The axe, spear and war hammer are the very first weapons in history. The spear was designed to stab, the ax to cut and cut, and the war hammer to crush.

With the development of civilization, metalworking skills and, accordingly, weapons improved. Through the centuries, spears, axes and war hammers have undergone numerous changes in form and design.

Sometimes a few traits different weapons united in one. For example, the head of a hammer can be added to an ax, or, for example, a spearhead can be attached to the top of the hammer.

Such a multifunctional weapon was used back in the Viking Age - there are references to spears that could not only pierce, but also cut.

And although this could be achieved simply by expanding and lengthening the point of the spear, the trend towards weapons with multiple functions is obvious.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, such hybrid weapons became increasingly popular and XV-XVI centuries entered into general circulation.

It is believed that the medieval ax reached the pinnacle of its development when it, a war hammer and a spear were combined into one. Such a weapon in Germany was called füsstryakst, and in England - polex.

Naming this monster is pretty controversial issue, since its variations and various characteristics more than enough. As well as names. In different sources of that time, the same weapon could be called differently, since there was neither GOST for products, nor a single terminology.

However, there is another type of weapon, which is also called "poleks". Instead of a chopping part, similar to an axe, it has a sharp "beak" designed to break through armor. In fact, this is a war hammer, from the same "war hammer".

And it is about such a polex - Warhammer that will be discussed further.

The use of polex

Some medieval manuals have survived (Wallerstein's code, Hans Talhoffer's fechtbuch) teaching armored combat in the context of the dueling rules of court fights. Most of them depict poleaxes of all kinds along with other weapons.

The use of poleax however was not limited to tournaments and duels, it was military weapon which was reflected in the works of art of that time.

And also found confirmation in recent archaeological finds and forensic examinations of the remains of warriors who fell in medieval battles.

German poleax from the Higgins Museum

While visiting the Higgins Armory Museum in Wustre, I was fortunate enough to study and photograph a perfectly preserved example of a 15th century German poleaxe.

The striker of this war hammer is made of one piece of iron and is a hammer on one side, and a sharp “beak” on the other. I must say that the design of this poleax is typical of the 15th century and can be easily understood from this diagram:

Compare the diagram with the photo and look at our hero with different eyes:

Shaft protection

A large nail with a decorated head passes through the center of the striker and splints - long iron strips that run along the shaft, firmly connecting them. The end of the nail on the other side is flattened and secured with a decorative round washer.

The langets fit tightly into the grooves on the octagonal wooden handle. Each splint is attached to the shaft with nine nails - four pairs of nails along the entire length of the splint and one at its very end.

There are also two additional longer splints on the front and back of the shaft, they are bent onto the striker from the inside. Additional splints provide structural strength and protect the handle from damage.

The four sides of the shaft, not protected by splints, are provided with evenly spaced hemispherical-headed nails, apparently for decoration.

The hilt is rather short, about 3 feet long (~90 cm), but it may have been cut, as there are saw marks on the end of the hilt.

War Hammer Ornament

On the striker, you can easily see the inlay of copper or brass:

In the part where the striker has the shape of a hammer, between its four teeth, another inlay is made - a cross. The base of the hammer and "beak" contain more complex herringbone pattern inlays.

Here is a larger photo of the striker:

There are also small carved fragments on the top and bottom of the hammer, as well as the mark of the master in the form of a star.

How much does a war hammer weigh?

  • Weight: 3 lbs, 8 oz (~1.59 kg)
  • total length: 41 1/2 inches (~1.05 m.)
  • Handle length: 35 1/2 inches (~0.90 m.)
  • The thickness of the octagonal shaft: 1 3/8 inches (~3.49 cm)
  • Length of lateral splints: 9 inches (~22.86 cm)
  • Length of anterior / posterior splints: 14 3/4 inches (~37.47 cm)
  • Top point length: 4 inches (~10.16 cm)
  • Striker length: 6 1/4 inches (~15.88 cm)
  • Beak length: 2 9/16 inches (~6.51 cm)
  • Hammer length without shaft and point: 1 15/16 inches (~4.91 cm)
  • Hammer width(distance between opposite teeth): 1 7/8 inches (~4.76 cm)
  • balance point: 4 1/2 inches (from the bottom of the striker) (~11.43 cm)

The fastest

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

Since this is a museum piece, I limited myself to trying a few blocking positions and slow attacking movements, but even this was enough to understand how balanced the weapon is.

