The war hammer is one of the most ancient types of bladed weapons, which was used mainly for close-range combat. It was first produced in the Neolithic era. The hammer is a dual-use weapon, used in both blacksmithing and warfare. In the second case, he is capable of inflicting terrible deforming and breaking blows on the enemy.

General information

As mentioned earlier, the hammer appeared in the Neolithic. Initially it had a stone top. Quite often it served as the butt of a ceremonial stone or battle axe. Over time, these crushing weapons were improved, and in the Middle Ages they already used ordinary iron forge hammers mounted on a long handle. They were somewhat reminiscent of a mace, which delivered blows that not only stunned but also deformed armor.

The most famous representative of this weapon is Mjollnir - the mythical hammer of the god of storm and thunder Thor. It became a truly religious symbol, a heraldic emblem and amulet for all Scandinavians. However, until the 11th century. Such weapons were used mainly by the Germans alone.

Spreading

The war hammer was most widely used by horsemen starting in the 13th century. Its rapid spread was facilitated by the appearance of reliable knightly armor and armor. Swords, maces, axes and any other weapons used in those days for close combat were no longer effective against them. All of them turned out to be ineffective. That is why more and more new variants of the same war hammer began to appear. Its varieties include any pole weapon with a knob, which on one side looks like a hammer, and on the other can have the appearance of a straight or slightly curved blade, beak, faceted spike, etc.

The very name “hammer” suggests the presence of at least one of the above elements of the combat head. The weapon retains this name even when there is no actual hammer on it. The most common was considered a hammer, which had an upward point and, in addition to it, short spikes, which were often located directly on the striking part of the butt or on the side of it. The beaks could pierce armor plates or tear chain mail. The hammer was used to stun the enemy or deform his armor.

Lucernhammer

This is a type of bladed weapon that appeared in Switzerland around the end of the 15th century. It was in service with many infantrymen 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 combat unit in the form of a pointed peak, and at its base there is 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 pole weapon 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.

Short-pole weapon

Similar hammers, with a handle no longer than 80 cm, appeared in Europe in the 10th century. They were used exclusively in hand-to-hand combat and were often armed with horsemen. But such weapons began to be used everywhere in cavalry only after 5 centuries. The short shafts of both eastern and European hammers were very often made of iron and equipped with a special handle for gripping with one or two hands.

The war hammer on the opposite side of the beak could have a fairly varied striking surface, for example, spiked, conical, smooth, pyramidal, topped with a monogram or some kind of figurine. The last two were used to imprint themselves on the armor or body of the enemy.

Longshaft Hammers

In the XIV century. This weapon gained the greatest popularity. It had a long handle up to 2 m and in appearance resembled a halberd. The only difference was that the warhead of the hammers was not solidly forged, but assembled from several separate elements. In addition, they almost always had a pike or spear at the end. It is also worth noting the fact that these medieval weapons did not always have a beak on the back of the hammer. Instead, an ax was sometimes attached, which could be either small or quite impressive in size. This unusual weapon was called Polax.

The striking part of the hammer in long-shaft weapons was varied: smooth, with small teeth, with one or more short or long spikes, and even defiant inscriptions. There were also variants of weapons where the combat head consisted only of hammers, trident beaks or blades, and ended on top with an unchanged pike. Long-shafted weapons were used primarily by foot soldiers to fight against enemy cavalry. Sometimes knights also found use for them when they dismounted.

Its first examples appeared in the 16th century. and were distinguished by great diversity, but they were all united by a common feature - they necessarily contained certain elements inherent in war hammers. The simplest of them had handles, inside which a sword was placed. Such blades often had some additions in the form of openers - special stands for firearms or crossbows.

Weapons such as fire stocks were much more complex. In addition to a hammer with hatchets and claws, they were also equipped with long blades up to one and a half meters in length. They could be extended either automatically or fired from the top of the handle. There were also crickets, which were a combination of hammers and pistols or guns.

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 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.

Butt

After the loss combat use Klevtsov, 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 worn mainly by the Polish gentry.

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.

Surrender of positions

Over time, the hammer (a weapon of the Middle Ages) lost its former popularity, and it began to be used only as an attribute of various military ranks. This was the case in Italy, Germany and other European countries. The robber and Cossack atamans followed their example. Quite often, screw-in dagger blades were placed in the handles of these weapons.

Briefly about the article: Clubs, poles, morning stars, tomahawks, boomerangs, coins, telangs, oslops, flails and poles - all these types of weapons, oddly enough, are related to each other. Hercules stunned the Nemean Lion with a club, Sauron fought the united forces of Middle-earth with the help of a six-feather, and the Scandinavian god Thor killed the giants with his hammer. In short, you simply cannot do without such weapons in fantasy. Today our popular “Arsenal” column is dedicated to one of the most ancient and universal human weapons - impact-crushing weapons. Happy reading!

Impact force

Maces, maces and hammers

But the black horseman was already standing in front of her, huge and menacing. With an angry cry, unnatural to the ear, he struck with his club. Eowyn's shield shattered, the arm holding it broke, and she staggered and fell to her knees.

J. R. R. Tolkien. “Return of the Sovereign”

Mace- perhaps the most primitive weapon imaginable. And, undoubtedly, the most ancient - it appeared as much as 5 million years ago! Not yet knowing how to make tools, our distant ancestors used sticks and long bones of large animals when hunting.

