This is a list of types of spears found worldwide throughout history.

Used equally in melee and thrown

Migration Period spear The spear or lance, together with the bow, the sword, the seax and the shield, was the main equipment of the Germanic warriors during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages. Terminology The pre-migration term reported by Tacitus is ...

Normally melee

Bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

(when fixed to a

Long gun A long gun is a category of firearms with long barrels. In small arms, a ''long gun'' or longarm is generally designed to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, which can be fired being held with a single ...

)

Asia

* Arbir *

Bambu Runcing A bambu runcing or prìng lancìp (which literally means "Spiked Bamboo") is a traditional spear made of a sharpened bamboo. History During the Majapahit kingdom in the 15th century, bambu runcing fighting was practiced on the island of Java. ...

Dangpa Dangpa, or dang pa, is the Korean name for a Ranseur (three-pronged trident-like spear) first described in the ''Muyejebo'', a Korean martial arts manual of the Joseon Dynasty (published 1610). Types There were several types of dangpa, such as ...

Gichang The is a Korean weapon which is first described in the Muyesinbo, a Korean martial arts manual published in 1759. It later also found its way into the Muyedobotongji (1791). The weapon is a spear with a flag attached to the pole. The is also ...

Hoko yari ''Hoko yari'' is an ancient form of Japanese spear or ''yari'' said to be based on a Chinese spear. The hoko yari came into use sometime between the Yayoi period and the Heian period, possibly during the Nara period in the 8th century AD. Appear ...

* Ji *

Kama-yari The ''kama-yari'' (鎌槍, sickle spear) is essentially a yari with horizontal Kama (weapon), 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 ...

* Qiang *

Sibat Sibat is the Filipino word for spear, used as a weapon or tool by natives of the Philippines. The term is used in Tagalog and Kinaray-a. It also called bangkaw, sumbling or palupad in the islands of Visayas and Mindanao; and budjak (also spelled ...

Trishula The ''trishula'' () is a trident, a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Hinduism. In Nepal and Thailand, the term also often refers to a short-handled weapon which may be mounted on a ''daṇḍa'' " staff". Unlik ...

Yari is the term for a traditionally-made Japanese blade (日本刀; nihontō) in the form of a spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear. The martial art of wielding the is called . History The forerunner of the is thought to be a ...

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 ( ...

Assegai An assegai or assagai (Arabic ''az-zaġāyah'', Berber languages, Berber ''zaġāya'' "spear", French language, Old French ''azagaie'', Spanish ''azagaya'', Italian ''zagaglia'', Middle English ''lancegay'') is a pole weapon used for throwing, ...

Europe

Ahlspiess The ahlspiess (or awl pike) was a thrusting spear developed and used primarily in Germany and Austria from the 15th to 16th centuries. The ahlspiess consisted of a long thin spike of square cross section measuring up to about a metre (39 inches) ...

Boar spear A boar spear is a spear used for boar hunting. It is relatively short and heavy and has two " lugs" or "wings" on the spearsocket behind the blade, which act as a barrier to prevent the spear from penetrating too deeply into the quarry where it ...

Bohemian earspoon The Bohemian earspoon (German ''Böhmischer Ohrlöffel'' or ''Knebelspiess'', Czech ''ušatá sudlice'') is a polearm featuring a long, broad, socketed spearhead with two out-turned lugs (sharply bent hooks, straight spikes, or triangular guard ...

* Brandistock *

Dory A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...

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 ...

Goedendag A goedendag (Dutch for "good day"; also rendered godendac, godendard, godendart, and sometimes conflated with the related plançon) was a weapon originally used by the militias of Medieval Flanders in the 14th century, notably during the Franc ...

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 ...

Half pike 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 ...

* Hasta *

Military fork A military fork is a pole weapon which was used in Europe between the 15th and 19th centuries. Like many polearms, the military fork traces its lineage to an agricultural tool, in this case the pitchfork. Unlike a trident used for fishing, the ...

Ox tongue spear thumb The ox tongue spear (''langue de boeuf'' or ''langdebeve'') was a type of broad-headed double-edged spear that was used in Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its gre ...

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 ...

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 ...

* Plançon a picot *

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, ...

Sarissa The sarisa or sarissa ( el, σάρισα) was a long spear or pike about in length. It was introduced by Philip II of Macedon and was used in his Macedonian phalanxes as a replacement for the earlier dory, which was considerably shorter. Thes ...