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

I tried the same bill and halberd. Of these three weapons, it was the poleax that proved to be the most comfortable to use, the fastest and the most responsive to movement. Of course, it was also the shortest.

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

All this made me take a fresh look at this weapon and appreciate its qualities.
Now I understand why poleaxes were so popular in their time.

Stay tuned and you won't miss them!

Article "A Poleaxe from the Higgins Armory Museum" by Alexi Goranov
first published on myarmory.com
Translation into Russian - especially for - was performed by Daria Savelyeva.
The material is supplemented with illustrations.

Hello dear readers! Today we will talk about one in an interesting way cold steel - war hammer . This weapon is historically extremely epic and cannot be ignored! For quite a long time, I was going to release a series of articles on this topic, but everything did not work out. Now a start has been made and I think that you will definitely see the continuation of this topic. And now let's go directly to our today's guest.

So, war hammer - a melee weapon or a tool of creation?

- one of the most ancient types of edged weapons, which belong to the crushing and throwing type at the same time. It was used by a person back in the Neolithic period, when he realized that God endowed him with not too long arms and rather weak capabilities. The war hammer invariably accompanied man throughout the Bronze Age, and continues to accompany us today, not only as a military or ceremonial weapon, but also as an instrument of production.

The very first samples war hammers the pommel was made of stone, then it was replaced by metal.

The war hammer can be safely called multifunctional:

  • its butt (shaft, hilt) was used to stun the enemy with a blow to the head,
  • , the striker or the sharp trihedral part of the pommel made it possible to damage the armor of warriors;
  • a long spike in the middle was indispensable for delivering a direct blow to the chest, stomach and groin.

The device and manufacture of a war hammer

Today we can safely count war hammer one of the most popular types of edged weapons, endowed with crushing power. Depending on the type of weapon, the shaft could be short or long (from 100 cm). The thickness also varied. It was made from wood or metal. The high strength of the shaft made it possible to use it both for combat operations and for protection against enemy blows. However, it can be considered a rather vulnerable part of the hammer, in contrast to.

Klevets or striker, i.e. warhead hammer, stone or metal, was made in the form of a solid parallelepiped or cylinder with one pointed end. He had a huge margin of safety. Fastening to the shaft was carried out different ways. It could be a rope, a stopper, etc. They also produced all-metal war hammers.

Warhammer - replica

Nowadays, it is not difficult to make such a tool. To do this, you only need wood and a solid piece of metal, or stone, as well as the ingenuity of the craftsman and a carpentry tool. In my time war hammer dubbed "bird" weapons by appearance his striker. In the manufacture of it, one should adhere to just such an appearance, i.e. on one side, sharpen the striker like a bird's beak.

Classification and types of war hammers

If we talk about the existing and existing war hammer classifications, they can be conditionally divided into two categories.

These are products for:

  • melee,
  • throwing weapon.

Every nation that inhabits the earth war hammer presented in one form or another. It was especially popular steel arms, more or less reminiscent of a crow's beak, in the late era.

