War hammer: description of the weapon and its main features

War Hammer

1
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A typical simple horseman's warhammer. The rod is made of wrought iron, the handle is wrapped in copper wire. 2.
This hammer has a wooden shaft, the upper half of which is bound with iron.
Bavaria. 1450-1500 3.
Steel hammer with gold checkering, handle covered with velvet.
India or Persia. 4.
Hammer with a square striker and an octagonal beak, wooden handle.
Presumably Italy. XVI century 5.
Hammer with a faceted beak and an obtuse head, oak handle.
Presumably France. Around 1450 6.
Hammer with a wooden handle protected by long guards. Italy. Circa 1490 South German War Hammer (right), decorated with hunting scenes in gold and silver inlay. Second half of the 16th century. (Victoria and Albert Museum, London).

A war hammer is a cold pole weapon of the impact-crushing type, similar in its action to a club and a mace. It has been known to man since ancient times; it is believed that our distant ancestors began using a war hammer, along with a spear, an ax and a club, back in the late Stone Age. But the “golden age” of these weapons, without a doubt, was the late Middle Ages, a period when warriors clad in iron from head to toe fought on the battlefield. The hammer was capable of crushing even the most powerful armor.

In recent years, thanks to computer toys and fantasy books, the war hammer has become more recognizable. But such fame played a cruel joke on him. The weapons usually depicted by writers or animators bear very little relation to real war hammers. Usually it is something huge, rectangular and very massive, very reminiscent of an ordinary blacksmith hammer or sledgehammer, decorated with intricate patterns. Of course, a sledgehammer can also be used in battle, there is a lot of historical evidence about this, but a real war hammer had a completely different shape and weight. And in its appearance it looked more like a pickaxe or an ice ax.

The hammer is very widely represented in the mythology of various peoples. Man has always associated it with pressure and brute force, capable of crushing everything in its path. The most famous war hammer, without a doubt, is Mjollnir - the stone weapon of the Scandinavian god Thor. He used his hammer both for creation and as a weapon of destruction. Mjollnir could be thrown, and not only did it always hit the target, but it also returned to its owner. The Japanese revered the hammer as a symbol of prosperity and wealth; it was a constant companion of Hephaestus, the ancient Greek deity of blacksmithing and metallurgy. With the help of this hammer, Hephaestus forged armor, a sword and a shield for Achilles, with which the legendary hero did not know defeat.

At the same time, among some peoples, the hammer was a symbol of the natural elements, powerful, unpredictable and indomitable. The symbolism of the hammer is characterized by a kind of dualism associated with its two functions: peaceful and military. On coats of arms and emblems it is usually the “civilian” form of the hammer that is used. The hammer, as a tool, has long become a symbol of hard work, industrial production, and craftsmanship. On the coat of arms and flag of the Soviet Union, the hammer symbolized the working class.

The war hammer was popular not only in Europe; similar weapons were also used in other regions of the world: India, China, Persia, and the Middle East.

Historical reference

Klevets is one of the ancient types of military weapons. The first mentions of this means of warfare are found in sources about the Assyrians. And on the territory of Crimea, researchers found prototypes of klevtsy, made of stone and used for ceremonial purposes.

Klevtsy also used:

• Scythians;
• Slavs;
• Indians;
• Vikings;
• ancient Chinese and other peoples.

Klevets was capable of delivering blows that penetrated reinforced defenses. Thanks to this, the weapon gained popularity on the European continent during the development of plate armor there.

As it developed, the klevets became a badge of honor for European military leaders. But this product was used as a military weapon until the 19th century in India, Central Asia and the Middle East.

History of the War Hammer

As mentioned above, a hammer - along with a spear and an ax - is the most ancient type of bladed weapon invented by man. When our distant ancestor realized that nature had endowed him with not very strong and long arms, and his teeth were poorly suited for self-defense, he began to arm himself. The idea of ​​attaching a massive stone to a wooden stick is not too complicated, so it is not surprising that the war hammer dates back to the Neolithic.

Moreover, the hammer is also good for its versatility; it can be used not only as a weapon, but also to perform many household functions. Often the hammer was the butt of a stone axe, in which case the range of its use expanded even further.

After man discovered metals, hammer heads began to be made from them. First from bronze, and then from iron. Moreover, the hammer was necessary when processing metals in a forge, so it was very common. Later, already in the Middle Ages, ordinary blacksmith hammers were sometimes used in battle, mounted on longer handles.

The hammer was a traditional weapon of the ancient Germans; they used it even before the beginning of the 11th century. With the advent of plate armor, the victorious march of these weapons throughout Europe began. If up to this point a sword or spear was quite enough to defeat an enemy, then something else was needed to break through a heavily armed one. War hammers, on the other hand, had excellent “armor-piercing” characteristics, so they coped with such tasks perfectly. At the same time, they were not too difficult to use and were inexpensive. The action of a hammer is very similar to a mace, but it is more effective against heavy armor. In addition, additional elements of its warhead significantly increased the versatility of this weapon.

That is why the short hammer became a favorite weapon of infantry and cavalry. The knights for a long time disdained the despicable weapons of the townspeople, but, in the end, the harsh reality left them no choice. By the middle of the 15th century, the war hammer became the usual weapon of the horseman, for which it received its second name - “cavalry hammer”.

Although such a weapon is usually referred to as a hammer, it is rather a hybrid of a spear, an ax and a hammer. The classification of such chimeras is a rather complicated issue, since there were a large number of their variations, and each master made weapons according to his own understanding - there was no GOST system at that time.

In Germany, such hammer-spear-axes were called fusstreithammer, in France - bec de corbin, in Switzerland - Lucerne hammers, and in England - poleaxes (poleaxes). It is the latter name that is the most popular today. Such a weapon combines the striking power of a hammer, the penetrating blow of a spear and the wide area of ​​destruction of an ax. With its help, it was very convenient for a foot warrior to repel attacks of enemy cavalry.

Some modern historians generally believe that the polex came not from a war hammer, but from a Danish axe.

By the way, the polex was not only used in war, it was one of the most popular tournament weapons. They were often used during duels; there was even a special “duel” modification of this hammer.

Almost all examples of polaxes that have survived to this day are richly decorated and quite well made, which suggests the material wealth of their owners. Already today, studies have been carried out on the graves of soldiers who died in the battles of Visby (1361) and Tauton (1461), which showed a significant number of deaths from blows by poleaxes.

The widespread use of firearms gradually makes heavy plate armor unnecessary, and along with it the war hammer goes into oblivion. Although, of course, this does not happen immediately. In the 16th century, combined weapons appeared: swords, rapiers, and knives were placed in the handles of knives and war hammers. They are sometimes used as a firearm rest. The so-called fire stocks generally had blades that were fired from the handle. The so-called crickets were very interesting - peculiar hybrids of pistols and war hammers.

At the end of the 17th century, the war hammer almost completely lost its combat significance and turned into a fashionable attribute that emphasized the high status of its owner. It was worn by officers, and robber atamans often followed their example. This was the case in Germany and Italy. In Poland, the klewiec turned into a civilian self-defense weapon, receiving the name obushok or butt. Hammers were used for similar purposes in Belarus and Hungary.

Forged axe-klevets 13th century

A genuine ancient example of a common deadly weapon of the time. High-quality work of a blacksmith-gunsmith.

Multilayer metal texture. Bulat is a steel that, thanks to a special manufacturing technology, is distinguished by its unique internal structure and surface appearance (“pattern”)...

Damask steel (vuts, taban, khorasan, farand) was known several thousand years ago. This material is distinguished by a complex production process, in which it is necessary to strictly observe the chemical composition of the alloy and provide a unique processing technology...

• Size 16 cm.
• Weight 621 grams!

Written sources mention axes as military weapons of the Slavs from the 8th century. According to domestic materials, only a few narrow-bladed cleavers dating back to the last quarter of the first millennium AD are known. Therefore, it is not yet possible to trace the development of the iron ax in Eastern Europe in pre-Kievan times. It seems that the entire variety of forms of Russian axes was created in the 9th – 11th centuries. in an era of rapid development of the country's material culture.

Indeed, starting from the 10th century, the lack of finds from the previous period was replaced by their abundance. The number of axes from the 10th – 13th centuries found on the territory of ancient Rus' reaches 2,600 copies, most of them come from burials (2,130 copies), the rest were found at ancient settlements and by chance.

Scientists - historians, archaeologists and weapons specialists (consultants) took into account, if possible, all the axes found, in order to better and more accurately identify combat axes among them.

Only some hatchets (primarily hammered ones) are rightly considered only weapons. As for many other early medieval battle axes, it turns out that they have a correspondence in the forms of working axes, and their identification is subject to a number of rules. It is striking that among the axes there are both large and small. Scientists explain the difference in the sizes of axes by their purpose: massive ones, regardless of their shape, were used by lumberjacks and carpenters, and light ones were used for carpentry and cooperage. Without denying this, we can confidently say: axes of “small forms” also served as warrior weapons. The most important feature of a battle ax is not its shape, but its size and weight. Based on these characteristics, most of the same type of ancient Russian axes are divided into combat and working.

Moreover, their handles, being apparently the same length (on average about 80 cm), differed in thickness. Thousands of measurements taken show the usual dimensions of battle axes: blade length 9 - 15 cm, width up to 10 - 12 cm, blade diameter 2 -3 cm, weight up to 450 g. These measurements are repeated on specially battle axes, which, however, are somewhat smaller weight (average 200 - 350 g). The sizes established above are characteristic of most axes found in squad burials. In turn, the presence of such axes in the burial mounds of warriors indicates their combat purpose.

Unlike battle axes, the working dimensions are as follows: length 15 – 22 cm (usually 17 – 18 cm), blade width 9 – 15 cm, sleeve diameter 3 – 4.5 cm, usual weight 600 – 800 g. These axes are very common in peasant burial mounds as an attribute of a male burial.

Of course, we cannot make absolute distinctions between the sizes of combat and working axes. Here there are deviations in one direction or another. Sometimes you can argue about the economic or military affiliation of a particular ax. The fact is that the group of “military” axes itself is also heterogeneous.

Some of them, judging by the rich decoration and small size (for example, blade length 9 - 12 cm), served as an honorary and military weapon, while the other part was used not only in battle, but also during the campaign as a universal tool. The role of the ax in the burials of warriors is connected with this. If you look closely at these burials, you will notice everywhere that the deceased was prepared not for battle, but for a long journey along the unknown paths of the afterlife. It is not surprising, therefore, that in the burials of warriors there are often axes that could perform various military functions. It is also impossible to deny the cult “purifying” significance of the ax in pagan (and then in early Christianity in Rus') burials, as an object that symbolizes lightning and heavenly fire.

