questions on polearms

[Jonathan Scott]

ok maybe some of these are stupid questions with easy answers, but what attributes "classify" certain types of polearms?
Like what defines what a pike is (vs. a spear)
Or what's the difference between a lance and a spear (or can the terms be used synonomously)
what signifies a halberd, a pike, and a poleaxe from each other, and other stuff like glaive vs. naginata, etc.
So what are some common polearm types, genres, cultures what have you, (and also historically what were they called vs. now) and what universal classifications can I put them under if they fall in a generalized category? (like cavalry lance vs. foot spear and whatnot)
And staff training ties in closely to infantry spear, correct? (so if I wanted to start learning that would be a good place?)
And if there's an article that gives these answers and more, as well as people who study polearms pretty intensely who know some good tips on how to begin (I'll probably still be working on swords mostly, simply because they're smaller and easier to fit in a car <img src="/forum/images/icons/tongue.gif" alt="" /> , but that does not lesson my curiosity), give me a link/let me know!
Thanks I appreciate it ^_^

[David_Knight]

Polearms generally fall into four categories (though various authors may classify them differently):

• Spears - These are usually weapons 5-7 feet in length, with a tip designed for thrusting. The Latin term for such weapons is hasta, and the German is spiess.
  
• Lances - These are essentially spears upwards of 8 feet in length. Pikes fall under this category. The Latin term is lancea; the German is langenspiess.
  
• Halberds - This category often includes bills and hooks. Essentially an axe blade on a 6+ foot pole, with a thrusting point and a hook for pulling. The Latin term is bipennis, and the German is hallenbarten.
  
• Pollaxes - These are often confused with halberds, and in some cases closely resemble them. However, their shafts are consistently 4-6 feet in length, and unlike those on most halberds, their heads are not a single forged piece. Some pollaxes have axe blades, while others have more hook-shaped blades. The Latin term is securis, the German mordagst.

You might want to peruse www.PaulusHectorMair.com for further information. There are links to a number of good articles on the subject.

[Shane Smith]

Good post David. I would add that most pollaxes I have seen in British Armouries and in the source-texts also have a hammer on one end and many have a spike protruding straignt along the length of the shaft.A very nasty Knighly weapon the pollaxe is.

[Jeremy Martin]

I would have indeed identified that weapon as a halberd. If this is wrong, could someone put-up a picture of a 'real' halberd? Or is it, afterall, just a general term refering to several different sorts of weapons, eg. the billhook?

[Brian Hunt]

one of the things that marks that weapon as a pole axe is the fact that it has the spikes that stick out sideways from the head, and lower down through the shaft. These are a dinstictive part of the pole axe. There is also the 'Beck du Corban' which has a hammer head with a back spike, this is also classified as a pole axe and has the side spikes. A halberd usually has a back hook or spike, rather than a hammer head, and has an axe type blade with a spear type blade at the top and frequently has a butt spike as well.

In the middle of this picture is one form of a halberd, it is the one with the red tassles below the head.



Also I would add that the word for spear used by Ringeck and Lichtenauer is "sper" whereas Mair, Talhoffer, and the Gladitoria use the word Spieß. Also Spieß has attained a modern equivelant to a barbacue spit or skewer and is more entamologiacly (spelling?) correct when compared with pike than it is with spear. However, it is also correctly translated as spear, since a pike is just one of the subsets of the weapons group we know as spears. Modern people have a tendency to overclassify things.

hope this helps.

Brian Hunt

GFS

[Jeremy Martin]

Ah, so the difference is between a hook and a blunt striking side.

[Casper Bradak]

Bec de corbin seems to be a modern term coming into use to refer to poll axes with a bec de corbin. "Poll axe" didn't seem to specify what type of striking surface combinations were used, axe blade or not. Also referred to as a falcons beak (bec de faucon), in whatever language, it was the beak shaped spike attached to whatever weapon, be it pollaxe, battle axe, etc.
Bec de corbin being raven's beak in english, if you've seen one, it's an easy comparison.

[Shane Smith]

Most of the source-texts seem to dictate a hammer-head on one side for the pollaxe in my opinion although you are probably correct in the general sense; Mair of course shows an obvious bladed axe-head opposite the spike and I believe that to be a halberd.

Vadi Pollaxe;



Fiore pollaxe;



Mair;

[Brian Hunt]

Hi Shane,

that is one of Mair's Halberd plates, not a pole axe plate. The title for this plate is "the first two upper strikes of the halberd from the left side."

Mair's Pole axe is in the 2nd part of his book and is labeled a mordagst or murder axe. This section is not on-line anywhere that I know of, ARMA has the first half of the Veinna online, but not the 2nd half. Mair's murder axe has the spikes that shoot out sideway's that I discussed in my previous post, and that are used as part of the techniques from the french bec du corbin manual, Le Jeu de la Hache. Also, Talhoffer has several plates on the pole axe, many of which seem to correspond with the tecniques in Le Jeu de la Hache.

my 2 cents worth.

Brian Hunt

GFS

[Jeremy Martin]

"Mair of course shows an obvious bladed axe-head opposite the spike and I believe that to be a halberd."

I believe you missed that part. <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

[Shane Smith]

that is one of Mair's Halberd plates, not a pole axe plate.

So THAT'S why it looked like a halberd to me <img src="/forum/images/icons/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" /> Oh well, that's the danger of not being reasonably fluent in German I suppose.

Do you interpret the images from the italian sources above as a hammer on one end or do you see a poorly drawn axehead there?

[Brian Hunt]

Hi Shane,

IMHO, both Vadi's and Fiore's poleaxes appear to have a hammer head on one side, and a spike on the other, much like the bec du corban. If you look at Talhoffer's poleaxes, they also have a hammer head one side and a spike on the other. Mair's poleaxe/murder-axe has an axe type blade on one side, with a spike on the other, it also has a butt spike, a forward spike, as well as two side spikes.

Am I up to 4 cents worth?

Brian Hunt
GFS.

[Lorraine Munoa]

Does anyone know how many weapons have been referred to as a Glaive? Apparently that has been applied to many sharp-pointy-on-a-stick weapons. I've only ever seen it used to refer to the large single edged blade on a pole type weapon.