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Polearms
A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly melee weapons, with a subclass of spear-like designs fit for thrusting and/or throwing. Because many polearms were adapted from agricultural implements or other fairly abundant tools, and contained relatively little metal, they were cheap to make and readily available. When belligerents in warfare had a poorer class who could not pay for dedicated military weapons, they would often appropriate tools as cheap weapons. The cost of training was comparatively low, since these conscripted farmers had spent most of their lives using these "weapons" in the fields. This made polearms the favoured weapon of peasant levies and peasant rebellions the world over. Polearms can be divided into three broad categories: those designed for extended reach and thru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naginata
The ''naginata'' (, , ) is a polearm and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades ('' nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei (warrior monks). The naginata is the iconic weapon of the onna-musha, a type of female warrior belonging to the Japanese nobility. A common misconception is that the Naginata is a type of sword, rather than a polearm. Description A ''naginata'' consists of a wooden or metal pole with a curved single-edged blade on the end; it is similar to the Chinese guan dao or the European glaive. Similar to the katana, naginata often have a round handguard (''tsuba'') between the blade and shaft, when mounted in a koshirae (furniture). The ''naginata'' blade is forged in the same manner as traditional Japanese swords. The blade has a long tang (''nakago'') which is inserted in the shaft. The blade is removable and is secured by means of a wooden p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Scythe
A war scythe or military scythe is a form of polearm with a curving single-edged blade with the cutting edge on the concave side of the blade. Its blade bears a superficial resemblance to that of an agricultural scythe from which it is likely to have evolved, but the war scythe is otherwise unrelated to agricultural tools and is a purpose-built infantry melee weapon. The blade of a war scythe has regularly proportioned flats, a thickness comparable to that of a spear or sword blade, and slightly curves along its edge as it tapers to its point. This is different from farming scythes, which have very thin and irregularly curved blades, specialised for mowing grass and wheat only, unsuitable as blades for improvised spears or polearms. Compared to a fauchard (which is believed to have evolved from the war scythe), the blade of the war scythe has the cutting edge on the concave side like the agricultural tool whereas the fauchard has the edge along the convex side. As an infantry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halberd
A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge), is a two-handed polearm that was in prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It may have a hook or thorn on the back of the axe blade for grappling mounted combatants and protecting allied soldiers, typically musketeers. The halberd was usually long. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from Middle High German ''halm'' (handle) and ''barte'' (battleaxe) joined to form ''helmbarte''. Troops that used the weapon were called halberdiers or halbardiers. The word has also been used to describe a weapon of the early Bronze Age in Western Europe. This consisted of a blade mounted on a pole at a right angle. History The halberd is first mentioned (as ) in a work by 13th-century German poet Konrad von Würzburg. John of Winterthur described it as a new weapon used by the Swiss at the Battle of M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poleaxe
The poleaxe (also poleax, pollaxe and other similar spellings) is a European polearm that was used by medieval infantry. Etymology Most etymological authorities consider the ''poll''- prefix historically unrelated to "pole", instead meaning "head". However, some etymologists, including Eric Partridge, believe that the word is derived from "pole". The construction of the poleaxe The poleaxe design arose from the need to breach the plate armour of men at arms during the 14th and 15th centuries. Generally, the form consisted of a wooden haft some long, mounted with a steel head. It seems most schools of combat suggested a haft length comparable to the height of the wielder, but in some cases hafts appear to have been created up to in length. The design of the head varied greatly with a variety of interchangeable parts and rivets. Generally, the head bore an axe head or hammer head mounted on ash or other hard-wood shafts from 4–6 ft in length, with a spike, hamm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guandao