However, in addition to burial mound equipment, the need for an ax in a warrior’s field equipment is also evidenced by written sources from the Middle Ages. According to Ibn Fadlan, who saw Russian warriors on the Volga, “each of them has an axe, a sword or a spear, as well as a knife. Moreover, they never part with all this.” With the help of an ax they paved roads, made abatis and firmaments, stocked up on fuel, built bridges, repaired ships and carts, and carried out restoration and siege work. In cases of need, special “travelers” cleared the way for troops in difficult places “cutting and leveling, but do not work in a cruel way.”

Judging by the finds, a “military” ax is always smaller and lighter than a household one. A heavy and massive working ax was burdensome on a campaign and inconvenient in battle; a professional warrior needed a lighter weapon. However, one cannot completely deny the universality of the ancient Russian ax. It was often used for military purposes. But only on purely battle axes are there ornamental decorations and decoration with precious metals. Almost all of them belong to outstanding works of ancient Russian applied art.

Thus, when identifying battle axes, one should take into account the size, shape and decoration of the axe, the conditions under which it is located, and its military and industrial significance. As a result, we can safely conclude that in early medieval Rus' there was no typological difference between the majority of industrial and military axes. Although they were of the same type, they differed only in size, weight and thickness of the handle. So, all ancient Russian axes can be divided into three groups: 1. Specially combat axes-hammers, axes with decorations, characteristic in configuration and insignificant in size. Most of them (for example, coins) have no analogies with the shapes of working axes.

2. Axes of “small forms”, which were used for military purposes as a universal tool during campaigns and battles. Their general dimensions are defined above. They are very similar in shape to industrial axes, being like a miniature copy of the latter. 3. Heavy and massive work axes. They were actually not used during the war. Depending on the shape of the blade, battle axes are divided (according to A.V. Kirpichnikov) into 8 types with varieties. The meaning of the battle ax is determined by comparing archaeological complexes. According to scientists, the ax was found in every third mound containing weapons from the 10th – early 11th centuries. The popularity of the ax as a weapon of war is also confirmed by written sources. Ibn Fadlan and Ibn Miskaweikh report that the Russian army was equipped with these weapons in the 10th century. Leo the Deacon in the description of the Russian-Byzantine war of 970 - 971. notes the combat use of axes along with swords. Finally, in a letter from Bishop Bruno to Henry II in 1008, it is reported that the troops of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich were armed with many axes and swords. In general, it seems that in the early Kiev period the ax was an important and very common weapon. For the XI – XII centuries. the number of known battle axes is increasing. They are found in every second mound of that time containing weapons. Judging by the funerary monuments, almost 2/3 of the ax-bearers had an ax as their only weapon.

However, the predominance of the battle ax in the burial mounds of the 11th – 12th centuries. does not yet mean its predominance in the composition of edged weapons of that time. There is no doubt that the ax was a massive weapon of a militia or a simple warrior, but it was not the main weapon of the entire army. The warriors buried in the mounds of this period belonged to the social lower classes of the Russian army and had axes as infantry weapons (the bulk of battle axes were found in the northern and central regions, where infantry constituted the main force of the army). The weapons of the princely squads, which determined the means of struggle, were, of course, much richer and more diverse.

In the XII – XIII centuries. the importance of the battle ax as a widespread and mass weapon is decreasing. For example, in southern Russian cities that perished during the Tatar-Mongol invasion, for several battle axes there are dozens of spears, many sabers, swords, thousands of arrows and sulits. The ax, of course, has not lost its importance for infantry. Ordinary militia continued to operate in battle with axes and swords. This is clearly visible in the miniature of the Radzvilov Chronicle).

Another chronicle tells us that during the siege of the Bulgarian city of Oshel in 1219, infantrymen with axes were used as an assault force: “... and in front were foot soldiers with fire and axes, and behind them were archers and spearmen, and quickly fought evil and cut down tyn and shaft dug up and lit...” However, chronicle reports of axes are very few. Sources highlight unusual or exceptional cases of ownership of these weapons. Thus, during the battle with the Swedes in 1240, the Novgorodian Sbyslav Yakaznovich “having struck with a single ax many times, had no fear in his heart.” Here, in my opinion, the chronicler, admiring on the one hand the courage of the warrior, hints at the inadequacy of his weapons.

In another episode, the chronicle tells how, during the Battle of Lipetsk, Prince Mstislav Udaloy, with unbridled courage, “having driven three times through the regiments of Princess Yuriev and Yaroslavl, he cut people down, but he had an ax with a fireweed on his hand.” The chronicle history of appanage Rus' is filled with descriptions of military actions. However, we will look in vain for references to the ax here. The battle ax does not appear in epics and heroic songs; it is not mentioned in contracts and oaths. And so on. The reasons for the rare use of the ax by the feudal nobility and princely warriors lie not so much in the disdainful attitude towards it as a weapon by the common people (among the nobility, everyone knew how to handle a battle ax perfectly - this was part of mandatory combat training), but in the tactical features of equestrian combat. The ax was, after all, a traditional infantry weapon, and the prince and his retinue were a cavalry army. Since the 11th century, cavalry has become the main branch of the military in Rus'. Her main weapons were spears, sabers, arrows and bows, and swords. The ax was used only during a protracted cavalry battle, which turned into a close fight between separate groups, when a long polearm only interfered with movement. This is where a light battle hatchet, such as a hammer, was best suited; it could be wielded with one hand. This is exactly how Mstislav Udaloy apparently acted in battle in the case described above. His ax was held firmly in his hand with the help of a lanyard. The rider could not fight effectively, holding the ax with both hands at once, since he could not cover himself with a shield and lost control of his horse. Analysis of the sources leads to the conclusion that for the equestrian warriors of the 12th – 13th centuries. For tactical reasons, the ax was not the main means of fighting. So, the combat use of the ax in ancient Rus' went through two large stages. In the V – X centuries. Due to the importance of the foot army, the ax was the most important weapon of war. In the XI – XIII centuries. due to the increasing role of cavalry, the military significance of the ax is decreasing, although it still remains a massive infantry weapon

In the armament of ancient Russian troops, the spear played no less a role than the sword, and was one of the most important types of melee weapons. Unlike the sword, it was much cheaper, although no less important. It was used by both rich warriors and less wealthy warriors from urban artisans and peasants. The spear was widely used in both cavalry and infantry of ancient Rus'. The miniatures of Russian chronicles and icons constantly depict a whole forest of spears among Russian troops. The spear, without a doubt, was a mandatory weapon among all peoples of the world. Among the Slavs it was mentioned already in the 5th century by Mauritius the Strategist, and, of course, it was used before without any doubt. The spear has been mentioned in chronicles since the 10th century; At the same time, the expression “to take the city with a spear” already existed - that is, by attack, by storm. All this speaks of the importance of the spear in the Russian army. A.V. Artsikhovsky rightly calls spears the most widespread and democratic type of weapon. The main forms of tips are lanceolate, leaf-shaped and diamond-shaped. In general, there are a lot of forms of copies. Until the 5th century, the Slavs used mainly thick stakes with the end burnt until hard at the stake. However, starting from the 6th century, bronze and iron spearheads, mainly Frankish and Byzantine in origin, began to be found in the mounds.

Thus, historical and archaeological evidence since the 6th century shows that the spear was the main typical means of fighting in the hands of the Slavic warrior. Slavs in the VI – VII centuries. They fought equipped with two or three spears. This weapon was then light and throwing. Byzantine commanders even recommended Slavic darts to their infantrymen “who did not know how to shoot a bow or in case there were not enough arrows,” as the famous Byzantine commander of those years, Belisarius, said, according to the memoirs of the chronicler Procopius. A new period in the history of polearms begins in Rus' in the 9th or 10th century. The length of an infantryman’s shaft grows to 180–200 cm, and cavalry spears reach 360 cm (data obtained from excavations in those centuries). By the way, the wooden part of a spear was designated in pre-Mongol times with the words “wood”, “shaving”, “oskospishche”. In the 12th century, spears with laurel-shaped feathers appeared. The curvilinear bend of the blade edge is characterized by great smoothness and symmetry. The appearance of these tips with a smoothly pointed feather and reinforcement at the junction of the feather and crown indicates an increase in the strength and striking power of a piercing weapon. Indeed, during this period, unusually massive and large tips stand out, their name is horns.

Among the Old Russian spears there are no heavier (their weight was about 700 - 1000 g, while the weight of an ordinary spear was 200 - 400 g), powerful and wide tips than the slingshot. The shape and size of pre-Mongol horns surprisingly coincide with the same-name samples of the 15th – 17th centuries. For example, the famous spear of Prince Boris Alexandrovich Tverskoy. Apparently, the development of the slingshot in medieval Rus', starting from the pre-Mongol period, had stable traditions. Rogatins, along with sulits, are the only specialized type of spear about which there are reports from sources. For the first time in the chronicle, Rogatina was noted in 1149, which is generally confirmed archaeologically. In the most ancient mention, a slingshot was a military weapon, but it also served for hunting. Rohatina was intended for hunting large animals - boar, bear. This is no coincidence. When struck, the spear could withstand enormous, simply monstrous stress without breaking. A rod could pierce the most powerful armor, but using it in battle, especially in a horse fight, due to its weight, was probably inconvenient. Therefore, few people took this type of spear with them into battle - but these were people themselves of incredible strength. Like, for example, the same Boris Aleksandrovich Tverskoy - a man, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries, an extremely strong and dexterous man. Rogatina is a purely Russian invention; we don’t yet know anything like it in other countries. It is interesting that in Europe the word “horn” was borrowed from Russian. But there this heavy spear with a wide blade was used purely for hunting, but never in battle.