Gradually, people learned to process stone, then metals... Weapons were improved, but the club did not even think of giving up its position. Until the 17th century, it continued to be one of the most common weapons of war, both in Europe and Asia.

Why the club turned out to be the most popular weapon in the people's war is easy to understand. But how did it happen that it also became a symbol of supreme power?

The attitude towards the club as an attribute of a ruler developed in very ancient times - 10-15 thousand years ago. Conflicts between hunter-gatherer tribes were mostly bloodless. The tribe, which by the evening had more wounded, admitted itself defeated. Or didn't recognize it. In this case, the controversial issue was resolved by a duel between the leaders, who had already fought to the death.

They fought with clubs. This choice of weapon was due to the fact that the light shields made of twigs and leather, common at that time, could easily withstand blows from a spear with a bone tip. But the flexible shield did not save him from the blow of the club.

So the club became the first weapon designed specifically for war, not hunting. Later, when hard wooden shields came into fashion, they began to be used in close combat. axes.

In the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras, the shape of clubs was very diverse. The Egyptians and Libyans preferred simple mallets, only about 60 cm long, with a spherical head made of hard wood. IN South America and Africa met assegai 120 cm long with a wide pointed wooden “blade” one or even two thirds of the length. Assegai could be used to both hit and stab. In Asia, clubs with a spherical stone pommel were widespread. American and Polynesian tribes used “crows” with one or more long wooden spikes pointing forward. Sometimes microlithic (from the Greek “microlith” - “small stone”) technique was used to make clubs. So, makan It was a board made of hard wood, into the edges of which were glued fragments of flint or obsidian, or shark or crocodile teeth. There were both straight makans up to 100 cm long, as well as shorter versions shaped like an oar, a wide drop, or an elongated oval.

Much later in Christian Europe, the club again acquired a special status, becoming the favorite weapon of the clergy. Catholicism forbade church ministers from shedding blood, and instead of swords and axes, priests were forced to wield clubs.

The club, as a rule, heavy weapons I wasn't. For a sword or axe, increased weight also meant higher penetrating power. But the club had no penetrating power in principle. In order to successfully crush human bones, too much weight was not required.

However, there were also giant two-handed clubs. Such as, for example, the club of Hercules, which, judging by some images, weighed at least 20 kg. Or almost the same: in any case, both all-wood and all-metal oslops weighing up to 12 kg have been preserved!

Oslops were undoubtedly the heaviest edged weapons. Even two-handed swords weighed “only” 4-8 kg. But with a sword it’s clear - but why make the club so massive if the weight had no effect on its penetrating ability?

Well, the shield that the oslop hit may have remained intact... So it flew away entirely. Together with its owner. The oslop's blow was guaranteed to knock the enemy down.

Mace in the Middle Ages

After the advent of the Metal Age, first swords and axes, and then sabers, began to compete with clubs. And, it must be admitted, the clubs withstood the competition with honor.

The undoubted advantage of the club was its extremely low cost of production. Since there were no high demands on the hardness of its pommel, this weapon could be made entirely from wood. Moreover, with minimal labor costs: it was enough to drive several sharp stone fragments into the trunk of a young oak tree. After a few years, a spherical influx appeared on the trunk. All that remained was to cut down the tree and peel off the bark. Or you could just uproot the young oak tree. In this case, the function of the top was taken over by the base of the trunk with the remains of the roots.

A “naturally shaped” club, of course, did not look as chic as a neatly turned mace. But from a practical point of view the difference was minimal. A noticeable gain was achieved only by binding the pommel with soft iron. At the same time, the center of gravity of the weapon shifted upward, and the blow came out more powerful. From this point of view, the best were clubs with pommels cast entirely from bronze.

But it was not the cheapness of production that earned the club its unfading popularity. First of all, she attracted warriors with her exceptional - one hundred percent! - reliability. The club could neither break, become dull, nor get stuck in battle. Since the position of the palm on the handle of the club remained unchanged, this weapon could be equipped with a loop on the wrist. The club was not lost, even if it was knocked out of the warrior’s hand. It took a split second to grab it again.

The club also had its drawbacks. In particular, it was quite difficult to inflict a mortal wound with it. After all, with equal impact force, crushing weapons caused much less damage than piercing or chopping weapons. Basically, they tried to disarm, wound or stun the enemy with a blow from the club. Actually, in ancient times, “stunning” was the name given to the shock that occurs after a blow to the helmet.

In addition, the club, compared to the sword, provided much worse opportunities for repelling blows. But its main drawback was its complete powerlessness against hard armor and shields.

However, throughout the Middle Ages, clubs were widely used by both infantry and cavalry. The sword could strike quickly and accurately, but even light armor was often a serious obstacle for the medieval blade. The heavy battle ax crushed any obstacles, but it was difficult to strike with an ax. The club occupied an intermediate position between these types of weapons.

Morgenstern and shestoper

Regarding what kind of weapon should be called morning star, there are discrepancies in the literature. Sometimes this is the name given to a club with a spiked pommel, sometimes - flail. After all, the creators of the role-playing game AD&D They completely confused the matter. On the one hand, they assigned this name to the club, and on the other hand, they combined the spiked club and the flail into one “skill.”

In fact, "morgenstern"(in German - “morning star”) - this is not a flail or a club, but simply a bronze ball with steel spikes screwed into it. Such a pommel could be attached to the handle either directly or with the help of a chain.

Thus, both clubs and flails can be called “morgensterns” if the above-mentioned part was used in their manufacture. But the spikes could also be attached to a cylindrical iron base or simply driven into a wooden pommel. So not every club equipped with spikes is a morning star.