Among the representatives of war hammers stand out:

  • the sample presented in New Caldonia, which in essence represented, endowed with a point;

  • tool aboriginal australia, made in the form of a stone blade connected to a wooden handle by means of hot resin;

  • Italian war hammer 15th and 16th century with wooden handle, square striker, octagonal beak;

  • french war hammer 15th century with oak handle, blunt striker, faceted beak;

  • new zealand maori currents with a blade made of jade and attached to the shaft with a cord;

  • "crow's beak"- an artifact of the Bronze Age period, found in Sweden, which is a dagger blade mounted on a bronze handle (it also had ritual significance);

  • the war hammer of a medieval European horseman - a wrought iron rod screwed to the shaft with copper wire;

  • bavarian war hammer 15th century with a wooden rod half-wrapped with iron;

  • indian pounded made of steel with a silver-plated shaft;

  • protective japanese kusarigama- the core of kama yari, attached to the handle by means of a chain;

  • war hammer with brass and silver of the tribes that inhabited the borders between present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan;

  • steel combat indian hammer and Persians with a gold notch and a hilt covered with velvet;

  • a 16th century war hammer found in southern Germany, and many others.

Hammer in symbolism

It was not only a type of edged weapons. Since the beginning of civilized times, it has served as a symbol of all-destroying strength and power. However, this symbolism is twofold, since the hammer is also tool of creation and not just destruction.

In any case, as a weapon it really represented brute force. In many nations, the hammer was recognized as a symbol of evil. Myths associate it with thunder, but even here the symbolism manifested itself in two ways: thunder is one of the signs of an approaching thunderstorm, and, therefore, a symbol of fertility.

He is an invariable attribute of the gods not only of war or the elements, but also crafts, Master of Hephaestus from Greek mythology and Vulcan from Rome were always depicted with a hammer - the personification of creative possibilities. With the help of a hammer and other tools, Hephaestus forged Achilles for the best warrior of Troy flame armor, helmet, shield and other elements of his impenetrable equipment.

God Thor from Norse mythology used a stone hammer, known as Mjollnir, and as a producing tool, and as destructive weapons. In Japan, the hammer was the tool of the god of prosperity and became a symbol of wealth, successful gold mining.

The hammer, as a melee weapon in Rus', has been used in all ages. The ambivalent attitude towards him has survived to this day. The Soviet symbolism of creation, in which there was a sickle and a hammer, is known to everyone - here is the hammer for you.

This is also a hammer, but not a combat one (in most cases)

So, here is this one war hammer not simple as it seems at first glance. This steel arms has a lot of varieties, which we will definitely talk about more than once in following articles. And therefore, do not forget to join our

  • Forged axes, battle clubs and spears, chasers and axes - buy edged weapons from the times of our Ancestors

    Only on our Slavic site "Veles" you can find and buy forged axes, battle clubs and spears, chases and axes self made with such a talented performance of the Master that you want to immediately pick it up and feel the power and energy of this one. In this section of the online store, we have collected many types of products for you and we hope that you will appreciate the choice, workmanship and affordable price.

    So: here you will find:

    Forged handmade battle axes

    • battle ax of the Slavs - Russians
    • battle axes Vikings
    • Hellenic battle ax

    Battle clubs: weapons of real heroes

    The club is a derivative of general meaning stick words. Thus, any wooden stick and club can be considered a club, but in the Middle Ages a club was made from a wooden handle and a head equipped with iron spikes, or the head was forged from iron to increase the force of impact. Such a melee weapon, unpretentious at first glance, required strength and skill.

    Battle clubs were the weapons of true heroes and helped Dmitry Donskoy himself win the battle with Mamai, and even during the First World War. Only in the latter case, they were called trench clubs and had a shape similar to modern volleyball bats. That is why bats, batons, and clubs are prohibited for everyday use and are recognized as dangerous melee weapons.

    A real combat club differs from a club in greater adaptability to the hand during the battle and the presence of reinforcing hoops, pommel with or without spikes. A variety of clubs are: mace, shestoper, morning star, buzdygan, police baton and other names of cold percussion weapons.

    Russian war spears and other medieval throwing spears

    The spear as a weapon arose at the very beginning of our era. It was impossible to come up with the most convenient device for hunting animals: a long shaft made of a straight branch of a tree and a tip made of pointed stone, and later metal. Even with the development of society, knowledge and culture, a real combat spear has not lost its value in a grip with people or beasts. This throwing and piercing weapon has been used for many hundreds of centuries, and it is only thanks to the ability to hunt and fight with it that we owe our lives now.