Now I would like to talk about this type of spear, the “pike”. For some reason, the history of peaks in Russia begins in the 16th century. This is a deep misconception. In fact, peaks appeared in Rus' 6 centuries earlier than their generally accepted date. The peaks first appear in Central and Eastern Europe, when the Huns gave impetus to the great migration of peoples. The oldest peaks dating back to the 8th – 9th centuries were found in the Kharkov region, in the middle Don region and the northern Caucasus. In the Volga and Kama regions they date back to an earlier time; among the Chud tribes of this region they were used back in the 4th century. At first, pikes were a typical weapon of an Asian nomadic warrior, but then they were adopted in some European countries (Bulgaria, Hungary) that neighboring and were in contact with the steppe. It is obvious that in Rus' the peaks were borrowed from the regions of the steppe South-East. This is indicated by the very placement of the finds. In Russian cities of the 10th century, extended far to the south, pikes predominated among piercing weapons (Belaya Vezha, Ekimautsy). For the 10th century there is no reason to consider pikes as specific “nomad” weapons; they are distributed from the Ladoga region to the Dniester. Maneuverable and light peaks were especially popular in the south of Rus' in the fight against light-horse nomads, but they are also represented in the north, for example in the Novgorod and Zalessk lands (since the 11th century).

For X – XI centuries. the pike was the main form of a narrow-bladed spear and in terms of prevalence it ranked one of the first places after the oblong-triangular spears. In the XII – XIII centuries. no other type of spear had such a clear predominance as the pikes received. During this period they make up half of all finds. To establish the place of manufacture For the X – XI centuries. the pike was the main form of a narrow-bladed spear, and in terms of prevalence it ranked one of the first places after the oblong-triangular spears. In the XII – XIII centuries. no other type of spear had such a clear predominance as the pikes received. During this period they make up half of all finds. To establish the place of manufacture of such products, the discovery of a pike blank on Knyazhaya Gora is significant. Its blade is forged and drawn, but not finished or properly sharpened. In pre-Mongol times, the peak thus acquired such a perfect form that it would not change until the end of the Middle Ages. The blade narrows (up to 1 cm), the sleeve expands slightly downwards (up to 3.5 cm), the neck, although rarely, is emphasized by a circular thickening (“bull’s-eye”). All this makes the peak extremely narrow and light. The absolute similarity of the pre-Mongol peaks to the examples of the 17th century is amazing. It is obvious that the same form was generated by the same conditions of struggle - increased armor and intensified horse skirmishes. The pike was used as a combat weapon, designed primarily to effectively penetrate metal armor. Pikes have always been primarily a cavalry weapon, and their proliferation is associated with the advancement of cavalry.

In the 12th century, mounted units were probably armed exclusively with pikes. Indeed, all the southern Russian mounds of the 12th – 13th centuries, when the burial of a horseman and horse were discovered, contain only peaks.

It can be assumed that for the first time in the history of ancient Russian weapons, around the 12th century, armor-piercing pikes were distinguished as special cavalry spears.

In Western Europe, the division of spears into cavalry spears with a longer shaft and infantry spears also occurs in the 12th century.

Rus' was not the birthplace of the spear, but it used the most modern, best and most common types of spears that arose in the West and East in combination with pan-Slavic models to equip its troops.

Sulitsa, or darts, are throwing spears.

In their shape, sulitsa copy spears. Most of the sulitsa are elongated - triangular in shape, there are diamond-shaped and laurel-leaved ones.

The weight of the tip is from 60 to 100 g. In general, sulitsa are something between a spear and an arrow.

Their length is 15–20 cm, blade length 8–12 cm.

The Sulitsa's shaft was not only thinner than a spear (1.5 cm versus 3.5 cm), but also shorter.

The length of the dart does not exceed 1.5 m. For a fighter, the sulitsa served as an auxiliary weapon.

The tactical use of sulitsa is limited to the period of rapprochement between opponents. Darts were used most often once in battle, in contrast to spears, which were used many times. Darts were especially popular with infantry.

As the chronicles say: “a small spear on foot.” In general, in the 10th – 12th centuries, the military significance of the sulitsa, apparently, was small. In the 13th century, the use of throwing spears became more frequent.

This was reflected in the activation of the infantry and the adaptation of troops to fighting in remote and swampy areas. The word “sulitsa” itself comes from the verbs “to stick”, “to poke”, “to promise” in the meaning of “to push”. In the 15th century, this term was replaced by the European word “dart”. The use of throwing spears, except for Rus', was known to many peoples of Europe from ancient times, but always and everywhere they were significantly inferior to the spear.

Examples of realistic use[edit]

Literatureedit

• Charity Carpenter from The Dresden Files on an operation to save her daughter
  Two books later, Charity, again protecting her children, broke the now Summer Fae's skull with an ordinary carpenter's hammer.

  from the heart of the Kingdom of Winter she took a completely adequate war hammer, forged by her, and as a backup weapon (she had a sword as her main one). She used a hammer to knock down the ice gate into Queen Mab's garden (the hammer, however, also exploded).

Video gamesedit

• Skyrim: Two-handed hammers and maces may look fussy and have slightly
  oversized striking parts, but are generally realistic. The only things that stand out from the general heap are the dragon bone hammer (a stupidly healthy dragon bone on the handle - more of a club than a hammer), the stalhrim hammer (a piece of magical ice that is stronger than steel - and a painfully large piece), and the Daedric will be a bit wide (although it has narrow and sharp striking parts). Of the maces, the only one that is excessively wide is the Stalhrim one. Well, the unique mace of Molag Bal is actually something different, an example from a different category.
• Mount & Blade - zigzag: all kinds of maces and knives are presented here quite realistically (in some mods the knives can even be rotated to hit with both the beak and the blunt end), but the Rodoks also have real HAMMERS lying around, ranging from a wooden mallet to a metal one with a sledgehammer. The weapon is quite specific: a blow from above even pierces a shield and, although this is a slow weapon, the features of the combat system allow them to feint and spin blows, making it possible to use it effectively even in duels. Hammers are also realistically good for defense during sieges - hitting the dome of someone who is climbing the stairs: there is nowhere to dodge, it will not be possible to close.
• Dark Souls - although this game is famous for various hefty weapons, weapons of the “ordinary hammers” class are quite realistic and quite varied: here there are maces, and six-fingers, and a knives, and just clubs, and hammers (worker and blacksmith) on a long handle.
• Fable: boasts very correct peckers. Is that the “beak” in the game is presented exclusively in a sharp form, while in life there were also options with a “blunt” beak (instead of a point, the weapon ended in a small flat surface that perfectly crushed chain mail).
• Samurai Warriors 2 - the big guy Shimazu Yoshihiro is armed with a huge wooden hammer for threshing rice.
• Darkest Dungeon - the plunderer swings a pickaxe, and real war hammers ended up looking more like her. The pickaxe is modest in size (while there are some that are the size of awesomely large sledgehammers), but ignoring the armor resist is present.

Device and principle of operation

The war hammer is a bludgeoning weapon. At different times, the shape and functional features of its striking part changed. But the device itself remained unchanged:

• shaft - a handle made of hard wood or metal;
• lanyard, leather or fabric loop on the handle, designed to thread your hand through it;
• the heel, the top of the handle, could have the shape of a stiletto, a faceted dagger for finishing off an enemy;
• the impact part, its shape depended on the type of hammer and the imagination of the blacksmith.

The impact part of the hammer could be either a purely impact part, an ordinary forge hammer made of metal, or with additional combat devices. Axes-hammers, axes-hammer-beaks and other configurations are known.

Quite often, a pike tip was welded onto the top of the striking part. In this case, a warrior armed with a long-shafted hammer could stand in the same ranks with the halberdiers.

Short-shafted hammers - klevtsy, mints and driven hammers - were used mainly as additional weapons in individual combat. Their main task is to penetrate armor or stun the enemy.

But most historians agree that these weapons were intended for travelers and merchants.

The ceremonial examples of these weapons were richly decorated, the beaks and other parts of the warhead were decorated with engraving and gilding. The handle was braided with leather strips or metal wire. The weight of the war hammer reached 2 kg. Short shaft weapon about 1.2-1.5 kg.

Sabers and broadswords

Saber in sheath . Russia, workshops of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, I quarter of the 17th century.

Length in sheath 920 mm. blade length 755 mm. The blade of the saber is Turkish type, wide with elmanyo, sharpened on both sides. The handle is also of Turkish type, consists of two horn cheeks connected by three rivets, the handle lining is made of gilded silver.

Crosspiece with figured ends bent down, silver. gilded, decorated with carved ornaments and niello. The scabbard is wooden, covered with dark green leather. The scabbard device is made of gilded silver, on the mouth, rims and tip there is an ornament in the form of shoots and leaves. On the reverse side of the device is decorated with floral patterns depicting shoots, pomegranate fruits and trefoils.

Saber "Shemshir" Iran, XVIII century. Bulat, iron, horn. Length 910 mm.

The saber blade is forged from damask steel with a cranked design with a golden tint. The bend starts smoothly from the heel and sharply increases towards the tip, which gives the blade good cutting properties. The surface of the blade is smooth.

The hilt of the saber is typical of its time and consists of two horn cheeks connected by rivets. Iron crosspiece with short ends ending in knobs; decorated on both sides with a symmetrical ornament made of stems, leaves and flowers of pomegranate and rosehip made in relief gold notch. The head of the handle is iron in the form of a cap with four tongues for fastening, decorated with a gold notch similar to the crosspiece.

Saber in scabbard “Klych” Türkiye, 1744-1745. Damask steel, stranded, horn, wood, leather. Length 1! scabbard 880 mm. blade length 720 mm.

Türkiye, first half of the 18th century. A classic type of Turkish saber, it is distinguished by a wide, sharply curved blade with an elmanyo. The blade is forged from damask steel with a cranked pattern of the “Kara-Khorassan” type. In front of the elmanyo, on the butt, the ular point is marked with carved ornaments and gilding (when struck by this part of the blade, the hand experiences the least shock). On both sides of the blade near the hilt there is a typical Muslim ornament in the form of two-petalled “islami” carved, the background of the ornament is gilded. Among the carvings, inscriptions in Arabic are made in gold tauche - on the right side: “There is no hero except Lli, there is no saber except Zulfaqar 1157.” (according to Muslim chronology, corresponds to 1744 * 1745); on the left side: “Help from God and victory is near”, on the blade below the ornament there is a mark of the master: “Musa worked”, on the right under the cross there is an inscription: “Owner Muhammad Gakafa”. Such inscriptions and marks are very typical for Muslim weapons.

Saber in sheath . Russia, workshops of the Moscow Kremlin Armory, mid-17th century. Steel, silver, horn, wood, leather Length in scabbard 980 mm. blade length 800 mm.