The purpose, with bark, that medieval craftsmen sometimes studded the heads of their clubs with sharp thorns, seems obvious. Why else would they do this, if not to increase the severity of the injury? However, this answer is incorrect. Of course, the morningstern inflicted more dangerous wounds... but to whom? It is easy to guess that the club with its points directed in all directions was quite difficult to carry.

The spikes on the club not only created serious inconvenience for the owner. They also deprived these weapons of their most important advantages: cheapness and reliability. Making a “morning star” was very difficult, and weapons equipped with it began to get stuck in shields and cling to equipment.

On the other hand, the spikes made it possible to overcome the most significant drawback of the club: the tendency of the smooth pommel to slide off the surface of hard shields and armor. “Ricochets” led to the useless loss of most of the impact energy. In addition, a warrior whose weapon slipped from an enemy shield could lose his balance. The spikes were intended specifically to solve this unpleasant problem. They pierced the shield or armor, the pommel stopped abruptly, and the energy of the blow was spent... fruitfully.

Clubs with short and blunt spikes were more reliable. Low tubercles of metal increased the friction of the pommel on the surface of the shield, but they could not catch or get stuck. But they were not able to completely prevent slipping. Therefore, the most perfect variety of fingers turned out to be shestoper or buzdykhan. The top of the shestoper was not equipped with spikes, but with several chopping edges - feathers - directed along the handle. As you can guess from the name, there were usually six feathers. Sometimes, however, more. Shestoper had all the advantages of the morning star, but was free from its disadvantages. The feathers pierced the shield, but they pierced only shallowly, and the weapon did not jam. Therefore, the shestoper could be equipped with a loop and even a closed guard. In addition, the hard feathers of the buzdykhan effectively broke bones and metal plates of armor. In total, these advantages in the Middle Ages guaranteed the shestoper rapid success in almost all countries of the world. Buzdykhans armed themselves and European knights, and Russian knights, and Turkish spahis, and Indian Rajputs.

In the Middle Ages, clubs were divided into simple and compound ones - with a movable pommel. Attaching the pommel to the handle using a chain made it possible to almost double the reach of the weapon and greatly increase the force of impact. In addition, unlike a simple club, a flail could strike in both a vertical and horizontal plane.

On the other hand, the flail was much more expensive. A thin and durable chain and a rotating carabiner cost a lot of money by the standards of the Middle Ages. The flail was inferior to an ordinary club in terms of reliability: the chain could break or get tangled. And it was possible to strike with a flail much less often, since the weight first had to be untwisted. Finally, the flail was completely unsuitable for repelling enemy attacks. Such weapons were most suitable for mounted warriors in reliable armor.

However, flails were also used by infantry. At the beginning of the 15th century in Germany and the Czech Republic, foot soldiers often armed themselves with threshing hammers - huge two-handed flails - instead of halberds. The hammer weighed half as much as the halberd, but reached 30% further, and the blows, although very rare, were crushing. The massive pommel crushed knightly armor and split the bones of war horses. Threshermen were the main force of the Czech armies during the Hussite Wars.

Boomerang

In addition to ordinary clubs, it is also necessary to mention throwing clubs - boomerangs . Curved throwing clubs appeared around the same time as darts, and in distant eras they were very widespread on Earth. Boomerangs are among the finds of the era Mesolithic on all continents. In particular, “classic” boomerangs - exact copy weapons of Australian aborigines - discovered in the peat bogs of Holland.

About 10 thousand years ago, boomerangs began to quickly be replaced by bows and arrows. As a result, until the 19th century they survived only in Australia. In addition, some African tribes and North American Indians retained other versions of the throwing club. The Indians called their model tomahawk (usually it is associated only with a throwing axe, but this is incorrect - the tomahawk was also made in the form of a light mace).

The Iroquois carried tomahawks along with bows. Australian hunters supplemented the boomerang spear thrower . The need to carry some other weapon besides the boomerang was due to its insignificant destructive power. A wooden club weighing 500-700 grams could kill a bird or small animal, but it did not make the right impression on large animals.

Another question is that settled in the world of the game "Dark Sun" race of intelligent insects thri-kreen somehow got the hang of making boomerangs out of stone... Well, that’s it "Dark Sun". In our prosaic world, a stone boomerang would immediately break.

The throwing batons struck weakly. But a flat boomerang flew at a distance of up to 150 meters, and a tomahawk - at 70-80 meters. At a distance of over 30 meters, even a tomahawk was much more dangerous than a light arrow with a bone tip. In addition, the throwing clubs rotated in flight and hit a large area.

For military purposes, the boomerang was used only in ancient Egypt. And even then not for long. The Egyptians' refusal to use these weapons was most likely due to the insufficient destructive power of boomerangs.

There has long been a lively debate regarding the tendency of boomerangs to return after being thrown. Moreover, lately boomerangs have been most often denied this ability. And in vain. Every boomerang flies in an arc. And the degree of curvature of the trajectory depends on its shape. Australian hunters, indeed, most often made their boomerangs asymmetrical: so that their path in the air was a circle with a diameter of about 50 meters.

True, the Australians did not do this so that the weapons would be returned. The greater curvature of the trajectory reduced the range of the projectile, but made it possible to hit game from an unexpected direction. For example, from behind.

