Coa Illustration Elements Arms Bec De Corbin

A bec de corbin (, ) is a type of

polearm 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 we ...

and

war hammer A war hammer (French: ''martel-de-fer'', "iron hammer") is a weapon that was used by both infantry, foot soldiers and cavalry. It is a very old weapon and gave its name, owing to its constant use, to Judas Maccabeus, Judah Maccabee, a 2nd-century ...

that was popular in late

medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

. The name is

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

for "raven's beak". Similar to the Lucerne hammer, it consists of a modified hammer's head and spike mounted atop a long pole. Unlike the Lucerne hammer, the ''bec de corbin'' was used primarily with the "beak" or fluke to attack instead of the hammer head. The hammer face balancing the beak was often blunt instead of the multi-pronged Lucerne, and the beak tended to be stouter; better designed for tearing into

plate armor Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, e ...

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

, or

gambeson A gambeson (also known as, or similar to where historic or modern distinctions are made, the acton, aketon, padded jack, pourpoint, paltock, haustement, or arming doublet) is a padded defensive jacket, worn as armour separately, or combined wit ...

. Nonetheless, some becs-de-corbin also had a multi-pronged hammer. The spike mounted on the top of the head was also not nearly as long and thin as on the Lucerne. ''Bec de corbin'' is sometimes used as a general term to describe several types of war hammer, such as mauls and horseman's picks. A similar name, bec de faucon (meaning "falcon's beak"), refers to a related weapon called a

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 " ...

or, more specifically, to the hook on its reverse side.

References

External links

Spotlight: The Medieval Poleaxe
by Alexi Goranov Medieval polearms {{Polearm-stub