About Poleaxes
In the 14th century, the long axe received a sharp tip on the back and another point at the end of the shaft for thrusting. This resembles the poleaxe from the 15th century. The poleaxe emerged from the need for a weapon that could penetrate the plate steel armour of heavily armoured fighters. The weapon often consisted of an axehead combined with a point or a hammer.
It was the favorite weapon of armed foot soldiers and remained popular into the 16th century. Fight manuals like Le Jeu de la Hache (ca. 1400) and Hans Talhoffer's Fechtbuch (1467) treat the long hammer and poleaxe as important knightly weapons for foot combat.
The Poleaxe
The poleaxe (also spelled poleax, pollaxe and other variants) is a European thrusting weapon on a long shaft that was used by medieval infantry.
Origin of the Word
Most linguists believe that the prefix poll- doesn't come from the word "pole," but from the word "head." Yet some linguists, including Eric Partridge, believe the word is derived from "pole."
The design of the poleaxe emerged from the need to penetrate the plate armour of armed fighters in the 14th and 15th centuries. The poleaxe usually consisted of a wooden shaft approximately 1.5 to 2 meters long, with a steel head. In many martial arts, it was recommended that the shaft be about as long as the wielder, but there are also known examples of shafts up to 2.5 meters long.
The Design of the Poleaxe
The design of the poleaxe head could vary greatly and consisted of different interchangeable parts that were attached to the shaft with rivets.
Usually the head had an axe or hammer blade, attached to a shaft of ash wood or other hardwood approximately 1.2 to 1.8 meters long. On the back there was often a point, hammer, or hook. Furthermore, a point or spearhead protruded from the end of the shaft, often square in cross-section, sometimes referred to as the "dague dessous".
The head was attached to the square wooden shaft with long, flat metal strips, called langets, which were riveted on two or four sides to prevent the shaft from being split in half during combat.
Just below the head there was sometimes a round disc, the rondelle, which served as hand protection. Some poleaxes also had one or two metal rings along the shaft to prevent the hands from slipping.
At the end of the shaft, opposite the axehead, there was often a point or an iron cap. At first glance, the poleaxe is often confused with the halberd, which sometimes looks similar. Although both weapons were designed to hack and pierce armour, the axehead of the poleaxe was usually smaller than that of a halberd.
The smaller head concentrates the force of the blow on a smaller surface, allowing better penetration of armour. Halberds, on the other hand, had a wider blade, which worked better against opponents with little or no armour. Furthermore, the head of many halberds was forged in one piece, while the poleaxe was usually modular in construction.
Fighting Techniques with the Poleaxe
The poleaxe was used by knights and other armed fighters (both nobility and commoners), in knightly duels, judicial duels, and on the battlefield. It was a close-range weapon that required full body strength and both hands to use effectively. The art of fighting with the poleaxe is complex and based on techniques from staff fighting. The axehead could not only be used to hack down an opponent, but also to trip him, disarm him, or block his blows.
Both the point at the top and the point at the end of the shaft could be used for thrusting attacks. The shaft itself was also an important part of the weapon: it could be used to block, strike, or push an opponent, and also to trip him. The langets reinforced the shaft so it wouldn't break as easily.
The devastating power of the poleaxe is the origin of the expression "to be poleaxed," which dates from the 15th century, when prisoners were often killed by blows to the head. Today, the expression is used to indicate that someone is struck hard or defeated, as if with a poleaxe.
Various manuals on fighting with the poleaxe have been preserved from the 15th and 16th centuries. With growing interest in historical European martial arts, these techniques are being studied and practiced anew.
The Bec de Corbin
The bec de corbin (modern French: Bec de corbeau) is a type of poleaxe that closely resembles a war hammer. Like other poleaxes, they were mainly popular in the 15th-16th century. The name means "raven's beak" in Old French.
The weapon resembles the Lucerne hammer and consists of a modified hammer head with a point, attached to a long shaft. Unlike the Lucerne hammer, the bec de corbin was primarily used with the "beak" or hook for attack, rather than with the hammer blade. The hammer surface that balanced the beak was often blunt, in contrast to the multiple points of the Lucerne hammer.
The beak itself was usually sturdier and better suited to penetrate plate armour, mail, or gaps in armour. However, some becs de corbin also had a hammer with multiple points.
The point on top of the bec de corbin head was moreover shorter and thicker than in the Lucerne hammer. The term bec de corbin is sometimes also used as a general designation for various types of war hammers, such as mallets (mauls) and horseman's picks. A similar name, bec de faucon ("falcon's beak"), refers to a related weapon, the poleaxe, or more specifically to the hook on the back of that weapon.
Lucerne Hammer
The Lucerne hammer is a poleaxe on a long shaft that combines a four-pointed hammer, a long back point (beak), and an even longer point on top. It was primarily used by civic and cantonal troops of the Old Swiss Confederacy from the late 15th to the 17th century. The name refers to the large number of preserved specimens in the weapon storage of Lucerne.
In the 14th century, Swiss infantrymen preferred the poleaxe or fussstreithammer, a thrusting weapon with a short point and a hammer blade with three or four points. Around 1470, weapon makers in central Switzerland lengthened the back point and split the hammer blade into four parallel points, creating the form now known as the Lucerne hammer. Some researchers see this as a later development of the bec de corbin, although the exact classification is still a matter of debate.
Contemporaries called the weapon in German sources simply die Hamer or mordaxt, and in French inventories la hache. The name "Lucerne hammer" was only invented in 1869 by weapon collector J. Meyer-Bielmann to distinguish the four-pointed Swiss type from earlier poleaxes.
Although it is nowadays often considered a type of poleaxe, the Lucerne hammer has no cutting edge and no curved beak. Mechanically, the weapon resembles the Italian martello d'arme and the German fussstreithammer, through a combination of blunt and striking design.
Construction
The Lucerne hammer was, like the bec de corbin, approximately 1.5 meters long. The steel head was attached with two or four langets and side attachments and consisted of:
Hammer blade:
four points in line with the shaft; early specimens were solid to crush plate armour, 16th-century hammer blades were lighter and sharper to penetrate better.
Back point (beak):
sturdy and slightly curved downward, suitable for piercing mail or plate armour.
Top spike (dague):
was made longer over the course of the 16th century and could in ceremonial specimens be almost as long as a pike, like the halberd.
Some armouries placed an "L" or a cantonal coat of arms on the round collar below the hammer. Nidwalden and Bern had large supplies, but the number of preserved Lucerne hammers is small compared to Swiss halberds.
Use in Combat
The weapon was wielded with both hands. Fight manuals such as Le Jeu de la Hache (ca. 1400) and Hans Talhoffer's Fechtbuch (1467) treat the long hammer and poleaxe as important knightly weapons for foot combat. Important techniques included thrusting with the top point at openings in the armour, such as at the shoulders, neck, and groin. Hooking with the back point to pull riders from the saddle. Once unhorsed, these became easy targets. Striking with the hammer to deform armour or against unarmoured opponents.
Internal links
- Halberd: Medieval pole weapon and ceremonial axe
- War Hammer: Medieval weapon and horseman's pick
- Glaive: Medieval pole weapon for foot soldiers and riders
- Voulge: 15th-century French pole weapon with single-sided blade
- Guisarme: Medieval pole weapon with hook and axehead