War Hammers

Due to the fact that in the Middle Ages the club faithfully served the Catholic clergy, in the worlds AD&D it became the main weapon of the priests. And everything would be fine if only there were priests... but also priestesses! Here, the editors (and the authors of books written on this role-playing system), frankly speaking, did not think it through. The club is definitely not a woman's weapon. And in the hands of a dark elf 140 cm tall - completely useless. Still, you had to hit it hard with the club. And best of all from above.

War hammers, usually depicted by illustrators in the form of huge sledgehammers, look even more funny in the hands of fragile priestesses... In the old days, heavy sledgehammers were used to knock out slag from iron. War hammers - mints - on the contrary, they were distinguished by a very modest weight: about 1.5 kg. Along with hatchets peckers , coinage was valued in the Middle Ages precisely for less than that of knight's swords, weight.

However, even with a coin it was necessary to crack the enemy from the heart. To own this weapon, you also needed great strength, than for using a club, because the mints were intended for splitting solid armor and strong shields. This circumstance also determined the relatively low weight of the war hammers. A blacksmith's sledgehammer would act like smallpox - would push the enemy shield to the side, rather than pierce it.

You don't need to go to museums to find out what a throwing hammer should actually look like. The throwing hammer is a common sports equipment. And it is a metal ball untwisted on a rope. Why on a rope? But because a hammer with a handle of minimal weight will have ideal balance. The heavier the handle, the lower the center of gravity of the weapon will be, and the weaker the blow will be and the shorter the throwing distance.

The handle “made of steel as hard as diamond”, oddly enough, does not stand up to criticism in terms of strength. Until the 17th century, even the axles of cannon carriages were made of wood. The quality of iron in the Middle Ages left much to be desired, and the axis should neither break nor bend under the enormous weight of the weapon.

A weapon similar in design to a sports throwing hammer was known in the Middle Ages as Telanga . It was not a ball, but a massive (up to 3 kg) rhombus untwisted on a rope, similar to the tip of a spear. Such a projectile flew 40-50 meters and had enormous destructive power.

Of course, it is only a colossal stretch to classify Telanga as a hammer. But it is impossible to find anything more suitable for the role of a historical analogue of the legendary hammer of the Scandinavian god Thor. Use as throwing weapons a traditional looking hammer was pointless. After all, without the aerodynamic properties of an ax or boomerang, he would have simply flown “head first.” And it would fall on the target not with the striker, but with the top of the handle. And why then was it necessary to throw a hammer, and not, say, a club or just a stone?

Club forever

Maces, flails, coins and bridles were widely used by cavalry. Only in the 16th and 17th centuries were they replaced by sabers and broadswords made of cheap and flexible blast furnace steel. From that time on, impact-crushing weapons (except for the rifle butt) lost their importance in war. But he settled firmly and, apparently, for a long time in the police.

The police's choice of a baton as a bladed weapon is understandable. On the one hand, the baton is quite convenient and effective. In any case, it gives its owner an advantage against an opponent armed with a knife or brass knuckles. On the other hand, it is quite difficult to kill or maim a person with a baton. At least, if you don’t set such a goal.

Batons played such an important role in the dangerous and difficult work of law enforcement officers that they even underwent improvements in the 20th century. It would seem that what can be improved in weapons that have served for 5 million years? It turns out that it is possible.

The modern police baton with an additional handle is a smaller copy of the ancient Chinese “tonfa” or “crutch”. The additional handle makes it possible to deliver more varied strikes.

A staff is not only an integral attribute of a fantasy magician, but also often the concentration of his witchcraft power. Having exhausted the possibilities of spells, magicians used staves as clubs. Well, that's how it is believed...

The technique of fighting with a pole was by no means the prerogative of Eastern monks. On the contrary, in the Middle Ages it was owned by everyone - from peasants to knights. Moreover, the former usually used shafts and stakes as poles, and the latter - spear shafts. Naturally, the spearman’s arsenal of techniques included not only stabbing blows, but also blows with the shaft. But the shaft was sometimes bound with iron...

In modern times, staves have shrunk to the modest size of canes. But often they began to hide stilettos or lead filling. So, Pushkin, for example, carried a cane weighing 8 kg. The lead cane of the Russian wrestler Ivan Poddubny weighed as much as 32 kg. Hercules is resting...

Blunt weapons such as warhammers gained popularity with the development of plate armor and close-fitting chain mail.

Unlike Mjollnir, the legendary hammer of the mythical Scandinavian god Thor, the real war hammer was cruel and effective weapon. The development of the war hammer began around the mid-14th century and was a response to the development of combat protection - the emergence of plate armor. The appearance of chain mail made such weapons as the battle ax and mace relevant. But when armor began to be made from forged steel plates, which had a smooth surface against a blow from a sword, the view on crushing weapons was revised.

A means of overcoming the new armor

Advances in the field of armor have led to the improvement of weapons to combat it. The longer shaft made it possible to hold it in both hands and provided the weapon with greater destructive force and a more powerful blow. The simple metal ball and faceted maces changed to massive iron flanged knobs with projections that became increasingly pointed over time. These innovations were designed to deal devastating blows to helmets and armor. But armorers forged surface-hardened steel for armor. The result was excellent. Tempered steel was essentially as hard as the blade of a sword or axe, meaning that a single blow—perhaps the only chance of hitting a target in the heat of battle—was more likely to do no harm than to pierce it. Armor owners have gained greater survivability.