    Combat spears for throwing differ in the length of the shaft and the shape of the tip, both of which adapt to the hand and character of its future owner.

    Chekan: buy combat melee weapons in a complete reconstruction of the sample

    Our Masters are people who are fond of restoring Traditions and all types of medieval edged weapons. That is why they could not get past the coinage - a hand-held shock-crushing type of battle ax that has a beak-shaped ax handle with a flat striker on its butt. Actually, coinage is an old Russian symbol of the well-known word ax. Hammer-axes with a butt-hammer are also related species another weapon - a klevetsa. Often in the Middle Ages, they were even combined by gunsmiths on the same shaft for the greatest functionality and balance when used in battle. The coinage, like a battle ax, had anti-ricochet properties, cut through and broke through chest enemy. With a klevets it was possible to complete what had been started and overthrow the enemy.

    The battle ax is sometimes erroneously called one of the types of war hammer. However, the presence of a butt in the form of a hammer does not make this edged weapon a kind of percussion and throwing tool; rather, it can be called an improved version of the ax, which you can also buy here.

    The Slavs used coinage not only in the form of a Russian battle ax, but also as a confirmation of the fact of military leadership in campaigns. The weapon was carried on a saddle, in a loop with a richly decorated button.

    In addition to forged axes, combat spears and clubs, axes and chasers, in this section of the Veles Armory under the auspices of Svarog you will find:

    • Sixers are a variety of combat maces and clubs, distinguished by the presence of six or more metal plates-feathers on the head of cold weapons. Sixers increase the area and nature of hitting the enemy in combat, and sometimes have an additional hook plate for quickly disarming the enemy. Shestopers as a type of clubs and maces were first mentioned in the Pskov chronicle when describing the victory over the German knights.
    • Staves with combat melee weapons - blades hidden at the base, striking any target with lightning speed and used in many stories related to coup d'état and the reconquest of territories, the defense of the Fatherland and their Relatives. Such staves could repeat in their technical meaning a combat spear, a weapon of this type was coveted and confirmed the strength, ingenuity and courage of the owner.
    • Maces as a kind of club - a cold shock-crushing weapon, known since the Neolithic era. With a metal head, the mace began to be made in the Bronze Age, in the Middle Ages, the mace became one of the most popular weapons of the Slavs - Russian heroes. In many other countries, it has become a symbol of power, might, valor and dignity. Some historians believe that the scepter of power is nothing more than the personification of a mace, a heavy club with spikes for killing an enemy with one blow.
    • The klevets is a kind of Russian battle ax, chased and designed for close hand-to-hand combat. This shock-shattering melee weapon has a high degree penetration in the presence of armor or chain mail. Another advantage of the klevets in comparison with other types of battle axes is its light weight and the ability to adjust the length of the shaft to suit the owner of the weapon. Klevets have been known as battle axes since the Bronze Age, and in the Middle Ages they were used not only by the Slavs, but also by many other peoples. They were called differently, but the technique of performance and combat remained unchanged.
    • Rogatins, which are a type of military spear, the weapon of the Russian people and part of hunting equipment. They are distinguished by the presence of a large double-edged blade capable of inflicting a wide and deep wound on both the enemy and the beast. Although Dahl claimed that the horn is a weapon for hunting, however, according to history, it is cold blade weapon it was also used by the Slavs for battles: such heavy spears were indispensable for protecting settlements or recapturing them from enemies.
    • Berdyshi - varieties of battle axes and differ from others in a crescent-shaped blade, as well as the presence of a shaft like a Russian spear. Berdyshi is a cold stabbing and chopping weapon of the Russian medieval troops, infantry, dragoons and archers, as well as a self-defense tool for every Slav. The length of the shaft of the berdysh could vary, as well as the size of the blade.

Before the appearance of regular troops, the outcome of the battle in the defense of the city, or any other village, was decided by militia soldiers, who often entered the battlefield with an adapted combat missions weapons. These were converted scythes and sickles, long knives and bows of hunters.

