A bill is a class of agricultural implement used for trimming tree limbs, which was often repurposed for use as an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

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 predominantly ...

. In English, the term 'Italian bill' is applied to the similar roncone or roncola, but the Italian version tended to have a long thrusting spike in addition to the cutting blade. The English distinguished among several varieties of bill, including the black, brown and forest bills, but the differences between them are currently not fully understood. Bills were adapted to military use through addition of various projecting blades. Other variants include the bill hook and bill-guisarme.

Disambiguation

The bill is similar in size, function and appearance to the

halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from ...

, and might be said to represent

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

to fill a common niche: a pole-arm with a point to thrust with, a hook to drag with, and a spike/axe to cut with. The bill should not be conflated with a war-scythe, another pole-arm adapted from an agricultural implement, the

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor m ...

. Bills have been found in

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

graves from the

Merovingian period The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

George Silver George Silver (ca. 1550s–1620s) was a gentleman of England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who is known for his writings on swordplay. He is thought to have been the eldest of four brothers (one of whom, Toby, was also a swordsm ...

, writing in 1599, stated that the black bill should be long, while the forest bill should be . During the early 16th century when most European states were adopting the

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

and

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...

, the English preferred to stick with the combination of bill and

English longbow The English longbow was a powerful medieval type of bow, about long. While it is debated whether it originated in England or in Wales from the Welsh bow, by the 14th century the longbow was being used by both the English and the Welsh as a ...

. Even in the Tudor period, bills were still common with levies sent to fight the Scots. The

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

in 1513 was a classic match between continental-style pike formations (Scots) and billmen (English). When the English army fought in the

Italian War of 1542–1546 The Italian War of 1542–1546 was a conflict late in the Italian Wars, pitting Francis I of France and Suleiman the Magnificent, Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire against the Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Hen ...

, the bill was still the main polearm of the English. The English increasingly transitioned to pike and shot formations from the mid 16th century, but kept the billhook in use in the same capacity as other armies used greatswords and halberds. In 1588, the English Trained Bands consisted of 36% arquebusiers, 6% musketeers, 16% bowmen, 26% pikemen, and 16% billmen. Lansdowne MS 56, attributed to Lord Burghley, states that ideally infantry formations should consist of 50% shot, 30% pikes, and 20% bills. Along with the pike, the bill is mentioned as being one of the main weapons of the Irish rebels in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

during the

1798 rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...

. Although obsolete as a military weapon by the 17th century, bills were sent (along with other obsolete arms and armour) to the New World with English colonists to provide defence against Native Americans and Spanish military expeditions. Examples of bills have been excavated at the site of

Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...

John L. Cotter John Lambert Cotter (6 December 1911 – 5 February 1999) was an American archaeologist whose career spanned more than sixty years and included archaeological work with the Works Progress Administration, numerous posts with the National Park Serv ...

and J. Paul Hudson
New Discoveries at Jamestown
/ref>

Variants

The shorthanded bills were used by the army of historic India as well, mainly by infantrymen of Bengal. An agricultural version, commonly known as either a brush-axe, bush-axe, or brush-hook, is readily available in rural hardware and farm-supply stores in the United States today, and is available in the United Kingdom as a "long bill". It has a handle, and a head. It is useful for clearing undergrowth and unwanted hedgerows. Both the concave and convex edges may be sharpened edges, but spear-points and back-hooks are not available. Expertly used, the brush-axe can fell a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

with a single blow. In Brazil the bill (''foice'') is a very common tool in rural areas as tool and sometimes as a self-defence weapon.

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bill (Weapon) Medieval polearms Medieval blade weapons

Disambiguation

Variants

See also

Footnotes

References