The hammer, as the main tool of manual labor, had ancient origin, but, like the axe, it quickly became the weapon of the early peasants. A large mallet, war hammer or sledgehammer - the latter made of wood or lead - began to be used on the medieval battlefield. The real war hammer first appeared in the late 14th century, as evidenced by handwritten illustrations and battle histories of the time. Discovered mass graves of those killed at the Battle of Visby in 1361 revealed many skulls with small square punctures that could only have been made by early war hammers.

Likewise, at the Battle of Rosebeek, in 1382, well-helmeted Flemish peasants were defeated by a superior French royal force and paid a heavy price. As the great French chronicler Jean Froissart noted: “So loud was the clanging of swords, axes, maces and iron hammers on those Flemish helmets that nothing could be heard except the noise.”

By the early 15th century, the iron head of the hammer was two inches square, and was attached to a 25-inch shaft, like a battle ax or mace. It was primarily a rider's utility weapon, with a leather strap tied to the base of the shaft so it could be carried in the saddle (the war hammer had a better chance of delivering a full blow with a sweeping, downward swing). Its reduced surface area is made for a more concentrated impact. The hammer could not penetrate the best armor or helmets, but could make a dent in them, allowing the person in the armor to be temporarily stunned by causing vibrations within the helmet upon impact. This was usually followed by several more quick blows, but the strong first blow was often enough to cause stunning.

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 in the rear battle ax, providing a second strike option for penetration, a quick turn to more vulnerable parts of the armor such as the neck or armpits, or even a strike against 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 received a short vertical spike that could be turned towards weak points 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.

Lucerne Hammer and Crow's Beak (Bec de Corbin)

Differences between one- and two-handed hammers led to different developments of combat units. The Lucerne hammer originated in Switzerland, whose army proved its prowess with the halberd at the Battle of Sempach in 1386 against the Austrian imperial forces. The warhead was a long and thin pike at its base, divided into three or four serrated heads. The whole thing was mounted on top of a seven-foot bound shaft. The hammer provided several smaller impact points with greater impact. Its elongated shape made it very effective at hitting horsemen.

Another variation was bec de corbin, the old French “raven's beak.” Unlike the Lucerne hammer, the bec de corbin was used primarily for beak (spike) attacks. The hammer was usually blunt instead of a multi-toothed “alfalfa”. The beak was generally denser, longer, and better suited for tearing through armor, while the point was shorter so as not to interfere with the beak's purposes.

In the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York there is a helmet believed to have belonged to Joan of Arc, with a deep dent—almost a hole through it—on the left cheek, “the work of” bec de corbin.

The bec de corbin became a common name for other types of war hammers, like the bec de faucon, or “Falcon's beak.” Another variety was called a “rider's pick,” a type of cavalry war hammer with a long, downward-curved beak, similar to a miner's pick, but thinner. It was used as a means of penetrating thick armor or chain mail, but was relatively heavy, making it unwieldy and easily avoided. Interesting weapon, developing in parallel with the bec de corbin, was the Persian and Indian war hammer, which was distinguished by a complex thick and sharp beak.

In Western Europe, the hammer continued to be a relatively popular auxiliary weapon in the 16th century, mainly for cavalry. During the same time period, the pike became the primary polearm weapon, while various forms of the warhammer - including larger varieties of the polex - were relegated to use by special guards. The increasing use of accurate and potentially armor-piercing ranged weapons from the late 15th and 16th centuries sealed the fate of armour.

By the beginning of the 17th century, in the choice between the speed and maneuverability of cavalry and heavy frontal armor, preference was given to the first option. An important reason for abandoning armor was that the likelihood of being hit by musket fire was low - even for the first rank of charging cavalry. The vast majority of standard gunpowder weapons were smoothbore, which greatly reduced accuracy. The war hammer, by that time no longer used for its original purpose, began to come back into fashion as a crushing weapon, used against armor, which in Western Europe tended to be lighter.

Polish Hussar Hammer

War Hammer Situation Eastern Europe was completely different. There, lighter armor was the norm, and the hammer became a popular utility weapon. light weapon cavalry known as hussars.

By the end of the 16th century, the hussars had become a new, more flexible heavy cavalry force, using their signature 18-foot light lance as their main striking weapon. The total weight of the hussars' armor did not exceed 30 pounds.

The early Polish hussar hammer thrown from the saddle was of German and Italian design, with a long shaft. Two varieties were named in Turkish. The coin was a combination of a hammer on one side and an ax on the other. The najak, perhaps the most popular war hammer, had hexagonal heads balanced at the other end by a long, slightly drooping beak.

The Polish “butt” eventually became popular as a cane. Polish nobles carried war hammers like civilian swords, and apparently used them as such, for defense or in duels. As a consequence, privately owned war hammers were banned as too dangerous in 1578, 1601 and 1620. Although heavy fines were imposed for wearing them, except for military personnel, their use for the protection of civilians continued into the 18th century.

Chapter 3 AXE, MACE AND HAMMER

The types of weapons that I want to introduce in this chapter can be called auxiliary weapons medieval knight. We will talk about an axe, a mace and a hammer. This weapon was worn, like a sword and a spear, as part of fully armed. Of course, there were knights who preferred this, as a rule, auxiliary weapon to the sword, but still most often an ax, mace or hammer was used in case of breakage or loss of the sword, as well as in close combat, when the sword was too long for an effective blow.