But even then the war hammer, the weapon of blacksmiths, became the most terrible weapon. These artisans usually possessed considerable physical strength and excellent orientation, the climax of the battle was the terrible and accurate blows of war hammers, crumbling the armor and bones of enemies.

The history of the appearance of the war hammer

This weapon appeared simultaneously with the advent of metallurgy, even then the first blacksmiths went into battle with heavy sledgehammers, in terms of mass and lethal force quite comparable to maces. But, unlike other melee weapons, the war hammer was usually aimed at the target with the firm and strong hand of a trained blacksmith.

Apart from physical strength blacksmiths also had excellent orientation in space, high endurance and, of course, they knew very well weak spots other weapon. For this reason, a warrior with a hammer could well resist a professional combatant or mercenary.

This also affected mythology, it was not for nothing that the strongest of the gods received this particular item as a weapon.

Known, the hammer of Thor - Mjollnir, 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 huge weight, which, however, did not prevent its use for combat purposes. Thor, the owner of the hammer, used it as Mjolnir's blow to cause thunder and lightning.

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

However, the war hammer was known not only in Scandinavia, both Greeks and Russians fought with it. Blacksmiths-Saxons went into battle with him and forged the eastern lands.
Over the years, this weapon has evolved.


Assessing its effectiveness as a shock-crushing weapon, gunsmiths began to combine it with chopping and piercing weapon. So 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 brandestok, for example, could have a striking surface and an ax-shaped process, 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 opponent's hand. Such a weapon was multifunctional, but at the same time difficult to use.

Varieties of long-handled hammers were poleks, this is a hybrid of a hammer and a halberd, which has both a piercing tip and a chopping and shock striker.

At some of the war hammers, the impact surface was extended into a slightly curved beak, the task of which was to break through 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.

The war hammers of the Middle Ages generally amaze the imagination with the fantasy of blacksmiths in an effort to get the perfect weapon.

Coinage and klevtsy, small light hammers with a crow's beak and a striker on the back of the butt, were considered short-handled weapons.

It was these variants of weapons that were widely used in Rus'. A variant of the toast, known as driven, was quite widespread in India. Some variants of this weapon already resemble a mace or morgenstein, due to the beaks and axes located around the circumference.

With the advent of Milanese armor, war hammers gradually disappear from the scene, they finally disappear when they appear. firearms. The war hammer, for all its versatility, was inferior in terms of combat characteristics to chopping and piercing long-armed weapons. Now the war hammer is used only in computer games.

Device and principle of operation

The war hammer is a blunt weapon. IN different time changed shape and functional features its shock part. But the device itself remained unchanged:

  • shaft - a handle made of hardwood or metal;
  • lanyard, leather or fabric loop on the handle, designed to thread a hand into it;
  • the heel, the pommel of the handle, could take the form of a stylet, a faceted dagger for finishing off the enemy;
  • the shock part, its shape depended on the type of hammer and the blacksmith's imagination.

The shock part of the hammer could be either a purely shock, an ordinary blacksmith's hammer made of metal, or with additional combat devices. Axes-hammers, ax-hammer-beak and other configurations are known.


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

Short-handled hammers - klevtsy, chasers and pounders were used mainly as an additional weapon in individual combat. Their main task is to break through armor or stun the enemy.

Combined weapons appeared much later, as a rule, these war hammers were used individually for self-defense or in cavalry formation.

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

Ceremonial samples of these weapons were richly decorated, 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-armed weapon about 1.2-1.5 kg.

Use in combat

In its development, the war hammer has come a rather long and difficult path. From the armament of a militia-blacksmith, to the insignia, for example, the front war hammer of the commander in chief.


During evolution, he himself also changed, poleks and coinage grew out of an ordinary blacksmith's sledgehammer. The handle has been lengthened. Additional striking elements appeared on the striker - pommel, spikes, axes and beaks.

