A glaive (or glave) is a European

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 ...

, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japanese

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 ...

, the Chinese

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 ...

, the Korean

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 ...

, and the Russian

sovnya A sovnya (russian: link=no, совня) is a traditional polearm used in Russia. Similar to the glaive, the sovnya had a curved, single-edged blade mounted on the end of a long pole. This was a weapon used by late-medieval Muscovite cavalry a ...

Overview

Typically, the blade is around long, on the end of a pole long, and the blade is affixed in a socket-shaft configuration similar to an axe head, rather than having a tang like a sword or

. Occasionally, glaive blades were forged with a small hook on the reverse side to better catch riders. Such blades are called glaive-

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 ...

s. According to the 1599 treatise ''Paradoxes of Defence'' by the English gentleman George Silver, the glaive is used in the same general manner as the

quarterstaff A quarterstaff (plural quarterstaffs or quarterstaves), also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European pole weapon, which was especially prominent in England during the Early Modern period. The term is generally accepted to refer t ...

, half pike, bill,

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 ...

, voulge, or partisan. Silver rated this class of polearms above all other individual hand-to-hand combat weapons. The Maciejowski Bible (Morgan Bible) depicts an example of a two-handed glaive used on horseback. The contemporary term for this weapon may have been '' faussart'', which was used for a variety of single-edged weapons seen as related to 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 mac ...

(along with terms such as ''

falchion A falchion (; Old French: ''fauchon''; Latin: ''falx'', "sickle") is a one-handed, single-edged sword of European origin. Falchions are found in different forms from around the 13th century up to and including the 16th century. In some version ...

'', ''

falcata The falcata is a type of sword typical of pre-Roman Iberia. The falcata was used to great effect for warfare in the ancient Iberian peninsula, and is firmly associated with the southern Iberian tribes, among other ancient peoples of Hispania. ...

, or

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 h ...

'' derived from ''

falx The ''falx'' was a weapon with a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge used by the Thracians and Dacians. The name was later applied to a siege hook used by the Romans. Etymology ''Falx'' is a Latin word originally meaning 'sickle' b ...

'', the Latin term for "scythe").

Other uses of the word

The word "glaive" has historically been given to several very different types of weapons. * The word "glaive" originated from French. Almost all etymologists derive it from either the Latin (''gladius'') or Celtic (''*cladivos'', cf. claymore) word for sword. Nevertheless, all the earliest attestations in both French and English refer to

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. It is attested in this meaning in English roughly from the 14th century to the 16th century. * In the 15th century, it acquired the meaning described above. * Around the same time it also began being used as a poetic word for sword. * In Modern French "glaive" refers to short swords, especially the Roman . * The term "glaive" is used in the science fiction/fantasy film '' Krull'' to refer to a thrown weapon, similar to the

chakram Chakram ( sa, , script=latn; pa, , script=latn) is a throwing weapon from the Indian subcontinent. One of its major purposes is to protect the turban and the head from sword/melee attacks. It is circular with a sharpened outer edge and a diame ...

hunga munga A mambele is a form of hybrid knife/axe in central and southern Africa, originating from a curved throwing dagger used by the Mangbetu. Description The mambele consists of an iron blade with a curved back section and rearward spike. It can ...

, which can return to the thrower, much like a

boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

. "Glaive" has been used to describe this fictional type of weapon in films, video games and other fantasy media since.

References

{{Pole weapons Medieval blade weapons Medieval polearms Polearms