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POLE ARM "There is no class of weapons regarding the nomenclature of which there is so much confusion." * Pole Arms were used by every culture during every age in which Man was able to fashion weapons. From the crudest stone age spear to the German "Man-catcher" of the 17th century, they have evolved through hundreds, if not thousands, of greatly diverse designs. The primary reason for their proliferation was directly related to its basic form and the advantage that it gave to its wielder: Pole arms were long weapons that allowed you to strike your opponent before they could strike you! This concept of visiting harm upon an enemy from relative safety was, is, and always will be the ideal to strive for in a combat situation (epitomized today in the long-range missile). To be correctly termed a pole arm requires only that there be a fairly long (5 to 20 feet or more) POLE with some sort of cutting or thrusting ARM mounted on its end. Simple, yes? Well, it is at this point that simplicity in naming these complicated weapons ends. For within each group of pole arm there may be a half-dozen or more specialized varieties of an individual weapon, each with its own name. In many cases, it is merely a matter of the blade's width, method of attachment to the haft, or it's degree of curvature that determines whether a weapon is a guisarme, a fauchard or just a bill. Furthermore, the real confusion lies in the fact that historians are often unable to agree on exactly what these defining qualities seem to be. (Please see below right for a "short list" of these arms.) Exact nomenclature aside, there are a number of pole arms with which many of us will be familiar. The most common of all is the simple spear. The Swiss army of the 15th century was highly respected (and feared) for their skill and discipline with a long version of the spear, called a pike. The halberd (see photo at right) eventually replaced the pike in Swiss armies but was certainly not restricted to use in that country alone. It saw action throughout all of Europe, in one form or another, up until the 18th century. One of the more interesting and complicated looking pole arms was the bill, a favored weapon of the English based on an agricultural tool that was primarliy used for pruning trees and is still in use today. Its broad curved blade with numerous hooks and projections made it an ideal weapon for dragging horsemen from the saddle and inflicting a wide variety of ghastly wounds upon its victims, making it especially popular with the footsoldier.
* George Cameron Stone, A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and All Times (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc. 1990).
*For those who always wondered what Marcellus was talking about in Hamlet when he said... "Shall I strike at it with my partisan?" Marcellus ...now you know. A Few Pole Arms Awl Pike, Jedburg Axe, Lochaber Axe, Pole Axe, Bohemian Ear Spoon, Bec de Corbin, Military Fork, Ranseur, Partisan, Halberd, Spear, Boar Spear, Chauve-Souris, Feather Staff, Volgue, Guisarme, Scorpion, Glaive, Bill, Ronca, Catch Pole, Flail, Scythe, Fauchard, Berdiche, Trident, Quarterstaff, Catch-Pole, Holy Water Sprinkler, Linstock and Spontoon
"We will rent no weapon that we would not personally use ourselves."
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