The ax has always been the main weapon of the infantry, especially among northern peoples- Anglo-Saxons, Franks and Vikings - who fought exclusively on foot. A mace is a kind of improved club; in the 15th century it was always carefully finished and given a beautiful shape. The same applies to war hammers, although we have no examples of these weapons dating back to the period before 1380. Many hammers dating from the period from 1380 to approximately 1560 have survived to this day. This is a very beautiful weapon that pleases the eye and is pleasant to hold in your hands.

Perhaps in order to better understand the significance of each of these three types of weapons, it is necessary to consider them separately, discussing the origin, development and use.

The ax - like the spear - was one of the most ancient types of weapons. The warrior took a sharp piece of flint and attached it with cords at a right angle to the end of a short handle - an axe. The piece of flint was the same size and shape as the tip of a spear. To make it, it was necessary to attach exactly the same piece of processed stone along the longitudinal axis to the end of a longer shaft. During the New Stone Age, people began to make elaborate axes, which served as models for the elegant and efficient bronze axes of the subsequent period (Fig. 75). When iron was widely recognized as the best material for making weapons, axes became larger. The bulk of the battle axes that have survived to this day date back to the period from 400 BC. e. before 400 AD e., comes from Scandinavia. It is therefore not surprising that the Vikings were so fond of axes, given how popular the ax was with their ancestors and predecessors. Celts, who inhabited most of the territory Western Europe, did not like the ax too much, preferring a long sword to it.

It is difficult to classify an ax as a weapon; it is, among other things, a working tool, and it can be used both as a weapon and as a tool. In ancient times, they were probably used this way, depending on the situation. Very few of the thousands of axes stored in our museums can be unambiguously classified as military weapons. One type of ax, however, could only be used as military weapon- It was impossible to use it for peaceful purposes. It's about about small throwing ax Franks, about Francis, from whom all this people received their name. It was light weapons- a small curved ax on a very short ax handle (Fig. 76). The ancient Franks - before the era of Charlemagne - began the battle, rushing at the enemy with frantic shouts, and, approaching him, threw their axes into his ranks and Angons. Having come into direct contact with the enemy, Frankish warriors fought with swords or axes on long axes. I have one such large ax, found in the burial of an 8th century warrior: the ax weighs two and a half pounds and looks like a very massive piece of iron. But I wanted to understand what it looks like as a whole, real ax. To do this, I mounted it on the ax of a modern tree-cutting tool. The ax immediately came to life and, although it was too heavy to be manipulated with one hand, it was surprisingly convenient and apparently effective when grasped with both hands (Fig. 77). The handles of these axes were shaped like hooks, and over the past centuries the shape of the ax has remained virtually unchanged. This graceful double bend was given to the wooden ax not for beauty, but for greater efficiency. This form of ax became necessary.

The Scandinavians - the ancestors of the Vikings - used axes very similar in shape to the Frankish ones; the only difference was the structure of the ax socket. It's almost impossible to explain this difference in words, so I won't even try. Let the illustration do it for me (Fig. 78). You see that, although this difference is very small, it still allows us to confidently distinguish a Frankish ax from a Norwegian one.

Only with the advent of the Viking Age (750-1000) did an ax with a large wide blade appear (Fig. 79). These axes appear to have been used exclusively by the Vikings. Looking at the drawing, one might imagine that these huge axes, with their beautifully rounded blades ranging from nine to thirteen inches in length, were very heavy, but this is far from the case. The blades are so finely and skillfully forged that they weigh no more than the clumsier and heavier axes we just looked at. On the contrary, it can be rotated overhead with much less force than modern ax lumberjack

Axes of this shape were used until the 13th century. Most often they were weapons of infantry, but not so rarely they were used by cavalrymen and knights. An example of the massive use of axes is the Battle of Lincoln in 1141. The English King Stephen - a very unimportant king, but a charming man and a valiant knight - was captured in a battle with his rival for the English crown, his own cousin Queen Matilda. In the winter of 1140/41, Stephen captured the city of Lincoln from Matilda's supporters; but while it was under the protection of its walls, the earls of Gloucester and Chester collected an army and marched to liberate the city. Stefan decided to give battle rather than sit in a siege. Having made a decision, he led his army into the field, placing it west of the city. The army of the counts had to overcome a ditch filled with water (this was in February) and fight with it behind them, that is, in a situation where defeat threatened to turn into an imminent disaster. Both armies fought mostly on foot, with the exception of a small force of cavalry that began the battle. Stephen and his knights dismounted to fight near the royal standard. The enemy leaders did the same.

The clash of cavalrymen at the beginning of the battle led to the complete defeat of the royal cavalry. After this, the rest of the rebel army took over the royal infantry. The Earl of Chester attacked it from the front, and the Earl of Gloucester made a flanking maneuver and hit the royal army in the flanks and rear. The royalists resisted valiantly, but their formation was soon broken. The citizens of Lincoln rushed to the city gates, and the rebels behind them.

The massacre continued on the city streets. But Stefan and his inner circle stood near the standard to the death and continued to fight when the battle, in essence, was long over. The king fought like a lion, keeping his opponents at a respectful distance from him. Then his sword broke. One of Lincoln’s soldiers, standing next to the king, handed him a large ax (Roger de Hoveden calls it a Danish axe), and with terrible blows of this weapon the king continued to drive away his enemies for some time. This is how one of his contemporaries describes this battle: “Here the strength of the king became visible, equal to strength heavenly thunder, he killed some with his huge ax and threw others to the ground. The enemies screamed again and rushed at the king - everyone was against him, and he was alone against everyone. Finally, after many blows, the king’s ax shattered into pieces, and seeing this, one of the strongest knights of the enemy, William de Cam, rushed to the king, grabbed him by the helmet and cried out in a loud voice: “Hurry here! I have captured the king!”

