thumb|15th-century [[Republic of Venice|Venetian poleaxe at the Metropolitan Museum of Art]]

The poleaxe (also poleax, pollaxe and other similar spellings) is a European polearm that was used by medieval infantry. Poleaxes differ from halberds because the blade is vertical, not diagonal, and poleaxes are generally shorter than halberds.

Etymology

Most etymological authorities consider the poll- prefix historically unrelated to "pole", instead meaning "head". However, some etymologists, including Eric Partridge, support this explanation.

The construction of the poleaxe

thumb|[[Godfrey of Bouillon holds a short Lucerne hammer. Anachronistic fresco dated 1420.]]

thumb|Warrior holding a poleaxe in the coat of arms of [[Alytus County, Lithuania]]

The poleaxe design arose from the need to breach the plate armour of men at arms during the 14th and 15th centuries. Generally, the form consisted of a wooden haft some long, mounted with a steel head. It seems most schools of combat suggested a haft length comparable to the height of the wielder, but in some cases hafts appear to have been created up to in length.

alt=Illustration of two men in armor fighting with poleaxes and taunting one another (in french).|thumb|Guards of the pollax in armourp, from Philippo di Vadi's treatise on fencing entitled De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi

The design of the head varied greatly with a variety of interchangeable parts and rivets. Generally, the head bore an axe head or hammer head mounted on ash or other hard-wood shafts from 120–180 cm in length, with a spike, hammer, or fluke on the reverse. In addition, there was a spike or spear head projecting from the end of the shaft which was often square in cross section, sometimes referred to as the "dague dessous". A round hilt-like disc called a rondelle was placed just below the head. They also appear to have borne one or two rings along the pole's length as places to prevent hands from slipping. Also of note is that the butt end of the staff, opposite the weapon's head, bore a spike or shoe.

On quick glance, the poleaxe is often confused with the similar-looking halberd. While they may have both been designed for hacking and piercing through armor plates, the axe blade on a poleaxe seems to have been consistently smaller than that of a halberd. A smaller head concentrates the kinetic energy of the blow on a smaller area, enabling the impact to defeat armour, while broader halberd heads are better against opponents with less mail or plate armour. Furthermore, many halberds had their heads forged as a single piece, while the poleaxe was typically modular in design.

Fighting with poleaxe

The poleaxe was used by knights and other men-at-arms (both noble and non-noble) in chivalric duels for prestige, to settle disputes in judicial duels, and of course, on the battlefield. It was a close range weapon that required ones full body strength and both hands to wield effectively.

  • An ax having both a blade and a hammer face; used to slaughter cattle.
  • (historical) A long-handled battle axe, being a combination of ax, hammer and pike.

As a transitive verb:

  • (transitive) To fell someone with, or as if with, a poleaxe.
  • (transitive, figurative) To astonish; to shock or surprise utterly.
  • (transitive, figurative) To stymie, thwart, cripple, paralyze.

See also

  • Bec de corbin
  • Bill (weapon)
  • War hammer

References

Notes

Further reading

  • Schulze, André (ed.): Mittelalterliche Kampfesweisen. Band 2: Kriegshammer, Schild und Kolben. Mainz am Rhein: Zabern, 2007.
  • Le Jeu de la Hache
  • Spotlight: The Medieval Poleaxe (myArmoury.com article)