The hilt and blade of an Iranian type saber. The handle cover and crosspiece are silver, covered with an ornament in the form of small plant shoots, made with gold notching and niello. The scabbard is wooden, covered with black leather. The mouth, holders and tip of the scabbard are made of silver, decorated similarly to the hilt.

Saber with scabbard of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Armory Chamber, Moscow. 1618 Master: Ilya Prosvit. Full length: 106.2 cm, blades 93.2 cm.

The Damascus steel blade, with a slight bevel and fuller along its entire length, is decorated with gilded and silvered floral motifs. On the butt of the blade in small curls, inscribed lengthwise: “This cleaver was made by order of the Sovereign Tsar and Prince Mikhail Fedorovich of All Rus' in the fifth century of his state by order of Kraichevo and Oruzhnichevo Mikhail Mikhailovich Saltykov, made by master Ilya Prosvit.”

The handle is covered with velvet; The straight crosspiece with crosshairs is carved from gilded silver. The doors and tassel are made of silk, with gold embroidery. The scabbard is covered with velvet; four fastenings, and a scabbard frame made of gilded silver, decorated with floral patterns. Belt made of green silk, decorated with silver

Sabers in scabbards . Armory Chamber, Moscow,

1. Per. floor. 17th century, total length 97 cm, blade 84.5 cm.

2. 1628 Total length: 105.5 cm, blade - 92 cm

3. Per. floor. 17th century total length, 99.2 cm, blades, 88 cm

These sabers have Damascus steel blades of Ottoman origin. The first one on the left has an inscription in Arabic on the blade, incised in gold: “Be strong in battle” and “There is no god but Allah, there is no sword except Zulfiqar.”

Wooden sheath covered with velvet. Gold inlay, blackening and other expensive jewelry finishing methods.

Saber of D. M. Pozharsky. State Historical Museum Moscow. Front door, blade with elmanya. Crosshair with flint, handle with a curved head. The hilt and scabbard are lined with hammered silver with jasper, turquoise and colored stones on the front side. On the reverse side there is a carved ornament. Per. floor. XVII century

Broadsword by M. V. Skopin-Shuisky. State Historical Museum Moscow. Front, double-edged blade, cross with drooping ends, handle with a curved head. The hilt, crosspiece, mouth of the scabbard, tip and three holders are set in gilded chased silver. Late XVI - early XVII centuries

Saber and scabbard, mid-17th century. Armory Chamber, Moscow.

Total length 102.5 cm; blade 89.5 cm. The blade is made of Damascus steel, Turkish, strongly curved, widening towards the tip, from the heel of the blade along the entire length there are golden patterns and the inscription “Oh, Victorious!” is inscribed on the butt of the blade. In the Arabic language. The handle is limited by a silver gilded cross in the form of downward dragon heads. The sheath is covered with leather. The scabbard device is also richly decorated.

Saber with scabbard , second half of the 17th century. Total length, 99.5 cm, blades, 83 cm. Armory Chamber, Moscow

The blade is made of Damascus steel, Turkish, curved, with a widening at the tip. The handle is covered with green brocade, a straight cross with a crosshair made of gilded silver. The scabbard is covered with brocade, the entire scabbard device is made of gilded silver, decorated with a finely stamped pattern.

Saber and scabbard . Saber and Scabbard. Moscow, Armory Chamber, XVII century.

The blade is steel, slightly curved, with elmanya; Along the butt and in the butt itself there are slotted grooves for pearls. The lower part is decorated with carved floral ornaments on a gilded background. The handle is wooden, covered with fish skin. The crosspiece is straight, silver, with an engraved ornament.

The scabbard is covered in brown leather and intertwined with a silver stripe. The device is silver, gilded, engraved. Blade length 920 mm, total length 1035 mm.

Saber and scabbard . Moscow. Armouries. Second half of the 17th century. Blade. Iran. Mid-17th century Blade forging masters Ahi-Jan and Hasan Bulat, wood, gold, silver, leather, fabric Forging, notching, engraving, gilding Length 116.5 cm.

In the 17th century, the saber was the most common type of bladed weapon in Rus'. There were various forms of sabers, both Russian-made and foreign. Blades made of high-carbon damask steel, which had excellent fighting qualities, were purchased in large quantities from eastern countries. Russian gunsmiths used them to make ceremonial, richly decorated weapons. An unusual Iranian-made damask blade with a tetrahedral bayonet-shaped hole, which made it possible to deliver not only a chopping blow, but also a piercing blow. A deep groove was cut into the butt of the blade, in which pearls rolled, making a special whistling sound when struck. The lower part of the blade is richly decorated with floral patterns incised with gold. The saber mount is Russian. The craftsmen used gilded silver with an engraved floral pattern. A unique solution was found for the design of the saber scabbard: a narrow silver ribbon was added to the figured frame, wrapping around the surface of light leather.

Knife in sheath Central Asia. XVII - XVIII centuries Damask steel, bone, gold, wood, precious stones, fabric Forging, notching, inlay, basma Length 30.5 cm

Broadsword in scabbard Iran. First half of the 17th century Damask steel, wood, jade, gold, precious stones Forging, notching, inlay, niello Length 91 cm.

The broadsword and knife are examples of luxurious weapon design. Iranian gunsmiths used light milky jade to make the handle of the broadsword, which was inlaid with a complex pattern of gold weaves. Red sparkles of rubies are set into gold figured castes in the form of multi-petaled flowers. The gold crosspiece and frame of the scabbard are decorated with intricate niello patterns and precious stones in gold castes. The handle of the knife is made of bone. The same technique was used to decorate it - inlay with precious stones in gold castes in the form of a leaf. The end of the handle is made in the form of a ram's head, on the neck of which there is an emerald belt. The golden frame of the scabbard is completely lined with precious stones. The sheaths of both items are covered in light-colored velvet with a printed floral pattern. The broadsword in its scabbard belonged to the governor Semyon Volynsky. Moscow. Armouries.

TYPES AND METHODS OF USING POLE WEAPONS

Polearm weapon

Pole bladed weapons were made either from wood or from bamboo (in Asia). The standard type had a round or oval rod. In Russia, in different regions the name was different and had the form: ratovishche, iskepische and struzhie.

Also, such weapons could additionally have stripes made of metal. They had a protective function and reduced the risk of being cut by the enemy to a minimum. Also, to perform these same functions, the shaft could be shackled. The place of existence of other modifications has also been confirmed: the addition of loops to the shaft into which hands were placed, and various types of winding. The most modified polearm was considered to be one with spikes. It reduced the chances of the weapon being captured by the enemy.

Such weapons were divided into several types, depending on the length of the handle (shaft):

1. up to one hundred and twenty centimeters in size - short-shafted;
2. ranging in size from one hundred twenty to one hundred and fifty centimeters - middle river;
3. the longest weapon was from two hundred and fifty centimeters in size - long-shafted.

Taking into account the length of the weapon, the method in which the tip is attached is selected. The tip was secured most often using a shank or sleeve. It could also be attached through a special hole, after which it was firmly fixed.

To fix it in the ground, an additional small tip was often installed. The additional tip could also be used to inflict maximum damage.

It is also customary to use it when making flags and similar things.

Ax options

According to the general classification, klevtsy were distinguished by the following characteristics:

• length - 750-800 millimeters;
• blade length - 150-170 millimeters;
• weight - 400-500 grams.

This weapon was distinguished by its convenient shaft, making it easier to carry and conduct battles. Some models of peckers were supplemented with a hole in the blade, which was intended for attaching a protective cover.

Depending on the capabilities of the blacksmith, true coins were made of iron or steel. Wood was used to create the shaft. The butt of this hammer had a different shape: from narrow elongated to beard-shaped. Archaeologists also discovered the following types of peckers:

• with a straightened upper edge and a blade rounded at the bottom;
• with a concave top edge;
• with a triangular blade;
• with an elongated ax handle (the total length exceeded a meter).

The appearance of such varieties made it possible to classify mints into a separate group, separating them from klevts. Weapons of the first type were used exclusively for combat purposes. The blade of the peckers made it possible to perform household tasks.

The fastest

Simply put, it is a deadly and, at the same time, elegant weapon.

Since this is a museum piece, I limited myself to trying out just a few blocking positions and slow attacking moves, but even that was enough to get an idea of ​​how balanced the weapon is.

For lack of a better analogy, I can say that you just want to use this war hammer and hit something/someone with it.

I also tried the bill and the halberd. Of these three types of weapons, the Polex turned out to be the most convenient to use, the fastest and most responsive to movement. Of course, it was also the shortest.

And what struck me most, of course, was the excellent balance between the heaviness of the weapon and the dexterity of its use.

All this made me look at this weapon in a new way and appreciate its qualities. Now I understand why polexes were so popular in their time.

Stay with us, and you definitely won’t miss them!

The article “A Poleaxe from the Higgins Armory Museum” by Alexi Goranov was first published on the website myarmoury.com Translation into Russian - especially for - was carried out by Daria Savelyeva. The material is supplemented with illustrations.

This is a piercing weapon with a dagger-like blade, which is attached to the handle at a right angle, which allows you to strike with greater efficiency. A similar weapon - a war hammer - came into use in Europe, Persia and India due to the widespread use of armor and chain mail. The hammer had a small butt, which could be used to stun an enemy wearing a helmet, and a curved beak. In Rus' this weapon was called klevets. 1.

A wooden beak (essentially a mace with a point) from New Caledonia.
2.
"Crow's beak" of the Australian aborigines. The stone blade is fixed to a wooden handle using resin.

3.

Toki, the fighting adze of the New Zealand Maori.
The jade blade is secured to a carved handle with a cord. 4.
“Crow’s beak” of the Bronze Age, nicknamed “halberd” by archaeologists.
Found in Skane, Sweden. In a similar way, an ordinary dagger blade was often mounted on a bronze hilt. It is believed that some examples of such weapons had purely ritual significance. 5.
Driven, Indian "crow's beak".
Made of steel, handle plated with silver.

Steel combat “crow’s beak” from the Afghan-Pakistani border, decorated with brass and silver.
7.
Kama yari, Japanese "crow's beak". If a cannonball was attached to the handle with a chain, the weapon became defensive and was called kusarigama. "Crow's beak" from India (right). Collectors call such specimens “crown beak.” Fine examples of these weapons come from India and Persia, where they were used to pierce chain mail.

