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Their main weapons were two or more pistols and a sword; initially, most wore three-quarters armour, though as time passed this was reduced to a helmet and a cuirass over a leather coat; sometimes they also carried a long cavalry firearm known as an arquebus or a carbine (although this type of horsemen soon became regarded as a separate class ...
George Silver, writing in 1599, stated that the black bill should be 5 or 6 feet (1.5 or 1.8 m) long, while the forest bill should be 8 or 9 feet (2.4 or 2.7 m). [ 2 ] During the early 16th century when most European states were adopting the pike and arquebus , the English preferred to stick with the combination of bill and English longbow .
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 ...
Guisarme, a medieval bladed weapon on the end of a long pole; later designs implemented a small reverse spike on the back of the blade; Glaive, a large blade, up to 45 cm (18 in) long, on the end of a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) pole; Guandao, a Chinese polearm from the 3rd century AD that had a heavy curved blade with a spike at the back
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.
The Roman contus was also wielded two-handed. The later Byzantine kontarion was used by Byzantine cataphracts, from c. 1100 it was used single-handed couched under the armpit, as was the contemporary knightly lance. The Sasanian lance, known as nēzak (Middle Persian), [3] used by the aswaran cavalry, was derived from the Parthian kontos. The ...
According to the 14th to 16th century writings of Johannes Liechtenauer [8] and Paulus Hector Mair, the quarterstaff is held with the back hand a hand's breadth from the butt end of the staff, and the other hand up to the middle of the staff. [9] This is likely because of the transition of techniques from quarterstaves to polearms in Mair's ...
The entries are grouped according to their uses, with rough classes set aside for very similar weapons. Some weapons may fit more than one category (e.g. the spear may be used either as a polearm or as a projectile), and the earliest gunpowder weapons which fit within the period are also included.