![Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2 DS-263 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Archive-ugent-be-79D46426-CC9D-11E3-B56B-4FBAD43445F2_DS-263_%28cropped%29.jpg)
A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed
pole weapon
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 ...
that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...
''halm'' (handle) and ''barte'' (battleaxe) joined to form ''helmbarte''. Troops that used the weapon were called halberdiers.
The halberd consists of an
axe
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It always has a hook or thorn on the back side of the axe blade for grappling
mounted combatants. It is very similar to certain forms of the
voulge
A voulge (occasionally called a pole cleaver; also spelled vouge) is a type of polearm that existed alongside the similar glaive in medieval Europe. Superficially, a voulge might strongly resemble a glaive, but there are some notable differences i ...
in design and usage. The halberd was usually 1.5 to 1.8 metres (5 to 6 feet) long.
The word has also been used to describe a weapon of the Early Bronze Age in Western Europe. This consisted of a blade mounted on a pole at a right angle.
History
The halberd was inexpensive to produce and very versatile in battle. As the halberd was eventually refined, its point was more fully developed to allow it to better deal with
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s and
pikes (and make it able to push back approaching horsemen), as was the hook opposite the axe head, which could be used to pull horsemen to the ground.
A Swiss peasant used a halberd to kill
Charles the Bold
Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477.
...
, the
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...
, decisively ending the
Burgundian Wars
The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a conflict between the Burgundian State and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the battlefield in th ...
in a single stroke.
Researchers suspect that a halberd or a
bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
sliced through the back of
King Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
's skull at the
Battle of Bosworth
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...
.
![Rom, Vatikan, Soldat der Schweizer Garde 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Rom%2C_Vatikan%2C_Soldat_der_Schweizer_Garde_3.jpg)
The halberd was the primary weapon of the early Swiss armies in the 14th and early 15th centuries.
Later, the Swiss added 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 ...
to better repel
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
ly attacks and roll over enemy infantry formations, with the halberd,
hand-and-a-half sword
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around ), a straight double-edged blade of around , and weighing approximate ...
, or the
dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
known as the
''Schweizerdolch'' used for closer combat. The German ''
Landsknecht
The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line wa ...
e'', who imitated Swiss warfare methods, also used the pike, supplemented by the halberd—but their
side arm
Sidearm, side-arm or Side Arm(s) may refer to:
*Sidearm (weapon), a backup weapon
*Sidearm (baseball), a baseball throwing technique
*Sidearm, a flying disc (Frisbee) throw
*'' Side Arms Hyper Dyne'', a 1986 arcade game
*AGM-122 Sidearm
The ...
of choice was a
short sword
The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a double e ...
called the ''
Katzbalger
A is a short Renaissance arming sword, notable for its sturdy build and a distinctive s-shaped or figure-8 shaped guard. Measuring 70–80 cm long and weighing 0.8-1.5 kg, it was the signature blade of the ''Landsknecht''.
Overview
The ...
''.
As long as pikemen fought other pikemen, the halberd remained a useful supplemental weapon for ''
push of pike
The push of pike was a particular feature of late medieval and Early Modern warfare that occurred when two opposing columns of pikemen (often Swiss mercenaries or German Landsknechte) met and became locked in position along a front of interleave ...
'', but when their position became more defensive, to protect the slow-loading
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 ...
iers and
matchlock
A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Before ...
musketeers from sudden attacks by
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
, the percentage of halberdiers in the pike units steadily decreased. By 1588, official Dutch infantry composition was down to 39% arquebuses, 34% pikes, 13% muskets, 9% halberds, and 2% one-handed swords. By 1600, troops armed exclusively with swords were no longer used and the halberd was only used by sergeants.
[Olaf van Nimwegen. "The Dutch Army and the Military Revolutions, 1588-1688," Boydell: 2010. Page 87.]