Klevets (fakir's staff). Expensive find with history

Ask any digger - What is Klevets? Half will not be able to answer correctly. In the old days, this artifact was no less popular than a knife or sword. The slander could pierce any helmet or armor. The weapon is powerful and has been banned in some countries. This is the fakir's staff.

Klevets is a melee weapon most often used by horsemen. The name klevets comes from the word beak or peck. The shape of the artifact is special, the striking part is a beak, and the back is a hammer.

A blow from a knucklebone could pierce absolutely any armor or helmet of that time. The main disadvantage is the high probability of the weapon getting stuck in the enemy. Such simplicity and lethality were appreciated by warriors all over the world. Klevets can be found anywhere on Earth.

In Ancient Rus', such weapons were called - klevets, klevets, kelevets, kelef, kelep, mint, and sometimes fokosh. In Ancient Europe, the beak had other names - parrot beak, raven beak, falcon beak, cavalry hammer, knight's hammer, nadjak or nadziak. Variants of klevets in the East and Asia - Tatar kulyuk-balta, Indo-Iranian driven, Persian tabar, Afghan lohar. Almost all of these names refer to the beak. Variations of the klevet were found both in Africa and among the American Indians, tomahawks of a special shape.

Since the beginning of the 17th century, the number of plate armor among warriors has become less and less, and the relevance of the klevts has been lost. Gradually, the slander first turned into an attribute weapon, worn only by the authorities. In some countries, on the contrary, noble persons were prohibited from wearing klevets. The weapon turned into a civilian weapon, and after another century it became completely rare.

Interesting Facts. Additions were often placed in the shaft of the klevets - a striking part like a spear, a dagger screwed into the handle, hiding places for papers. The opposite part of the beak, in the beak, is most often in the shape of a hammer, with a different striking surface. Smooth, spiky, pyramidal. But the coolest ones are those who have this part decorated with a figurine or a monogram. The latter is for the seal of a defeated enemy.

These photos are no ordinary fisher. The find is bimetallic, part of the artifact is iron, the other is bronze. There are decorative elements in animal style. Presumably, the find dates back to the Scythian period. No restoration (only washed with water). Klevets was sold on June 14, 2017 at the Violiti auction. Starting price $385, 106 bids, and final price $1923.

A companion to this klevets was another bimetallic find - Akinak of the Gudermes type. Presumably, 7-6 centuries BC, Scythians. Akinak was sold on 06/06/2017 at the Violiti auction for $1039.

Test of the fisher in action. Helmet hit:

More topics related to the tag “incomprehensible find” are collected here - definition of finds. Just look at the photos and remember what interesting artifacts look like. Happy digging everyone!

↓↓↓ Now let’s move to the comments and find out the opinion of the experts. Scroll the page down ↓↓↓, there are reviews from diggers, MD specialists, additional information and clarifications from the blog authors ↓↓↓

Eastern analogues

Klevtsy with short shafts were used not only in European armies, but also in the East. For example, in India a similar war hammer was called a fakir's staff or driven, in Afghanistan and Pakistan - lohar, in Persia - tabar. This weapon was very similar to the European one, because it had the same division of the hammer into four spikes. Just like the Lucernehammer.

It must be said that the Klevets lasted much longer in the East than in Europe, since they were in great demand both among the military and the civilian population. They were especially popular in the Indo-Persian region and even had the same name - “crow’s beak”. Combined weapons were also made in India. There were also analogues in China and Japan.

Classification problem

The difficulty in classifying the fish bite is due to several reasons. Archaeologists have unearthed more than dozens of war hammers, differing in design and purpose. Also, the correct classification was hampered by the fact that the klevets are visually similar to the coinage. But despite this, both types of weapons differ from each other.

The coinage appeared during the evolutionary development of the axe. This tool was used mainly for chopping and breaking blows. The prototype of the klevets is considered to be a hammer. This type of weapon was used to pierce the enemy.

Adding to the complexity of the classification was the fact that the Chinese and a number of other peoples combined the klevets and coins into one war hammer that performed different tasks. Such objects were found on the territory of Ancient Rus'.

The development of peckers increased the complexity of classification. War hammers differed from each other:

• shape;
• dimensions of the working part;
• the presence or absence of a protruding butt and other characteristics.

Therefore, the researchers identified all the weapons found in a group with common characteristics:

• smaller blade than other axes;
• weight - up to 400-500 grams;
• versatility (used in battles and farming).

At the same time, the term “true mint” appeared in the scientific literature, which means a standard mint with a curved or straight tip. Later, such weapons began to acquire ceremonial characteristics. True coins were reduced in size and replenished with rich decoration, which emphasized the status of the owner.

The researchers also identified a third group of war hammers, characterized by greater weight. Such true coins were used mainly to solve economic problems, and less often during battles.

Progress in war hammer design

The appearance of piercing elements was a logical continuation of the development of the hammer design. Most war hammers of the late 14th century had an extension at the opposite end of the head in the form of a short thick blade or spike - the so-called. beak. By the early 15th century, the beak, about 6 inches long, had lengthened and curved downwards. This element also began to appear at the rear of the battle axe, providing the ability to second strike for penetration, quickly pivot to more vulnerable parts of the armor such as the neck or armpits, or even strike a lightly armored chestplate. A strong blow concentrated on a small surface can penetrate armor. The beak can also be used as a hook to grab armor, reins, or a shield.

Around 1450, the hammer was given a short vertical spike that could be turned towards weak points of the armor. Like the battle axe, the hammer's shaft was often reinforced with riveted metal pieces to prevent an opponent from cutting the weapon in half with a sword. Soon, all-metal handles became the standard for knightly axes, maces and hammers.

The war hammer was originally a knight's weapon, used against other mounted knights. But for the infantryman, already using a variety of long polearms, the lighter warhammer increasingly became the weapon of choice when fighting mounted warriors. The hammer's design continued to be refined - extending the handle for an even more effective blow to the helmet, adding a top spike gave the hammer a spear-like function: grabbing armor, reins, shields, or delivering a blow that could penetrate even heavy armor. Against mounted opponents, the weapon could be aimed at throwing the armored enemy to the ground, where he could be more easily defeated.

Lucernhammer

This is a type of bladed weapon that appeared in Switzerland around the end of the 15th century. It was in service with infantrymen of many European countries until the end of the 17th century. This medieval weapon was a chained shaft up to 2 m long, at one end of which there was a warhead in the form of a pointed pike, and at its base there was a hammer. Usually it was made double-sided. The impact toothed part of the hammer served to stun the enemy, and the hook part resembled a sharp beak. Considering its purpose, we can say that it belonged to a polearm with shock-crushing action.

It is believed that the reason for the appearance of the Lucerne hammer was the hostilities that took place between the Swiss infantry and the German cavalry. The fact is that the riders had fairly high-quality armor, against which traditional halberds were powerless, since they were not able to penetrate the iron shell of the rider. It was then that the need arose for a new weapon that could penetrate enemy armor with relative ease. As for the pike, it helped the infantrymen effectively repel enemy cavalry attacks. The Lucerne hammer turned out to be so good that over time it managed to completely replace halberds.

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Saturday, January 05, 2008 00:09 + to quote book -Deoradhan-

all entries by the author
Mints and klevets
are two types of specific melee strike weapons with a metal warhead in the form of a pointed striker and butt; By means of a metal sleeve or hole-hole, it was mounted on a wooden handle, the end of which was usually equipped with a metal inlet. The difference between them, according to the definition of M.P. Gryaznov (1956), is that “chasing is a tool with a straight edge; klevet - with a beak-shaped curved point.” This definition, it seems, allows us to overcome the terminological confusion that exists in the scientific literature devoted to the types of weapons in question. Mints became especially widespread among the tribes of the Tagar culture of the Minusinsk Basin, as well as among the Scythian-era population of Tuva, Northwestern Mongolia and Altai. Their finds come from Western Siberia, Eastern Kazakhstan, the Southern Urals, and the Samara Volga region; they are well known from the materials of the Ananyino culture of the Volga-Kama region and the Scythian monuments of the Northern Black Sea region, the Northern Caucasus, Asia Minor and the Armenian Highlands; finally, coinage definitely existed in Achaemenid Iran and Central Asia. Klevets is a striking weapon on a short shaft, the faceted and narrow warhead of which resembled a bird’s beak. Klevets traces its origins to the war hammer, the most common weapon of the ancient Germans. With the improvement of armor, the hammer tip acquired a sharper shape. And it was called the falcon's beak. This type of weapon had a long shaft and was used since the 14th century. only in the infantry. The knighthood, which had long despised foot soldiers, was forced in the middle of the 15th century. adopt K., but on a short shaft. It was called the cavalry hammer. Gradually, the warhead increasingly took on the shape of a bird’s beak, for which this weapon was nicknamed “parrot’s beak” or simply “parrot” in Europe, and “klevets” in Russia. A special feature of the klevet was the presence on the back of the beak of a small platform in the form of a hammer or a tetrahedral spike, which made the klet an even more dangerous weapon. They could stun, concuss the enemy, and even pierce armor in a weakly protected place. In the 16th century K. gradually becomes the insignia of the military leaders of Germany and Italy. With the advent of cavalry pistols, Klevtsy fell out of use, surviving into the 17th century. in Poland, Hungary and Russia. The total length with the shaft is 65-75 cm, the length of the warhead with the hammer is 20-40 cm. Klevets is a type of battle axe. The large weight of battle axes provided excellent penetrating power, but was not always convenient. Klevets and mints were weapons that combined high penetration with good reach and low weight. In the klevets, the wide blade of the ax was replaced by a narrow blade bent downwards - the klevets can rather be called a battle pick. Such an ax, with a weight of only 1-1.5 kg and a length of 60-80 cm, pierced any armor and shields, since the blow fell on a very small area. However, the kicker was also not very suitable for repelling blows, and, naturally, it inevitably got stuck tightly in everything it pierced. Often the klevets and the coin were combined on one ax - so the klevets were balanced by the coin and vice versa, as a result of which the total mass increased slightly. Sometimes the combination of a hammer and a hammer was also equipped with a point directed forward and balanced for throwing. Klevets and coins were weapons primarily of mounted fighters. They gained particular popularity in Europe in the 15th-17th centuries, when armor improved so much that the penetration ability of swords became insufficient. (Left to right: klevets, mint)

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The history of the war hammer

These weapons appeared simultaneously with the advent of metallurgy; even then the first blacksmiths went into battle with heavy sledgehammers, which in weight and destructive power were quite comparable to maces. But, unlike other weapons of the army, the war hammer was usually pointed at the target by the steady and strong hand of a trained blacksmith.

