Bec de corbin (Modern French: Bec de corbeau ) 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, thereby extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantl ...

and

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

that was popular in

medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The name is Old French 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, mail, or

gambeson A gambeson (also aketon, padded jack, pourpoint, or arming doublet) is a padded defensive jacket, worn as armour separately, or combined with mail or plate armour. Gambesons were produced with a sewing technique called quilting. They were usual ...

. 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

pollaxe The poleaxe (also pollaxe, pole-axe, pole axe, poleax, polax) is a European polearm that was widely used by medieval infantry. Etymology Most etymological authorities consider the ''poll''- prefix historically unrelated to "pole", instead mea ...

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

External links

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