While rarer than it had been from the late 15th to mid 16th centuries, the halberd was still used infrequently as an infantry weapon well into the mid 17th century. The armies of the
Catholic League in 1625, for example, had halberdiers comprising 7% of infantry units, with musketeers comprising 58% and armored pikemen 35%. By 1627 this had changed to 65% muskets, 20% pikes, and 15% halberds. A near-contemporary depiction of the 1665
Battle of Montes Claros
The Battle of Montes Claros was fought on 17 June 1665, near Vila Viçosa, between Spanish and a combined Anglo-Portuguese force as the last major battle in the Portuguese Restoration War. The battle resulted in a decisive Portuguese victory and ...
at
Palace of the Marquises of Fronteira
The Palace of the Marquesses of Fronteira (Portuguese: Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira) is a Portuguese palace located in Lisbon, Portugal.
History
The Palace of the Marquesses of Fronteira was built in 1671 as a hunting pavilion to Don Jo ...
depicts a minority of the Portuguese and Spanish soldiers as armed with halberds.
Antonio de Pereda
Antonio de Pereda y Salgado ( – January 30, 1678) was a Spanish Baroque-era painter, best known for his still lifes.
Biography
Pereda was born in Valladolid, the eldest of three brothers from an artistic family. His father, mother and two b ...
's 1635 painting ''El Socorro a Génova'' depicting the
Relief of Genoa
The Relief of Genoa took place between 28 March 1625 and 24 April 1625, during the Thirty Years' War. It was a major naval expedition launched by Spain against the French-occupied Republic of Genoa, of which the capital Genoa was being besieged ...
has all the soldiers armed with halberds. The most consistent users of the halberd in the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
were German sergeants who would carry one as a sign of rank. While they could use them in melee combat, more often they were used for dressing the ranks by grasping the shaft in both hands and pushing it against several men simultaneously. They could also be used to push pikes or muskets up or down, especially to stop overexcited musketeers from firing prematurely.
[Wilson, Peter (2009). Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War. Allen Lane. Page 95.]
The halberd has been used as a court bodyguard weapon for centuries, and is still the
ceremonial weapon
A ceremonial weapon is an object used for ceremonial purposes to display power or authority. They are often used in parades and as part of dress uniforms.
Although they are descended from weapons used in actual combat, they are not normally use ...
of the
Swiss Guard
The Pontifical Swiss Guard (also Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard; la, Pontificia Cohors Helvetica; it, Guardia Svizzera Pontificia; german: Päpstliche Schweizergarde; french: Garde suisse pontificale; rm, Guardia svizra papala)
is ...
in the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
and the ''Alabarderos'' (Halberdiers) Company
of the
Spanish Royal Guard
The Royal Guard ( es, Guardia Real) is an independent regiment of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and members of the Spanish Royal Family. It currently has a strength of 1,500 troops. While the gu ...
. The halberd was one of the polearms sometimes carried by lower-ranking officers in European infantry units in the 16th through 18th centuries. In the British army,
sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
s continued to carry halberds until 1793, when they were replaced by
spontoon
A spontoon, sometimes known by the variant spelling espontoon or as a half-pike, is a type of European polearm that came into being alongside the pike. The spontoon was in common use from the mid-17th century to the early 19th century, but it was ...
s. The 18th century halberd had, however, become simply a symbol of rank with no sharpened edge and insufficient strength to use as a weapon. It served as an instrument for ensuring that infantrymen in ranks stood correctly aligned with each other and that their muskets were aimed at the correct level.
Similar and related polearms
![海外西經-蓐收](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/%E6%B5%B7%E5%A4%96%E8%A5%BF%E7%B6%93-%E8%93%90%E6%94%B6.svg)
*
Bardiche
A bardiche , berdiche, bardische, bardeche, or berdish is a type of polearm used from the 14th to 17th centuries in Europe. Ultimately a descendant of the medieval sparth or Danish axe, the bardiche proper appears around 1400, but there are nume ...