A two-handed war hammer in close formation performed its role perfectly if the attacking side had only light armor or total absence those. Leather armor, light chain mail could not protect their owners from heavy blows, but plate cavalry soon entered the scene.

The forged rati could only be resisted by a line of spearmen armed with long-armed weapons. The hammer, as a weapon, abruptly lost its position.

He received a second birth, appearing in the form of a polex, a combined striker on a long shaft.

The infantry used a long hammer as a halberd, in this sense, he practically lost his striking role, instead receiving the role of a pike, with a reinforced warhead.

Such short-handled weapons were used everywhere both as a sign of power (in the Italian cavalry of the 15th century) and military weapons (in the noble militia) under Peter the Great in Rus'. Indian drove (XVI…XIX centuries) played the role of a weapon of the second hand when cutting with sabers.


But everything changed with the advent of forged armor and subsequently firearms. Bulky and heavy hammers quickly left the scene, giving way to lighter and more effective sabers and axes, as well as armor and then sabers gradually left. Of the armor, only a helmet modified to a helmet remained.

Conclusion

The war hammer is the weapon of its era. Having passed the path from the rati to the regular troops, he finally went into the annals of history.

Despite the fact that the hammer, at times became the leader in combat equipment, in most cases it was an additional weapon of a cavalryman or knight.

In the infantry, hammers also did not take root. This is largely due to the low efficiency of the use of crushing weapons in the century of the development of plate armor, only the simplicity of the design, the possibility of using almost waste metal for its manufacture and ease of use allowed it to stay afloat.

Today, war hammers are found only in fantasy and computer games. In Tolkien, for example, this is one of the main options for arming the dwarves and similar peoples. This largely emphasizes their (dwarfs) technological culture.

Video

A war hammer is a weapon of the late Middle Ages, resembling a hammer in design and used for close combat. Its appearance is similar to an ice pick.

Design

The war hammer consists of a handle and a tip. The length of the handle varies, the longest instance of the weapon is equivalent to a halberd, the shortest is a mace. Long warhammers were used against cavalry, while short ones were used in close combat and during mounted attacks.

Later designs of war hammers suggested the presence of a spike on reverse side tip, making it a more versatile weapon.

The appearance of war hammers is a consequence of the widespread use of steel armor with surface hardening in the period of the 14th-15th centuries. The hardness of the surface of the armor reached the hardness of the blades, as a result of which the blade could rebound upon impact. As a result, blows inflicted by a sword or a battle ax passed in passing, losing their power, while a war hammer made it possible to inflict maximum damage on the enemy without even breaking through the armor.

War hammers, especially those mounted on a long shaft, could inflict serious injury without even penetrating armor. In particular, the impact was transmitted even through the thickest helmet, causing a concussion. The blade or spike was usually used for strikes aimed at other parts of the body where the armor was thinner. The spike could be used to hook armor, shield, enemy reins, as well as to break through heavy armor. In the battle against the cavalry, hammer blows were carried out on the legs of the horse, later finishing off the enemy thrown to the ground in close combat.

Maul (sledgehammer)

A maul is a long-handled hammer with a heavy tip made of steel, lead, or iron. In appearance and functionality, the weapon is similar to a modern sledgehammer, sometimes depicted with a spear-shaped spike at the end of the handle. The use of the maul as a weapon dates back to the end of the 14th century. In 1382, the rebellious Parisians stole 3,000 sledgehammers (French: maillet) from the city's arsenal, for which they received and received the nickname Maillotins. In the same year, according to Froissart documents, French soldiers used mauls at the Battle of Rosebec, which suggests that the hammer was not only a weapon of the lower classes of society.

Separately, it is worth noting the use of mauls by archers in the 15th-16th centuries. In documents from the Battle of Agincourt, the English archer is usually described as having a lead sledgehammer, initially as a barrage tool, later as an improvised weapon. There are other sources (for example, Charles the Bold's 1472 Ordinance) describing the use of this type of weapon, they say that the pier was used by Tudor archers until 1562.