In a manuscript compiled in the monastery (the original word is Bury, it is not in dictionaries, although the root is naturally the same as in Canterbury) of St. Edmund between 1121 and 1148, there is an image of a warrior fighting with an ax (Fig. 80) . Perhaps this is an image of King Stephen himself.

The cavalry ax was a small, light weapon held with one hand, although some illustrations show horsemen wielding heavy, two-handed Danish axes.

During the Middle Ages, cavalry axes appeared in many different forms. It is almost always possible to tell unmistakably, as, for example, in the case of hooks, in what area these axes were made. However, over time, the ax blade became straight, displacing the curved shape (Fig. 81). Towards the end of the period under consideration, in the last decades of the 15th century and at the beginning of the 16th century, axes became small and narrow, often equipped with a hammer or a tooth on the butt (Fig. 82).

During the 14th century, a different type of ax began to appear in armies. This weapon was intended for combat on foot, but did not become an infantry weapon. On the contrary, it was a knightly modification of the infantry axe. The combat part of the weapon, often made with great skill, resembles a halberd. The end of the ax is crowned with a long, thin point, like a pike or spear. They varied greatly in form. Some had a straight blade, others had a slightly rounded blade. The hammers on the butt of the ax could be flat or slightly serrated. Sometimes six sharp teeth were placed on the combat surface of the hammer, like on the soles of cricket boots (Fig. 83). Some had a very short handle, only about four feet, but in other examples the handle reached six feet. This weapon became truly popular among the knightly class only by the middle of the 15th century; but between 1430 and 1530 it became a favorite means of foot combat. Most of these fights were fights in tournaments or duels, although in some cases they were used to resolve legal disputes. It was a continuation of the old tradition of “God's judgment.” Honor fights or judicial duels were held in small square fenced areas, reminiscent of a boxing ring. These sites were called in French Chanclo(champ-clos). The participants in the duel were usually dressed in armor, but this was not mandatory and was left to the discretion of the opponents. Many famous duels were arranged in this way.

The technique of fighting with dueling axes or hammers was simple and effective (Fig. 84). One side of the ax could be used to chop the enemy, the tooth or hammer of the butt could be used to deliver blunt blows, and the long tip could be used to stab the opponent. The weapon was held by the shaft with widely spaced hands, which made it possible to deliver strong blows, quickly manipulate the weapon and with great strength parry enemy blows. With the right, dominant hand, the ax was held by the shaft approximately eighteen inches from the axe. This leading hand was often protected by a round guard, reminiscent of a spear guard. The second hand remained unprotected, since blows were not delivered to this place of the shaft. The blows were parried in the same way as with a club or like a good old rifle during a bayonet fight. The blows were delivered, as a rule, rather slowly - in fact, each blow had to be delivered slowly and very calculatedly.

The same technique was used in the fight on halberds And bills The latter was an excellent weapon, because, despite its longer length, it was much lighter than the poll or halberd. All of the bill's devices - hooks, points and eyes - were very useful in defense and deadly in attack during combat on foot. An infantryman armed with a bill and skilled in handling it could provide worthy resistance to an armored horseman. Once, during a demonstration, I myself used a bill and was surprised at how easily it was possible, with the help of this weapon, to repel a blow with a sword, mace or ax and at the same time, with the same movement, inflict a piercing or slashing blow on the knight or, using the long protrusion on the tip, pull off enemy from the saddle.

The halberd was often used as an axe, but the halberd had one valuable feature that the battle ax lacked. If a heavily armed and armored knight received a blow to the back of the head and began to fall forward from the saddle, then parts of the body not protected by armor were exposed - the thighs and seat. In this situation, the enemy could strike at them with the long tip of a halberd. Truly it was a terrible weapon. The same thing, no doubt, could be done by bill or half.

Poll The ax or hammer appears to have been the most popular weapon. But swords and spears, or spear-like weapons consisting of a long point - up to thirty inches - mounted on a shaft about four feet long, also found use. In tournaments, the opponents' hands were protected by steel plates or discs placed on the shaft directly above the grip of the weapon, similar to the guard of a sword or spear. Sometimes on swords a simple cross-shaped guard was replaced with a solid hilt, which better protected the hand in fights. When we read in medieval manuscripts: “How a man schal be armyd at his ese when he schall fyghte on foote,” we find that his sword “schall be wel besagewed before ye hilts.” You and I have encountered similar instructions for knights before when we discussed knightly armor, and we will find even more instructions when we move on to swords in the next chapter.

In its use in combat, a hammer is very similar to an axe; The size of the warhead was quite large - usually about three inches in length with an impact surface area of ​​about two square inches. The front flat surface had teeth, and the counterbalancing rear part was a massive protrusion. The handle was approximately 2-2.5 feet long. Sometimes at the end there was some kind of handle, wrapped in wire or a strip of leather, with a small guard and a rudimentary head (Fig. 85). But this was rare - usually the handle was a simple wooden or steel rod. Polla hammers, similar in shape to those just described, but larger in size and mounted on a longer handle, were extremely popular in the second half of the 15th century, which brought them closer to pollla axes. And the technique of using both weapons in fights was the same (Fig. 86).

