A koncerz with a conventional cutting edge
A koncerz () is a type of
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
used by
Polish-Lithuanian hussars
A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...
in the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
period. It is a narrow and long thrusting sword, generally used by a type of heavy
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 ...
(
husaria
The Polish hussars (; pl, husaria ), alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which ...
, the famed Polish hussars) and optimized to defeat body armor (either by piercing directly through mail links, or by thrusting between the plates of plate armor), but not used to cut or slash.
The koncerz originated from a medieval sword and appeared at the end of the 15th century when it was about long, and relatively unwieldy compared to single-handed thrusting swords designed for use by infantry. By the late 16th century it had increased in length to a typical overall— blade—and had a more optimized weight distribution and balance. The koncerz was used more like a
lance
A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier ( lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike si ...
while on horseback; it provided a rider with a very long reach in a relatively compact format suitable for a sidearm (the typical primary weapon of hussars was a very long lance).
As it was used primarily for thrusting, the koncerz often had no cutting edge, only a very sharp point; the blade itself was triangular or square in cross section in order to be more rigid.
The closest western European equivalent is the
estoc
The French estoc is a type of sword, also called a tuck in English, in use from the 14th to the 17th century. It is characterized by a cruciform hilt with a grip for two-handed use and a straight, edgeless, but sharply pointed blade of around to ...
, or "tuck".
References
External links
Polish Renaissance Warfare by S. A. JasinskiIllustration of a Koncerz sword
''Winged Hussars''
Radoslaw Sikora, Bartosz Musialowicz, ''BUM Magazine'', 2016.
Early Modern European swords
Renaissance-era weapons
{{Poland-hist-stub
