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Atgeirr is often translated in English as "halberd", however Germanic weapon names in gar designate a heavy spear, while geirr is just a common name for any spear in Old Norse, thus the atgeirr is "a weapon closely related to a spear – something long-shafted and thrust-oriented". [4]
The halberd was inexpensive to produce and very versatile in battle. As the halberd was eventually refined, its point was more fully developed to allow it to better deal with spears and pikes (and make it able to push back approaching horsemen), as was the hook opposite the axe head, which could be used to pull horsemen to the ground. [7]
Atgeir is usually translated as "halberd", akin to a glaive. Gunnar Hámundarson is described in Njáls saga as cutting and impaling foes on his atgeir. Several weapons (including the kesja and the höggspjót) appearing in the sagas are Viking halberds. No weapon matching their descriptions have been found in graves.
A glaive, sometimes spelled as glave, is a type of pole weapon, with a single edged blade on the end, known for its distinctive design and versatile combat applications. There are many similar polearms such as the war scythe , the Japanese naginata , the Chinese guandao (yanyuedao), the Korean woldo , and the Russian sovnya .
It was the kind of spear that is called a halberd." [9] "Ok ádr þeir mættiz þá skaut hvarr kesiu at audrum. Egill lauft skilldinum vit kesiunni ok bar hallan sva at kesian reist or skilldinum of slaug í völlin." (c.934), [8] or in English: "And just before they met, each flung his halberd at the other.
A halberd (or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed polearm that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries but has continued in use as a ceremonial weapon to the present day. [30] First recorded as "hellembart" in 1279, the word halberd possibly comes from the German words Halm (staff) or Helm (helmet), and Barte (axe). The halberd ...
The shorthanded bills were used by the army of historic India as well, mainly by infantrymen of Bengal. An agricultural version, commonly known as either a brush-axe, bush-axe, or brush-hook, is readily available in rural hardware and farm-supply stores in the United States today, and is available in the United Kingdom as a "long bill".
17th-century streltsy with musket and bardiche. In pre-imperial Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, this weapon was used to rest handguns upon when firing.It was standard equipment for the streltsy (on foot, mounted, and dragoon units) and also for the infantry of the Commonwealth; a shorter version was invented by John III Sobieski, ruler of the Commonwealth.