and incontrast to the partisan had a small head.

Poleaxe A form of halberd in w hich the beakis usually replaced by a studded hammer. Itis shorter in the shaft and heavier in the headthan the halberd

Ranseu r see Runka

Reislaufer A Swiss mercenary soldier.

Roncone (Rosschinder, Italian Bill) Acombination weapon which had a straightblade with a convex cutting edge, a spearpoint, and several beaks on both the back andfront of the blade. It is used in the samemanner as a halberd but in lacking the weight

of the halberd it was of less use againstarmor.

Rosschinder The German word for the ron-cone. Means horse cutter.

Runk a (Ranseur) A polearm with project-ing sharp wings at the base of the bladewhich curve towards the tip of the blade. Itis in contrast to the corseque.

Schiltron A Scottish version of the phalanxin which the soldiers are formed in a tightcircle with pikes facing outward. Also called

a hedgehog. It is not as adaptable for offen-sive maneuvers as the phalanx.

Spear The generic polearm consisting of awooden shaft with an iron tip. It could bethrown (javelin) or held (pike, partisan).

Scorpion Some writers have given the nameto a polearm having a scorpion mark on theblade.

Spetum see Corseque.

Wagoners axe see Doloire

Zwinge A collar placed around the base ofthe blade of polearms especially halberds. Itwas loose and served to strengthen the shaft.It also was a convenient location where atassel could be attached.

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Tarrassuk, Leonid and Blair, Claude. Encyclope-dia of Arms & Weapons. Bonanza Books, NewYork, 1986.

Wagner, Eduard.Medieval Costume, Armour andWeapons, 1350-1450, Translation Jean Layton.Paul Hamlyn, London, 1958.

Wagner, Eduard. European Weapons & Warfare,1618-1648. Translation Simon Pellar. Octopus

Books, London, 1979.

NOTES

John of Winterthur retelling the description by theKing of Bohemia of the mercenaries of Claris in

the army o f Louis of Austria in 1330 near Colmar.This quotation, a translation from a Latin manu-script in the British Museum was written by apriest who accompanied the English on the Agin-court campaign. It was originally published in SirHarris Nicholas' History of the Battle ofAgin-

court, 1832. Quoted from The Journal of TheSociety For Army Historical Research, Vol XII,

(1933), pp. 158-78.Quotation from the translation of a manuscript inLatin by a priest who accompanied the British onthe Agincourt campaign in 1415.From a Taborite (Hussite) hymn "Ye Who AreGod's Warriors." Peter Demetz, Prague in Black

8/9/2019 1378652723531

17/17

and Gold New York: Hill & Wang, 1997. p.28;Tim Newark, Medieval Warlords. New York:Blandford Press, 1987, p. 115.

5. Delbruck, Hans. History of the Art of War. 4 vols.Translator Renfroe, Walter J. Jr. Univ of NebraskaPress, Lincoln, 1982. p.437.

6. In AD 9, three Roman legions under Publius Varuswere destroyed in the Teutoburger Forest in north-west Germany. Although accounts are scanty they

were apparently ambushed in a dense forest durin ga severe rainstorm and the fighting was nearlycontinuous over two days.

7. Description of the battle of Morgarten (1315) by

John of Winterthur written circa 1340 to 1348. Hisfather was a participant in the battle.

8. In 1291 three communities, Schwyz, Uri and Un-terwalden, known as the "Forest Cantons,"formed an alliance against Habsburg Austria. This"Everlasting League" gave rise to the Swiss Con-federation.

9. Donald J. Ortner and WalterG. J. Putschar,Iden-tification Of Pathological Conditions In Human

Skeletal Remains. Trauma, Fractures. Smith-sonian Institution Press, Washington. 1985.

10. Schneider, Hugo. Efahrun gen mit der Halbarte.Schweitzer Waffen Magazin. No 1, Nov 1982.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study owes much to two persons,John Waldman and James Gooding. Dr.Waldman's knowledge and enthusiasm formedieval artifacts is responsible for steer-ing my interest towards a period earlierthan the 17th century. Prof. Gooding as thepublisher, has had to deal with a sometimesobdurate author with tact and firmness andthe study is m uch better for it. I owe a greatdeal to both.

The Hugo Schneider article describedon page 27 was translated for me by Dr.Klaus Kroner of the University of Massa-chusetts. The notes pertaining to his ex-per iment s were ext rac ted f rom anunpublished manuscript written by Dr.Waldman and myself and I am grateful tohim also for the photographs of theSolothurn skulls which were taken by him.Dr. David Navon of the Un iversity of Mas-sachusetts provided insight and instructionon the physics of speed, acceleration andimpact as it related to these experiments.

There are many others who have as-sisted me in many ways: Col. John Elting,USA Retired, has been my inspiration andinstructor on prior projects and read this

work; Prof. Donald Murray of the Univer-sity of New Hampshire read the w ork as didBrian Dunnigan, formerly of Old Fort Ni-agara. Dr. Donald Chrisman provided in-formation on the late 19th century headwounds and the No rthampton Police Dept.provided the speed gun tests of pole arms.Finally there is the unstinting encourage-ment that my family provided and deservesacknowledgement.

There were many museums and collec-tors who graciously allowed their collec-tions to be studied and in most cases to bephotographed. These included Dr. MarcoLeutenegger of the Altes Zeughaus ofSolothurn, Switzerland; Mr. K. Corey Kee-ble of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto,Canada; Messrs. Guy M. Wilson andGraeme Rimer of the Royal Armouries Mu-seum in Leeds, England; Mr. Keith Mat-thews of the Castle Museum in York,England; Mr. Walter Karcheski of the Hig-gins Armory in Worcester, Massachusetts;Mr. Jiirg Meier of the Fischer Galleries inLucerne, Switzerland; and Dr. C. KeithWilbur of N orthampton, Massachusetts.

PHOTO CREDITS

Altes Zeughaus, Solothurn, Switzerland: Fig. 6, 19, 29, 44, 45; The Castle Museum, York,England: Fig. 18; The Fischer Galleries, Lucerne, Switzerland; Cover, Fig. 63; Royal Armourie sMuseum, Leeds, England: Fig, 22,4 6, 58, 65 (photos by the author reproduced by permission ofthe Trustees of the Armouries): Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada: Fig. 24, 32, 41, 56;Schweizersches Landesmuseum, Zurich: Fig. 28; C. Keith Wilbur: Fig. 1.

Errata: Page 30, Fig. 60 to 64 renumber as Fig. 62 to 66.