In addition to physical strength, the blacksmiths also had excellent spatial orientation, high endurance and, of course, they knew very well the weak points of other weapons. For this reason, a warrior with a hammer could easily resist a professional warrior or mercenary.

The hammer of Thor is known - Mjolnir, forged in Etunheim by the dwarves Sindri and Brok, as a result of a dispute with Loki, the god of fun and deceit.

Thanks to his pranks, Mjolnir received a short handle and enormous weight, which, however, did not prevent it from being used for combat purposes. Thor, the owner of the hammer, used it as the blow of Mjolnir caused thunder and lightning.

In fact, an entire mythological system was built just around this weapon in Scandinavia, but at the same time, the Vikings themselves used war hammers quite rarely. This was largely due to the specifics of its application.

However, the war hammer was known not only in Scandinavia; both the Greeks and the Russians fought with it. Saxon blacksmiths went into battle with him and forged the eastern lands. Over the years, these weapons have evolved.

Having assessed its effectiveness as a crushing weapon, gunsmiths began to combine it with cutting and piercing weapons. This is how its varieties appeared:

• long shaft hammer;
• short hammer;
• combined weapon.

If the first two differed only in the length of the shaft, then a combined weapon, such as a firestock, for example, could have a striking surface and an ax-shaped appendage, while at the same time a ballistic spring-loaded tip was hidden in its shaft.

His task was to suddenly lengthen the warhead of the weapon or knock the weapon out of the enemy’s hand. Such weapons were multifunctional, but at the same time difficult to use.

On some war hammers, the striking surface extended into a slightly curved beak, the task of which was to pierce forged armor and chain mail.

Of interest is the so-called Lucerne hammer, actually a halberd, instead of the chopping part of which there was an elongated beak, and on the butt there was a striking part, in the form of a crown with pointed teeth.

Short-shafted weapons were considered to be coins and klevets, small light hammers with a crow's beak and a striker on the back of the butt.

It was these variants of weapons that became widespread in Rus'. A variant of the klevet known as driven, was quite widespread in India. Some variants of these weapons already resemble a mace or morgenstein, due to the beaks and axes located in a circle.

With the advent of Milanese armor, war hammers gradually disappeared from the scene, finally disappearing with the appearance of firearms. The war hammer, for all its versatility, was inferior in combat characteristics to chopping and piercing long-shaft weapons. Nowadays the war hammer is used only in computer games.

Features of application

Klevets was used as a military weapon to destroy enemy personnel. Thanks to its compact and curved blade, the war hammer was capable of breaking through strong defenses. The pointed other side provided penetrating blows. This feature expanded the scope of use of the knives, allowing them to hit an enemy wearing chain mail and thick armor.

As weapons developed, the war hammer began to acquire symbolic meaning. Klevets began to be used as a badge of honor for the nobility and high-ranking military leaders. There are also references to the fact that this hammer was used for ceremonial purposes.

Unlike chasing, klevets were used for household needs: chopping wood, planing, and others. The war hammer had a durable blade that could withstand repeated loads.

PEAK

Pike

The pike was a weapon that served a defensive function. Used by infantry in defense against cavalry. In very rare cases, its use against infantry has been observed. The appearance of the pike was noticed around the twelfth century among the Scots. In the fifteenth century, this type of weapon was adopted by the Germans and the Swiss.

It reaches quite a long length, exceeding the size of a spear. The damage was done by the blade. The average weight varied from four to five kilograms. With the advent of firearms, the pike lost its relevance. But in rare cases, equipping troops with a pike can be traced back to the Second World War.

Story

Similar hatchets (sagaris) were in service with the Scythians back in the 6th century BC. e., and later were used by the Sarmatian-Alan tribes, as well as by the Proto-Bulgarians and Khazars in the Black Sea region. In the 8th-9th centuries they spread in the west, right up to modern Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania. From the nomads they came to Rus', where they reached a significant distribution (about 17% of all axes until the 13th century), from where they penetrated into Central and Northern Europe, all the way to Spain. They were also used in Volga Bulgaria.

These hatchets were often status items (insignia of superiors and ceremonial weapons), therefore they were distinguished by the quality of workmanship and finishing. The best known is the hatchet, which was attributed to Andrei Bogolyubsky, since it depicts the letter “A”, but dates back to the first half of the 11th century. It is decorated with niello, silver and gold.

Butt

After the loss of combat use of klevtsy, in Poland they began to issue special laws prohibiting the civilian population from carrying them, even in the form of canes and staves. Instead, another version of the hammer appeared - the butt or butt. It could easily be recognized by its iron, silver or brass knobs and beaks strongly bent towards the shaft, often wrapped in a ring. There were also specimens in which only the sharp tip was bent or they had an unusually shaped bend. In addition, the opposite end of the handle, up to 1 m long, was also bound in butts. It was mainly worn by

As you know, the butt was originally intended for self-defense, but over time it became clear that this weapon was more dangerous than the klevt. Previously, during a fight with the enemy, a saber could cut the face, head or arm, and the spilled blood would somehow calm down the heated warriors. Now, when a person was hit with a butt, no blood was visible. Therefore, the attacker could not immediately come to his senses and struck harder and harder over and over again, inflicting fatal injuries on his victim. It must be said that the Polish nobles who carried these weapons did not spare their subjects too much, and often punished them with beatings, and sometimes killed them.

Ranged and throwing weapons

So we got to bows, crossbows and all throwing weapons (meaning weapons that can ONLY be thrown).

Samples of this long-range monstrosity will allow you to kill your enemy from afar.

Crossbow:

• Cost: 7;
• Head damage: 58-110;
• Damage to the torso: 38-60;
• Damage to legs: 29-50;
• Speed ​​(aim/reload): 300/2300 ms;
• Maximum ammunition: 12;
• Description: The crossbow's aiming power and speed are offset by a disproportionately long reload time and limited ammunition;

Recurve Bow:

• Cost: 7;
• Head damage: 40-100;
• Damage to the torso: 20-50;
• Damage to legs: 15-40;
• Speed ​​(aim/reload): 750/800 ms;
• Maximum ammunition: 24;
• Description: A small bow that allows you to literally shower your enemy with arrows;

Longbow:

• Cost: 11;
• Head damage: 50-100;
• Damage to the torso: 34-70;
• Damage to legs: 25-50;
• Speed ​​(aim/reload): 1200/1000 ms;
• Maximum ammunition: 16;
• Description: Expensive, slow-firing bow. However, its ability to deal impressive damage at any range makes it the most popular bow in the game;

Throwing Axe:

• Cost: 2;
• Head damage: 43-100;
• Damage to the torso: 35-60;
• Damage to legs: 15-40;
• Speed ​​(aim/reload): 600/400 ms;
• Maximum ammunition: 2;
• Description: The best throwing weapon against armored targets, although you can only carry two of them.

Throwing Knife:

• Cost: 2;
• Head damage: 30-95;
• Damage to the torso: 15-55;
• Damage to legs: 5-40;
• Speed ​​(aim/reload): 400/400 ms;
• Maximum ammunition: 4;
• Description: Against lightly armored opponents, it is as effective as a throwing ax. It gives in to armor, but you can carry more knives and throw them faster;

Stone:

• Cost: 2;
• Head damage: 30-43;
• Damage to the torso: 15-23;
• Damage to legs: 5-13;
• Speed ​​(aim/reload): 600/400 ms;
• Maximum ammunition: 5;
• Description: More suitable for fun than combat. Although such a pebble hitting the head is very, very noticeable;

Notes

1. In Poland, klewiec- nadjak
   or
   nadziak
   was used from the 16th century to the middle. XVII century
2. Mint, edged weapons // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
3. Chekan (klevets) // Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary: In 3 volumes - M.: Humanit. ed. VLADOS center: Philol. fak. St. Petersburg state University, 2002.
4. In Russian-language sources there is no consensus on the use of the names “chekan” and “klevets”. In literature, including archaeological literature, they are often used equally to refer to klevtsy, both ancient and medieval. The oldest bronze ones are also called halberds. There is even an unfounded idea to call straight klevtsy mints, and curved ones - klevtsy ( Gryaznov M.P.
   , 1956).
5. Mint // Ukrainian Tlumachny Dictionary.
6. Fokosh // Ukrainian Tlumachny Dictionary.
7. Similar sagaris battle axes were used by the Scythians and Persians, and then by the Alans.
8. There are other types of battle axes with spikes and hooks on the butts in Europe, Iran, India, and rarely in Japan ( maza-kari
   ). This also includes later pioneer and naval axes, American work axes (“American coins”) and tomahawks with spikes and hooks, as well as modern fireman’s axes.
9. Lethal force remains up to 10 m.
10. From the Polish name for a small battle ax in the 16th century.
11. In Poland, the broad concept of “butt” included all types of war hammers.
12. Similar weapons have been known since Cimmerian times; there is a term for them in archeology - “bird-headed sceptres.” Erlikh V.R.
    “Bird-headed” scepters of the Pre-Scythian period. New arguments for discussion // State Museum of the East. Material culture of the East. - M., 2005. - P. 151-162.

§ 3. Impact weapons

Mace

The prototype of the mace

(
German
Streitkolben, Latin macia,
French
mace, macue, macuete, tinel,
English
mace,
Italian
mazza,
Spanish
maza, herrada) is the oldest and simplest human weapon - a club.
It is surprising that weapons, which were initially used only by barbarians, received high praise in the early Middle Ages and served mainly to outstanding individuals, becoming the prototype of the future commander's staff. On the carpet from Bayeux, Bishop Odo and Duke William at the Battle of Hastings (1028-1087) [257] hold clubs
(
Latin
baculus - stick). This is a club about 70-80 cm long, at the end of which a roughly carved image of an animal can be discerned (Fig. 405). Among the fleeing Anglo-Saxons one can see people armed with some kind of mace with a rosette-shaped pommel and a handle about 50 cm long. It was probably quite heavy, since it was carried on the shoulder (Fig. 406). The recognition this simple and, of course, effective weapon enjoyed among skilled warriors can be judged by the French novel “Aliskan” of the mid-13th century. The hero of the novel, Renwar, rejects even the sword offered to him and defeats the Saracens with his 15-foot mace. Viollet le Duc cites an image of a warrior armed with a simple crude mace from the Tristan manuscript, dating back to approximately 1250.