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 ...

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

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 ...

Elsewhere

* Hoeroa (Māori, New Zealand) *

Iklwa An assegai or assagai (Arabic ''az-zaġāyah'', Berber ''zaġāya'' "spear", Old French ''azagaie'', Spanish ''azagaya'', Italian ''zagaglia'', Middle English ''lancegay'') is a pole weapon used for throwing, usually a light spear or javelin m ...

(Zulu) * Makrigga (Zande) *

Tepoztopilli The ''tepoztopilli'' was a common front-line weapon of the Aztec military. The tepoztopilli was a pole-arm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices it was roughly the height of a man, although historian John Pohl indicates that the ...

(Aztec)

Normally used from horseback

Barcha A barcha, barsha or brchha is a type of lance with a wooden handle, once common in South Asia (the word itself is Hindi). They were common in the 16th century. The weapon found itself very handy with the emerging Marathas in early seventeenth cen ...

* Kontos *

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 ...

Xyston The xyston ( grc, ξυστόν "spear, javelin; pointed or spiked stick, goad (lit. 'shaved', a derivative of the verb ξύω "scrape, shave")), was a type of a long thrusting spear in ancient Greece. It measured about long and was probably he ...

Normally thrown

Harpoon A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, seal hunting, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the t ...

One flue harpoon {{no footnotes, date=February 2014 The one-flue harpoon or one-flue iron (sometimes "single" instead of "one" is used) is a type of harpoon used in whaling after its introduction in the early 19th century when it replaced the two-flue harpoon. Due ...

Two flue harpoon The two-flue harpoon or two-flue iron (which, together with the one-flue harpoon, were known as common harpoons) is a type of harpoon used in whaling for at least 1000 years. It appears in works of art dating back to the 14th century. In the earl ...

Europe

Angon The ''angon'' (Medieval Greek , Old High German ''ango'', Old English ''anga'' "hook, point, spike") was a type of javelin used during the Early Middle Ages by the Anglo-Saxons, Franks, Goths, and other Germanic peoples. It was similar to, and p ...

Falarica Falarica, also Phalarica, was an ancient Iberian ranged pole weapon that was sometimes used as an incendiary weapon. Design The Falarica was a heavy javelin with a long, thin iron head of about 90 centimeters in length attached to a wooden shaf ...

* Framea * Golo * Hak *

Jaculum ''Hasta'' (plural: ''hastae'') is a Latin word meaning "spear". ''Hastae'' were carried by early Roman legionaries, in particular they were carried by and gave their name to those Roman soldiers known as ''hastati''. However, during republican t ...

Javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

* Lancea *

Pilum The ''pilum'' (; plural ''pila'') was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about long overall, consisting of an iron shank about in diameter and long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft ...

Plumbata ''Plumbatae'' or ''martiobarbuli'' were lead-weighted darts carried by infantrymen in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. History The first examples seem to have been carried by the Ancient Greeks from about 500 BC onwards, but the best-known us ...

Soliferrum Soliferrum or Soliferreum (Latin: ''solus'', "only" + ''ferrum'', "Iron") was the Roman name for an ancient Iberian ranged pole weapon made entirely of iron. The soliferrum was a heavy hand-thrown javelin, designed to be thrown to a distance of u ...

Spiculum A spiculum is a late Roman spear that replaced the pilum as the infantryman's main throwing javelin around 250 AD. Scholars suppose that it could have resulted from the gradual combination of the pilum and two German spears, the angon and the beb ...

Verutum The ''verutum'', plural ''veruta'' ( la, spit), was a short javelin used in the Roman army. This javelin was used by the ''velites'' for skirmishing purposes, unlike the heavier ''pilum'', which was used by the ''hastati'' and ''principes'' for w ...

Elsewhere

(Africa) *

Djerid el-Djerid, also al-Jarīd, ( ar, الجريد; Derja: ''Jerīd''; ) or more precisely the South Western Tunisia Region is a semi-desert natural region comprising three southern Tunisian Governorates, Gafsa, Kebili and Tozeur with adjacent parts o ...

(Asia Minor, India and Africa) *

Toggling harpoon The toggling harpoon is an ancient weapon and tool used in whaling to impale a whale when thrown. Unlike earlier harpoon versions which had only one point, a toggling harpoon has a two-part point. One half of the point is firmly attached to the ...

(Americas) {{Expand list, date=February 2011

Spears 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 fastene ...