, a type of two-handed
battle axe
A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-ha ...
known in the 16th and 17th centuries in Eastern Europe
*
Bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
, similar to a halberd but with a hooked blade form
*
''Ge'' or dagger-axe, a Chinese weapon in use from the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
(est. 1500 BC) that had a dagger-shaped blade mounted perpendicular to a spearhead
*
Fauchard
A fauchard is a type of polearm weapon which was used in Europe from the 11th through the 17th centuries.
In later use fauchards became ornamental and ceremonial (''fauchard de parade''), growing in size until some examples were almost too he ...
, a curved blade atop a pole that was used in Europe between the 11th and 14th centuries
*
Guisarme
A guisarme (sometimes gisarme, giserne or bisarme) is a pole weapon used in Europe primarily between 1000 and 1400. Its origin is likely Germanic, from the Old High German , literally "weeding iron". Like many medieval polearms, the exact early f ...
, a medieval bladed weapon on the end of a long pole; later designs implemented a small reverse spike on the back of the blade
*
Glaive
A glaive (or glave) is a European polearm, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japanese naginata, the Chinese guandao, the Korean woldo, and the Russian sovnya.
Overview
Typically, the blade is arou ...
, a large blade, up to long, on the end of a pole
*''
Guandao
A ''guandao'' is a type of Chinese pole weapon that is used in some forms of Chinese martial arts. In Chinese, it is properly called a yanyuedao (偃月刀; lit. "reclining moon blade"), the name under which it always appears in texts from the ...
'', a Chinese polearm from the 3rd century AD that had a heavy curved blade with a spike at the back
*
''Ji'' (戟), a Chinese polearm combining a spear and
dagger-axe
The dagger-axe () is a type of pole weapon that was in use from the Erlitou culture until the Han dynasty in China. It consists of a dagger-shaped blade, mounted by its tang to a perpendicular wooden shaft. The earliest dagger-axe blades were ...
*''
Kamayari
The ''kama-yari'' (鎌槍, sickle spear) is essentially a yari with horizontal kama (blade) at the base of the vertical blade to assist in grappling an opponent. Generally, the transverse blade, or hook, is large enough to hold the head, neck, ...
'', a Japanese spear with blade offshoots
*
Lochaber axe
The Lochaber axe ( Gaëlic: tuagh-chatha) is a type of poleaxe that was used almost exclusively in Scotland. It was usually mounted on a staff about five feet long.
Specifics of the weapon
The Lochaber axe is first recorded in 1501, as an "old ...
, a Scottish weapon that had a heavy blade attached to a pole in a similar fashion to a
voulge
A voulge (occasionally called a pole cleaver; also spelled vouge) is a type of polearm that existed alongside the similar glaive in medieval Europe. Superficially, a voulge might strongly resemble a glaive, but there are some notable differences i ...
*''
Naginata
The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ( ...
'', a Japanese weapon that had a – long blade attached by a sword guard to a wooden shaft
*
Partisan
Partisan may refer to:
Military
* Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon
* Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line
Films
* ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film
* ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...
, a large double-bladed spearhead mounted on a long shaft that had protrusions on either side for
parrying
A parry is a fencing bladework maneuver intended to deflect or block an incoming attack.
Execution
To execute a parry, fencers strike the opponent's foible, or the area near the tip of the blade, with their forte, or the part of the blade near t ...
sword thrusts
*
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 ...
, an
axe
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
or
hammer
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...
mounted on a long shaft—developed in the 14th century to breach the
plate armour
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, es ...
worn increasingly by European
men-at-arms
A man-at-arms was a soldier of the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully-armoured heavy cavalryman. A man-at-arms could be a knight, or other nobleman, a member of a knig ...
*
Ranseur
A ranseur, also called roncone, was a pole weapon similar to the partisan used in Europe up to the 15th century. It was still seen in court as a ceremonial weapon through the 17th century.
Often thought to be a derivation of the earlier spetum, ...
, a pole weapon consisting of a spear-tip affixed with a cross hilt at its base derived from the earlier
spetum
A spetum is a pole weapon
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 p ...