Mace, as is clear from its shape, was the result of an improvement on an ancient club. From the ancient times of the Stone Age, examples of carefully finished and polished stone clubs have survived to this day - more or less spherical in shape with a hole drilled in the center, although some examples of these deadly weapons were carefully processed discs. Such disc-shaped maces were the favorite weapon of the ancient Egyptians, and many examples have survived to this day. There is a huge variety of bronze maces, but in general it is never completely certain that they came to us from the Bronze Age, since bronze maces were in great use between 1200 and 1500 AD (Fig. 87). But it is quite possible that clubs made, say, in 800 BC. e., and maces cast in 1300 AD. e., will be identical in material and shape. But with all this, there are forms of maces that are specific to a certain period, and many of them were used as knightly weapons. One of these maces, found in London (Fig. 88), is typical shape, which we see on statues and in illustrations of medieval manuscripts dating from 1230 to 1350.

At the end of the 15th century, the mace turned into a beautifully designed weapon. Indeed, between 1440 and 1510, most bladed weapons acquired not only a beautiful form - the most beautiful of all their existence - but also an unsurpassed splendor of decoration. Gunsmiths and blacksmiths at that time reached the peak of their skills. Maces of this period were lightweight weapons with flanged heads; the flanges, ribbed longitudinal projections, had a sharp cutting edge, in contrast to earlier blunt examples (Fig. 89). However, this form also had a significant drawback. If a mace with blunt edges delivered a blunt blow and bounced off the armor, then a mace with sharp edges cut the armor and got stuck in it, literally twisting out of the hand of its owner. At the beginning of the 16th century, the sharp edges of the flanges were again made blunt, but the heads of the maces were richly decorated (Fig. 90). In addition, the clubs have become larger. The small, light mace with sharp flanges weighed about two and a half pounds and was in use from 1465 to 1490; before and after the flanges were blunt, and the weight reached four to six pounds.

Sometimes, especially before 1450, mace handles were made of wood, but then, after 1450, they began to be made exclusively of steel.

In illustrations of historical books and in images of knights, we often see a round mace, the ball of which is studded with long sharp spikes. Although examples of such maces do survive to this day, they, like the flail-like weapons with three balls suspended on chains, also studded with metal spikes, were infantry weapons. They were brutal weapons, but what poetic and beautiful names they had - the spherical mace was called the “morning star”, and the flail was called the “waterspout”. Our ancestors showed a kind of dark humor, calling very ungentlemanly weapons that way.

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Hello, dear readers! Today we will talk about one thing 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 publish a series of articles on this topic, but it didn’t work out. Now a beginning has been made and I think that you will definitely see a continuation of this topic. Now let's move directly to our guest today.

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

- one of the most ancient types of bladed weapons, which are of the crushing and throwing type at the same time. Man used it back in the Neolithic period, when he realized that God had endowed him with not too long arms and rather weak capabilities. The war hammer constantly accompanied man throughout the Bronze Age, and continues to accompany us today not only as a combat or ceremonial weapon, but also as a production tool.

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

A war hammer can safely be called multifunctional:

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

Design and manufacture of a war hammer

Today we can safely consider war hammer among the most popular types of bladed weapons, endowed with crushing force. Depending on the type of weapon, the shaft could be short or long (from 100 cm). The thickness also varied. It was made of wood or metal. The high strength of the shaft made it possible to use it both for combat operations and for protection against enemy attacks. At the same time, it can be considered a rather vulnerable part of the hammer, unlike the .

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

War hammer - replica

Nowadays, making such a weapon is not difficult. To do this, you only need wood and a solid piece of metal or stone, as well as the ingenuity of a craftsman and carpentry tools. In due time war hammer dubbed the “bird” weapon due to its appearance striker. When making it, you should adhere to exactly this appearance, i.e. on one side, sharpen the striker like a bird’s beak.

Classification and types of war hammers

If we talk about existing and existing classifications of war hammers, then they can be conditionally divided into two categories.

These are products for:

• melee,
• throwing weapon.

Every people inhabiting the earth has war hammer was presented in one form or another. This was especially popular bladed weapon, to one degree or another resembling a crow's beak, in the late era.

Among the representatives of war hammers are:

• a sample presented in New Caldonia, which was essentially endowed with a point;

• weapon aborigines of australia, made in the form of a stone blade connected to a wooden handle using hot resin;

• Italian war hammer 15th and 16th centuries with a wooden handle, a square striker, an 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 secured 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 shaft half clad in iron;

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

• protective Japanese Kusarigama- kama yari core, 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 hammer of the Hindus and Persians with gold notching and velvet-covered handles;

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

Hammer in symbolism

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

Either way, as a weapon it truly represented brute force. For many peoples, the hammer was recognized as a symbol of evil. Myths connect it with thunder, but even here the symbolism was manifested in two ways: thunder is one of the signs of an approaching thunderstorm, and, therefore, a symbol of fertility.

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

God Thor from Germanic-Scandinavian mythology used a stone hammer known as Mjollnir, both as a productive instrument and as destructive weapons. In Japan, the hammer was a tool of the god of prosperity and became a symbol of wealth and successful gold mining.

The hammer, as a bladed weapon in Rus', has been used in all centuries. The ambivalent attitude towards him has survived to this day. The Soviet symbolism of creation, which included the hammer and sickle, is known to everyone - here's the hammer.

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

So this one is like this war hammer, not simple as it seems at first glance. This bladed weapon has a lot of varieties, which we will definitely talk about more than once in the following articles. Therefore, do not forget to join our