Rice. 405. Duke William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings, with a club. Carpet from Bayeux, con. XI century Rice. 406. Saxe fleeing, armed with a mace. Carpet from Bayeux, con. XI century

The club was more of a peasant's weapon than an infantryman's, so it was used in all peasant wars. Since the 14th century, it has become an unusually common weapon in cavalry. At this time, it is simply impossible to imagine a rider without a mace. With a mace, war hammer or axe, the rider could break the enemy's helmet or tear his haubert so much that he could penetrate it with a sword. A blow from a mace could break an arm, even one well protected by armor. The shoulder pads did not help from this either; only the shield could withstand the blows for some time. Until the 15th century, the infantry used the most primitive form of this weapon - the club (Fig. 407). In order to break through the haubert, the mace was already equipped with blunt spikes around 1280. Soldier's humor gave such a mace the name morningstern

— “Morning Star” (
German
: Morgenstern, Fig. 408).
[258] On a handle no more than a meter long with a strong leather lanyard, a cylindrical or spherical pommel made of lead or iron, equipped with spikes, was attached. The shape of the metal finials varied in detail, but cylindrical finials performed best. At the end of the 14th century, this particular form was used almost without exception, since such a mace has a much larger striking surface and the pommel is more securely attached to the handle using iron bars (Fig. 409, 410, 411, 412, 413). At the beginning of the 15th century, a very peculiar type of mace appeared in the cavalry, known as the “at-arms club”
(
Old German
Kürißbengel) or
fist mace
(
German
Faustkolben).
Already in the 14th century, the mace was sometimes equipped with ribs, so-called feathers
(
German:
Schlagblätten,
French:
gradrelle), radiating to the sides from the pommel.115) The design of this weapon acquired clearly expressed features of the Gothic style. The handle began to be made of iron, as a result of which the mace acquired impressive weight. This step was caused by the desire to contrast the appropriate offensive weapons with resistant plate armor. The noble knight preferred the poleaxe to other types of weapons; it seemed to him more noble than the battle ax of a mercenary, especially since it had long been customary for military leaders to carry a mace, and powerful rulers and even emperors used an object similar to a mace as a symbol of their dignity - scepter (Fig. 414). At the beginning of the 16th century, the described weapons were used everywhere. From about 1540, the mace became less common in armies, and like the halberd it decreased in size: both became obsolete when pistols began to become common among cavalry. However, for a long time, individual riders hung the pole from the saddle, and until the 17th century it was impossible to imagine a nobleman without a mace or [259]

Rice. 407. Foot warrior, dressed in haubert, armor and battle cape; armed with a shield and a club. Rice. 408. Bronze mace. Found during excavations near Tarnow. XII century

six-feather in hand. It was this circumstance that prompted the craftsmen to richly decorate these weapons; beautifully finished maces were often found. The Italians, and primarily the masters from Milan, achieved particular success in this art (Fig. 415).

Rice. 409. Iron mace, with wooden handle. Manuscript of the Romance of Alexander, dating from about 1280. Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Rice. 410. Iron mace, cylindrical, with blades and spikes. Con. XIV century Archaeological Museum of Pierrefonds Castle. Rice. 411. Iron morning star (“morning star”), with a knotted wooden handle. XV century Royal Workshop in Berlin. Rice. 412. War mace, with a pear-shaped pommel with long iron spikes; peasant weapons. XV century Royal Workshop in Berlin. Rice. 413. Heavy combat mace, with a timber-shaped pommel, with spikes; the handle is covered with fabric and studded with nails. Italy, XV century Royal Workshop in Berlin.

Over time, in France more than in other countries, the mace is used simply as a symbol of dignity. In the time of Henry IV, the mace of the Parisian gatekeepers, the so-called [260] porters, like the porters of churches, was more a sign of dignity than a weapon. The gate guards were popularly called sergants massiers. Later, church porters armed themselves with a halberd, and the mace was retained by the porters and transformed into the porter's staff.

Rice. 414. The ceremonial pole of Emperor Frederick III, has the shape of the usual pole of German heavily armed horsemen; gilded brass, fine workmanship in Gothic style. Germany, ser. XVI century Rice. 415. Battle pole, with eight iron blades; partially gilded. Italy, XVI century Royal Workshop in Berlin. Rice. 416. Turkish mace, made of gilded silver, decorated with precious stones. XVII century

In the East, the mace, a Tatar weapon in origin, was apparently used even before the beginning of the 13th century. It was well suited for fighting heavily armed horsemen. Joinville, in his History of Saint Louis, repeatedly mentions that the Turks were armed with maces. The Turkish mace was most often made entirely of metal and had a spherical or pear-shaped top (Fig. 416). There are also shestopers, but they are always decorated in oriental style. The Hungarians adopted the mace from the Turks and Tatars, and already in the 15th century the mace of eastern forms was found among the Croats and residents of the Czech Republic. Even in the 16th century, not a single Hungarian nobleman appeared at court only with a mace in his belt. In Hungary and especially in Poland, the mace remained in use until the 18th century and eventually also became a symbol of the dignity of the officer and military leader. [261]

Even today the mace can be seen in the equipment of the papal guards at the parade of the Vatican Guard.

War hammer and coinage

War Hammer

(
German:
Streithammer,
Latin:
molleus,
French:
marteau d'armes, maillotin, cassetête,
English:
polehammer,
um
: martello,
ucn
: hachuela de mano, martillo) - the oldest weapon of the Germans. Folk tales place it in the hand of the supreme deity. Over time, the Germans adopted from neighboring peoples and learned to use other, more skillfully created types of weapons, but they never completely abandoned the hammer; on the contrary, in the Middle Ages the hammer again found wide use. Until the 11th century, it was used mainly by the Germans; the hammer became more widespread, especially in cavalry, only in the 13th century. If until this time a horseman made do with only a sword and a spear, and an infantryman with a bow, crossbow, spear and sword, then such weapons were not enough against a heavily armed enemy. With a blow from a heavy hammer, mace, or ax it was possible not only to break a haubert, helmet, or even plate armor, but with good skill to stun the enemy and deprive him of the ability to resist. No matter how similar a hammer is to a mace in shape and handling techniques, it still has advantages over it: it is heavier, its weight is more advantageously distributed, and with a good, strong grip it is always more effective than a mace.

Since the 14th century, the war hammer has become all the more necessary for the infantryman, as plate armor has become more and more common. In certain military corporations, this weapon was even preferred. Thus, during the uprising of 1381, the Parisian townspeople made a terrifying impression with their weapons - lead hammers similar to blacksmiths on long wooden handles ( fr.

mailles, fig.
417). The Union of Hammers
(
German
is known to have existed since 1367 - a political organization of the Swabian knighthood, the purpose of which was to protect against the encroachments of the emperor and imperial cities.
In their ranks, the hammer was primarily a cavalry weapon. The first infantry war hammers were not yet sufficiently adequate for the above purpose: the hammer head and beak were too short. However, soon a spear and spikes on the sides were added to the design of the hammer. War hammers with such improvements ( French
picois) appeared in the arsenal of French infantrymen already from the middle of the 14th century (Fig. 418).

Almost at the same time, various forms of war hammers appeared in the infantry, by which one can evaluate how persistently they were improving them. First of all, they refused to make the hammer from lead, since it was deformed upon impact. They began to make the hammer from iron and gave it such a shape and proportions that it could [262] be used for a long time in battles. Transformed in this way, the hammer became a polearm, bringing it closer to the halberd, which improved its combat capabilities. This is how the Lucerne hammers appeared ,

also called
“falcon beak”
(
German
: Falkenschnabel). This type of weapon, with a long shaft and a weight of about 14 kg, was used only in infantry (Fig. 419). The concern for increasing the effectiveness of impact weapons is explained by the fact that in the middle of the 14th century plate armor became more and more advanced.

Rice. 417. The simplest war hammer, made of lead, with a wooden handle reinforced with iron strips; length about 150 cm. France. From a book by Titus Livy, dated approximately 1395. National Library in Paris. Rice. 418. War hammer. France, approx. 1350 Fig. 419. Lucerne hammer with beak and pike. Con. XIV century

The same desire for greater efficiency, albeit somewhat later, led to the fact that horsemen began to use a hammer with a short handle in battle. Chivalry had long neglected the despicable weapons of townspeople, merchants and rude peasants, but harsh necessity left no choice. It so happened that by the middle of the 15th century, the war hammer was used everywhere in cavalry and they began to call it a cavalry hammer

(
German:
Fausthammer, Reiterhammer,
French
: marteau d'armes de cavalier,
English
: horsman-hammer).116) The Germans and French carried it on the front pommel of the saddle, the Italians wore it on their belt, so the Italian cavalry hammer always had a belt hook.
The tops of some coins
were shaped like the beak of a bird, which is why they were called “
parrot beaks”
or simply [263] “parrots” (
German:
Papagey, fig. 420). In the second half of the 15th century, the custom appeared while sitting in the saddle to hold the hammer with the right hand so that the end of the handle rested against the edge of the glove plate, and the pommel of the hammer served as a support for the hand. In the cuirassier regiments of Maximilian I, captains carried hammers with extremely long beaks as weapons and a symbol of their rank. This custom continued until the beginning of the reign of Ferdinand I (Fig. 421). In the 16th century, in the Italian cavalry, every rider up to the colonel had a small coin with an iron handle, which he wore on his belt (Fig. 422). One more interesting detail should be mentioned: the custom, which appeared in the 15th century, of equipping the hammer head with tetrahedral spike pyramids, various figures and even monograms. Born out of the desire to make the hammer blow more dangerous, this custom led to clumsy boasting, expressed in the intention of capturing

Rice. 420. Minting, so-called. "parrot". Con. XV century Rice. 421. Coinage of the captain of the cuirassier regiment from the time of Maximilian I; beak 48 cm long, total length 115 cm. Germany, approx. 1510 Fig. 422. Cavalry coinage, small, solid iron; belonged to Francesco Maria di Montefeltro della Rovere, Duke of Urbino (1491-1538). Italy, approx. 1580

[264]

the name of the hero on the body of the vanquished. With the widespread use of pistols, coinage fell out of use everywhere. In isolated cases, it appeared in the 17th century in the Hungarian troops, where it remained until the introduction of the bayonet. At this time in Hungary it was used in the form of a kind of cane (Czâkan) and was often carried with them on travels to protect themselves from robberies.

