Pole arm

Pole arms were invented to increase the effectiveness of infantry against cavalry and they can be devastating in disciplined formations of well-trained soldiers. Over the centuries, pole arms developed from the basic forms to more sophisticated and specialized ones as the art of war progressed. Naming, describing and classifying the myriad types of pole arms is not standardized, and indeed seems to vary greatly even among authoritative sources. This article presents a system of classification and nomenclature that readers should find reasonable and easy to use.

What is a pole arm? It is an infantry weapon designed to strike an enemy before they can strike you. A pole arm is simply a weapon on the end of a stick. To be considered here, the haft or shaft length of the weapon must be a minimum of 5 feet (1.5 meters) long.

Spears

Spears are primarily thrusting weapons and, in warfare, are not intended to be thrown because it leaves you without a weapon in the middle of a battle. Spears are the oldest form of pole arm. The spear family includes the regular spear, the long spear or pike, the spetum, the ranseur, and the partisan. The lance is included here because it can be used by foot soldiers as well as mounted ones.

Spear

A dagger mounted on a pole. Definitely a thrusting weapon but can be given a cutting function if the blade is made wider (called an ox tongue blade). Increasing the length of the blade increases the cutting ability. A spear with a shaft of 15 feet (4.5 meters) or more is called a pike.

Lance

Lances are long spears carried by mounted soldiers, which would seem to exclude it from this category, but there have been many battles where the men-at-arms dismounted and used these weapons with great success against forces who did not have even longer pole arms to keep them at bay. Norman lances were about 12 feet (3.6 meters) long but later in the Middle Ages they grew to an average length of about 14 feet (4.2 meters) giving a knight a reach beyond the horse's head of about 10 feet (3 meters). As with spears and pikes, different heads were used in accordance with the opposing force's armor.

Pike

For the purposes of this classification system, a pike is a spear with a shaft length of 15 feet (4.5 meters) or longer. It was designed to do thrusting damage at relatively long range and keep opponents from closing the distance. Pikes were always used in large numbers because a few can be circumvented by a brave warrior in armor but almost nothing can get through a line that bristles like a porcupine. There are many types of blades found on pikes but the most common was probably the awl pike, a strictly piercing weapon. Pikes were often fashioned with protective metal on the last foot or two (30 to 60cm) of the shaft to prevent the enemy from hacking off the blade and making the pike useless.

Specialized Spears

These pole arms are variations on a theme, adding secondary capabilities to the primary thrusting function of a spear. However, not all pole arms equipped with a dagger head should be considered spears, as described below. The name should identify the primary function of the weapon.

Spetum

The spetum offers an additional attack mode and some defensive capabilities to the common spear. The spearhead is sharply tapered and two smaller blades are added near the base of the head pointing forward at about 45° to provide another chance to pierce or to deflect enemy weapons. These secondary blades can also be used to catch and hold an opponent at a distance if the first thrust fails. Corseques or korsekes are also in this same class.

Ranseur

Similar to the spetum at first glance but the ranseur's secondary blades are set further back and are shaped and angled to deflect or better yet trap the enemy weapon. The main blade is indented at the base to facilitate entangling. Once trapped, a twist of the shaft can break the opposing blade or disarm the opponent. Some ranseurs have a more open space between main and secondary blades which still can entangle a blade but also can be used to hold an opponent by the armor or pull them off a mount.

Partisan

The partisan takes the basic spear, usually with an ox tongue blade, and adds two small axe heads with pointed tips below the dagger blade. This increases the defensive ability of the weapon and adds the cutting and penetrating potential of the axes. Later versions of this weapon saw a gradual change in the axe blades until they became almost unrecognizable. An example of this is the Bohemian earspoon where the axes have been changed to spikes for piercing plate armor.

Axes

Axes set on poles are not exclusive to this family of pole arms, but for purposes of this classification scheme the only true members are the pole axe, the halberd, and the bardiche. Axes heads have two basic versions, broad and narrow. Narrow blades are often made thicker to adjust the weight for more damage. An argument can be made to include the cleaver-type pole arms but they are given their own category in this system.

Pole axe

In essence, a pole axe is just an axe head of any type set on a long shaft. They are intended to deliver an early, forceful blow with a chopping action. The axe head can be double-bitted, backed by a spike, and/or topped with a spear point, but the main blade is still recognizable as an axe.

Halberd

The halberd uses a convex, broad axe head set at an angle which makes it distinct from the pole axe. The salient angle of the head is for better contact with the target. Halberds also have a fairly long spear point on top and a spike on the back which is angled slightly downward. These weapons are often 8 feet (2.4 meters) long not including the spear point.

Bardiche

The bardiche is a broad, heavy axe that represents a transition stage between a pole axe and a pole cleaver. The head of the bardiche can be about 2 feet to over 3 feet (60cm to 1 meter) long attached to the haft by a ring. The heel of the blade is also attached to the haft to prevent swiveling and the toe of the blade is extended upward and comes to a knife point. Bardiches are heavy and cumbersome weapons but can inflict great damage. Because of the weight, the haft is considerably shorter than that of a halberd.

Pole Cleavers

Most pole arms are just farm and agricultural implements turned to warlike use and the pole cleaver is no exception. The rudimentary pole cleavers were just that, a meat cleaver attached to a stave, perhaps by some threatened peasant to defend himself and his family. Pole cleavers were widely used throughout Europe and the British Isles for several centuries, eventually combining with other pole arms and evolving into forms that are difficult to classify. The voulge was created in continental Europe while the Lochaber axe was developed in Scotland.

Voulge

The simple voulge is a heavy cleaver (usually a shorter blade than a bardiche) attached to a stout pole and used for the purpose of cleaving through armor. The toe of the blade is pointed for piercing like the bardiche. The voulge has no real defensive capability but it was later combined with other weapons to make it more versatile.

Lochaber axe

Add a hook to a voulge, either to the back of the blade or the tip and you have a Lochaber axe. The hook gives some small defensive capability to the weapon but is primarily used for pulling riders off their mounts or keeping enemies at a distance.

Fauchard

The fauchard is a weaponized version of a scythe or sickle, a curving blade set on a long shaft. This weapon can cut or be thrust at an opponent but because of the curved blade it is harder to aim so that the point of the fauchard makes solid contact. Not hook-like enough to dismount riders, no good parrying or holding capability, the fauchard is not a favorite of the pole arm class but it can be seen in some combination forms.

References

• Gary Gygax (August, 1985). Unearthed Arcana (1st edition). (TSR, Inc.), pp. 123–128. ISBN 0880380845.

Bibliography

The reference cites these works:

• Ashdown, Charles, Armour and Weapons in the Middle Ages (London 1925); British and Foreign Arms and Armour (London 1909)
• ffoulkes, Charles, Armour and Weapons (Oxford 1909)
• Oman, C.W.C., A History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages (two volumes, London 1924)
• Saxtorph, Niels, M., Warriors and Weapons of Early Times and Use of Arms and Armor (New York 1934)
• Encyclopedia Brittanica, Eleventh Edition (New York 1910-11)