*
Spontoon
A spontoon, sometimes known by the variant spelling espontoon or as a half-pike, is a type of European polearm that came into being alongside the pike. The spontoon was in common use from the mid-17th century to the early 19th century, but it was ...
, a 17th-century weapon that consisted of a large blade with two side blades mounted on a long pole, considered a more elaborate
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 ...
*
Voulge
A voulge (occasionally called a pole cleaver; also spelled vouge) is a type of polearm that existed alongside the similar glaive in medieval Europe. Superficially, a voulge might strongly resemble a glaive, but there are some notable differences i ...
, a crude single-edged blade bound to a wooden shaft
*
Tabar, a type of battle axe
*
War scythe
A war scythe or military scythe is a form of pole weapon with a curving single-edged blade with the cutting edge on the concave side of the blade. Its blade bears a superficial resemblance to that of an agricultural scythe from which it is like ...
, an improvised weapon that consisted of a blade from a
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 ...
attached vertically to a shaft
*
Welsh hook
A Welsh hook is a type of polearm, a halberd-like weapon with a hook on the back, and gained its name due to its prevalence among the Wales, Welsh soldiers during the Middle Ages, medieval wars against the England, English. It appears to have bee ...
, similar to a halberd and thought to originate from a forest-bill
*''
Woldo
The woldo (literally “moon blade”), was a Korean pole weapon that closely resembled the Chinese guandao (also known as ''yanyuedao''), though proportionally smaller. It was so named because of its curved blade. Its use and its methods were d ...
'', A Korean polearm that had a crescent-shaped blade mounted on a long shaft, similar in construction to the Chinese ''guandao'', and primarily served as a symbol of the Royal Guard
*
Yue,a Chinese axe with long shaft.
Gallery
File:Hallebardes-p1000544.jpg, Different sorts of halberds and halberd-like pole weapons in Switzerland
File:Bundesschwur Zuerich.jpg, Citizens of Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
on 1 May 1351 are read the Federal Charter as they swear allegiance to representatives of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden and Lucerne. One of the representatives carries a typical Swiss halberd of the period depicted (as opposed to the time the image was made, 1515).
File:Wiborada1430.jpg, Saint Wiborada is often (anachronistically) depicted with a halberd to indicate the means of her martyrdom.
File:Halberd-axe MBA Lyon E 697a-IMG 0110-0111.jpg, Halberd-axe head with the head of a mouflon. Late 2nd millennium–early 1st millennium BC. From Amlash
Amlash ( fa, املش, also Romanized as Amlesh; also known as Amlish) is a city & capital of Amlash County, Gilan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Wes ...
, Gilan, Iran.
See also
*
Dagger-axe
The dagger-axe () is a type of pole weapon that was in use from the Erlitou culture until the Han dynasty in China. It consists of a dagger-shaped blade, mounted by its tang to a perpendicular wooden shaft. The earliest dagger-axe blades were ...
*
Naginata
The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ( ...
*
Viking halberd
The term "halberd" has been used to translate several Old Norse words relating to polearms in the context of Viking Age arms and armour, and in scientific literature about the Viking Age. In referring to the Viking Age weapon, the term "halberd" i ...
References
Bibliography
* Brandtherm, Dirk & O'Flaherty, Ronan; ''Prodigal sons: two 'halberds' in the Hunt Museum, Limerick, from Cuenca, Spain and Beyrǔt, Syria'', pp. 56–60, ''JRSAI'' Vol.131 (2001). .
*
* O'Flaherty, Ronan;
The Early Bronze Age halberd: a history of research and a brief guide to the sources', pp. 74–94, ''Journal of the
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is a learned society based in Ireland, whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquit ...
'', Vol.128 (1998).
*R. E. Oakeshott,
European weapons and armour: From the Renaissance to the industrial revolution' (1980), 44–48.
External links
Halberds at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtHalberds at the University of Michigan Museum of Art{{Authority control
Medieval blade weapons
Medieval polearms
Polearms
Renaissance-era polearms
Axes