A ''guandao'' is a type of Chinese polearm that is used in some forms of Chinese martial arts. In Chinese, it is properly called a ''yanyuedao'' (偃月刀; lit. "reclining moon blade"), the name under which it always appears in texts from the Song to Qing dynasties such as the ''Wujing Zongyao'' and '' Huangchao Liqi Tushi''. It is comparable to the Japanese naginata and the European fauchard or glaive and consists of a heavy blade with a spike at the back and sometimes also a notch at the spike's upper base that can catch an opponent's weapon. In addition, there are often irregular serrations that lead the back edge of the blade to the spike. The blade is mounted atop a long wooden or metal pole and a pointed metal counterweight on the opposite end, which is used to balance the heavy blade and for striking. On modern versions, a red sash or tassel is attached at the joint of the pole and blade. Variations include rings along the length of the straight back edge as found i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glaive
A glaive, sometimes spelled as glave, is a type of pole weapon, with a single edged blade on the end, known for its distinctive design and versatile combat applications. There are many similar polearms such as the war scythe, the Japanese naginata, the Chinese guandao (yanyuedao), the Korean woldo, and the Russian sovnya. A glaive typically consists of a single-edged blade approximately 45 centimeters long affixed to a pole measuring about 2 meters. The blade is secured in a socket-shaft configuration, akin to an axe head, as opposed to having a tang like a sword or naginata. Some variations of glaive blades were even forged with a small hook on the reverse side to better engage mounted opponents, earning them the name "glaive- guisarmes." In the 1599 treatise "Paradoxes of Defence" by English gentleman George Silver, the glaive is described as being used in a manner similar to other polearms like the quarterstaff, half pike, bill, halberd, voulge, and partisan. Silver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spear
A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as bone, flint, obsidian, copper, bronze, iron, or steel. The most common design for hunting and/or warfare, since modern times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle, lozenge (shape), diamond, or Glossary of leaf morphology, leaf. The heads of fishing spears usually feature multiple sharp Tine (structural), points, with or without barbs. Spears can be divided into two broad categories: those designed for thrusting as a melee weapon (including weapons such as lances and Pike (weapon), pikes) and those designed for throwing as a ranged weapon (usually referred to as javelins). The spear has been used throughout human history as a weapon for hunting and/or fishing and for warfare. Along with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sovnya
A sovnya () is a traditional polearm used in Russia. Similar to the glaive, the sovnya had a curved, single-edged blade mounted on the end of a long pole. This was a weapon used by late-medieval Muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula KAl2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage y ... cavalry and it retained use until the mid-17th century. Gallery File:01 092 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg, File:RusVsad tegilay.gif, File:Sovn RusVsadnik.JPG, See also * Timeline of Russian innovation References * Polearms Edged and bladed weapons Russian inventions Medieval polearms Hewing spears {{Polearm-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horseman's Pick
The horseman's pick is a weapon of Middle Eastern origin used by cavalry during the Middle Ages in Europe and West Asia. It is a type of war hammer that has a very long spike on the reverse of the hammer head. Usually, this spike is slightly curved downwards, much like a miner's pickaxe. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with ''war hammer''. A metal-made horseman's pick called "nadziak" was one of the main weapons of the famous Polish Winged Hussars. A weapon of late make, the horseman's pick was developed by the English and used by billmen. It was used with great success during the Hundred Years' War. A use of the horseman's pick was to tear men from their mounts. The horseman's pick was often used as a means to penetrate thick plate armour or mail which the standard sword could not. However, a number of drawbacks limited the weapon's effectiveness. Its relative heaviness made it unwieldy and, thus, easily avoided. The injury caused by the weapon was also small and rare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bardiche
A bardiche , berdiche, bardische, bardeche, or berdish is a type of polearm used from the 14th to 17th centuries in Europe. Ultimately a descendant of the medieval sparth axe or Dane axe, the bardiche proper appears around 1400, but there are numerous medieval manuscripts that depict very similar weapons beginning c. 1250. The bardiche differs from the halberd in having neither a hook at the back nor a spear point at the top. The use of bardiches started in early 14th-century Austria. In the 16th century the bardiche was associated with the streltsy, arquebusiers of Imperial Russia established by Ivan the Terrible. Description The blade varied greatly in shape, but was most often a long, cleaver-type blade. The distinction was in how the blade was attached to the pole. The bardiche blade was attached to the pole either via two sockets (one at the top of the pole and one lower, at the base of the blade) or one socket at the top and one surface mount at the base, effectively m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