Battle ax

Among the finds of the Stone and Early Bronze Ages is a battle ax

(
German:
Streitaxt,
Latin:
acha, pasticucium, bipennis, polaxis,
French:
hache d'armes,
English:
battle-axe, pole-axe,
Italian
: azza,
Spanish
: hacha de armas) is an item so common and remarkable that that his age can be dated back far into the depths of time. But wherever we find traces of it, in most cases circumstances indicate that it was the northern peoples who first began to use it for military purposes. Already on Trajan's Column (114) one can see a battle ax in the hands of fighting barbarians. And in excavations of later Merovingian times, for example, in the Parfondeval burial ground (France), almost everywhere, along with the scramasax, a franciska was found, a weapon similar to an ordinary ax with a short handle, which, as reported by Sidonius Apollinaris (430s - 483?) and Procopius Caesarea, already in the 5th century it became the national weapon of the Germans.

Rice. 423. Footed Anglo-Saxon warrior with a battle axe. Carpet from Bayeux, con. XI century

Along with this indisputable evidence, the battle ax is depicted in medieval drawings even before the 11th century. On the carpet from Bayeux, Anglo-Saxon warriors are armed with it, and the image is so clear that it even allows one to imagine the fighting techniques of wielding an ax (Fig. 423). If in Merovingian times a small battle ax, the Francis, was a throwing weapon that was thrown into the ranks of enemies from a distance of 10-12 meters, then an ax with a long handle and a convex blade was used as a chopping weapon, which the advanced warrior used to break into the ranks enemies. Only after gaps had been “cut” in the enemy’s ranks with axes, did warriors with shields enter the battle and build on their success by wielding spears and swords (Fig. 424). [265]

Although the battle ax was originally an infantry weapon, the lack of effectiveness of the spear and sword against increasingly stronger armor gradually led to the fact that the ax was also used by horsemen. This change in the armament of the cavalry becomes noticeable already in the first crusade, and it is very likely that the impetus for this was the example of the East, where the cavalry ax appeared very early.

Rice. 424. The advancing detachment of the Anglo-Saxons. The leading warrior with a battle axe, the rest are armed with spears. Carpet from Bayeux, con. XI century

However, the ax retained its decisive importance only as an infantry weapon and only among the northern peoples. This was even reflected in the unique forms that appeared among different peoples, such as the Lochaber ax ( German

. Lochaberaxt) among the Highlanders of Scotland (Fig. 425); Danish, Swedish, Swiss axes; axes of Poles and Russians, etc.

At the beginning of the 13th century, when by adding an ax and a hook they began to expand the combat capabilities of an ordinary spear and it turned into a halberd, the infantry ax began to be modernized in a similar way. was added to its butt ,

a sharp
spike
or
hook,
beak-shaped.
At the end of the 14th century, the ax was supplemented with a spear.
Thus the forms have merged, so that it is sometimes difficult to classify both types of weapons according to their form, because individual examples can equally be classified as one or the other.
For example, a battle ax, which at the end of the 13th century was used in the infantry in Flanders and in the language of soldier’s humor was called “godendag”
(
Low German
for “good day”), is close in shape to a halberd, although the outline of the blade and the methods of its use follow attributed to battle axes (Fig. 426).

The same form, only without a spear, was common in the 15th and 16th centuries among all northern peoples from Sweden to Russia (Fig. 427). The bodyguards of the Swedish regents Sture (1440-1503) and King Gustav Vasa (1496-1560) had such axes, as can be seen in the frescoes of the king's tomb chapel in Uppsala Cathedral. Until the end of the 18th century, they were also the weapons of the archers, who called them berdysh;

the word probably goes back to the German Barte - a type of battle ax (Fig. 428).
An ax with a special blade shape, similar to the Turkish one, was worn in Hungary for personal safety. There, from time immemorial, there was a custom for horsemen to carry a “marching axe”
(
German
Griesbeil,
Hungarian,
buzogány,
Turkish
bozdoghân) suspended from the saddle, and a traveler on foot used such an ax as a cane. Battle axes, lavishly decorated with etching, were also worn by Hungarian bodyguards around 1530 [276]

Rice. 425. Lochaber axe. XV century Former collection of L. Meyrick. Rice. 426. Axes are “godendagi”. Based on a poetic description from a fencing textbook by Guillaume Guiard. Dating back to approximately 1298. Fig. 427. Light armor for foot soldiers. Russia, XVI century Tsarskoye Selo Arsenal.

kings Ferdinand I and Charles III of Spain (later Emperor Charles VI, 1685-1740). These battle axes were richly decorated with silver (Fig. 429). In the Middle Ages, cavalrymen used a heavy two-handed ax only in special cases; it was never widespread. A single example can be found in a miniature dated around 1250 from the manuscript of the Roman of the Round Table, kept in the collections of the National Library in Paris.

Rice. 428. Heavy berdysh of the court guard, with a blade, has a length of 70 cm. Russia, con. XV century Tsarskoye Selo Arsenal. Rice. 429. Hatchet of the Hungarian guard of Ferdinand I. Decorated with the Habsburg coat of arms etched and blackened and depicting the Order of the Golden Fleece. Germany, probably Outsburg, ca. 1530. Property of the city magistrate of Marish-Neustadt (Czech. Unichov). Rice. 430. German horseman's battle hatchet from the time of Maximilian I. Approx. 1500. The handle was restored in the 16th century.

In the 15th century, heavily armed knights, as well as their squires, and later German horsemen and French gendarmes (noble heavy cavalry) used a type of ax designed primarily to break enemy armor. Such axes did not have a sharp blade, they were wedge-shaped and were distinguished by great strength and weight. They had short handles, usually no more than 60 cm, and were carried suspended from the saddle on a strong lanyard (Fig. 430). The nobility preferred hammers to axes, and the mace, much more common in the East, was a special symbol of dignity in Western countries (Fig. 431, 432). [268]

Rice. 431. Ceremonial hatchet of the bodyguards of Augustus I, Elector of Saxony (1553-1586). The ax and handle are iron, decorated with etching; the blade bears the Saxon and Danish coats of arms; handle length 73 cm. Royal Historical Museum in Dresden. Rice. 432. Polish hatchet, with the so-called. “beard” and rough decoration on the blade; The 83 cm long handle ends in a silver plated handle with an Italian style apple. Beginning XVII century Royal Historical Museum in Dresden.

Since the 14th century, Italian cavalry axes have become narrow and light; the handles of most of them were metal; a characteristic feature [269] was a hook on the pommel. Such axes were worn not on the pommel of the saddle, but on the belt. Italian axes often had peculiar handles equipped with protective disks (Fig. 433, 434).

It is noteworthy that already at the beginning of the 13th century there were axes with a wide blade; this fact, taking into account the large length of the blades of Lochaber axes, Swedish axes and Russian berdyshes, gives an idea of ​​the high level of skill of blacksmiths-gunsmiths.

Rice. 433. Battle hatchet, Italian style; the blade is slotted, with the image of a star; all iron parts have figured decorations, finished with gilding on a blued blued background; The handle is covered with leather. Germany, approx. 1500 Belonged to Ruprecht of the Palatinate (d. 1504). Rice. 434. Italian hatchet, with a belt hook; inlaid with silver; with figured emblems made by etching and gilding. OK. 1530

In the infantry of France, Germany and Switzerland, the most widespread were wide battle axes, the pommel of which was additionally attached to the handle with a cord or screws. On the handle itself there were usually two rings to which a belt was fastened. On the march, the ax was carried over the shoulders. The desire to increase the force of impact already in the 14th century led to a significant lengthening of the handle. As a result of this change, as well as the addition of a spear and a hook, the battle ax turned into a kind of halberd. Even members of the knightly class used such an ax with a long shaft in battle on foot. An interesting example of a weapon of this kind is kept in the rich collection of W. H. Riggs. This ax has a hammer instead of a hook, on the hammer head there are tetrahedral pyramid-spikes and a mocking inscription: “de bon” (French.

“from the good heart”) (Fig. 435). Vo [270]

Rice. 435. Battle ax of a foot warrior, with pike and hammer; has a number of diamond edges on the striker and an inscription between them. Beginning XV century Collection of W. H. Riggs. Rice. 436. Egyptian battle axe. The blade with strumming rings has an incised inscription in Kufic characters with the name of the owner; both the blade and the hollow iron handle are inlaid with gold. Belonged to the Mameluke Sultan Muhammad Ben Kant Bey (d. 1499). Rice. 437. Egyptian battle axe. The blade is carved with a horseman hunting a hare; all iron parts are inlaid with gold. Belonged to the last Mameluke Sultan, Tuman Bey (killed 1517). Tsarskoye Selo Arsenal.

[271]

the second half of the 16th century, and in this type of weapon, the desire to achieve long-range action by combining it with a firearm is manifested. Combination battle axes of this kind with a pistol were produced in large quantities around 1570 in Nuremberg and Brescia, most often they were supplied with rich artistic design - etching and tauching. In general, this period is characterized by the appearance of richly decorated weapons. The handles were covered with expensive fabrics and mesh knitting (fillet) and trimmed with thin gold or patterned braid. A special variety of axes, which were half a weapon, half a sign of professional affiliation, are miners' axes

(
German:
Bergmannsbarten), the shape of which goes back to Polish battle axes. During festive processions, miners still wear them. Along with Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Hungary and Russia, Saxony also belongs to the number of countries in which battle axes were used in the armament of bodyguards until the end of the 16th century.

Rice. 438. Arabic double ax with pike. Con. XVII century Imperial and Royal Army Museum in Vienna. Rice. 439. Mexican battle ax made of syenite, the blade is tied with woolen cords to a long shaft. Belonged to Motecusoma II, ruler of the Aztec state (1466-1520).

In the East, the battle ax undoubtedly appeared long before Muhammad. It had the shape of either a crescent with an almost round convex blade and concave side surfaces; or a completely straight upper edge and the lower part of the blade, cut off with a bearded edge, although most often it ended in a point. To attract attention in battle, warriors had axes decorated with bells. Examples of both characteristic forms that belonged to outstanding historical figures are shown in Fig. 436 and 437. In the seventeenth century, junior commanders in the Turkish cavalry had double-edged axes, with or without a spear, very similar to the axes represented in ancient depictions of [272] Amazon battles. Double-bladed axes with a spear are often decorated with tauching; they probably belonged to commanders of a higher rank (Fig. 438).

An ancient Mexican battle ax is shown in Fig. 439.