Halberd or partizana?

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Yvain

To me, it kind of looks like an "épieu", or "spear" in english, with its leaf blade, strong midrib, and lugs; not an halberd or a partisan in my opinion though. Epieux were mostly used to hunt but some saw use in combat (as described in Froissart' Chronicles for example). The faceted socket reminds me of some specimens from the XVth century, but it could of course be much later.

Mario Troso, in Le Armi in Asta delle Fanterie Europee 1000-1500 (Pole arms of European infantry) provides a very good classification of such weapons. On page 105 he illustrates several examples, all of which are characterized by dual lateral projections or lugs between the socket and blade, these can be either pointed or with squared ends.

Names for this type of weapon include Spiedo da guerra, Knebelspiese, winged spear, or épieu de guerre.

There are further examples on p 106, two are large examples with perforated triangular wings or lugs., George C Stone, in his Glossary... of Arms and Armor pp 122-23, identifies this type as a "Bohemian ear spoon" It is interesting that the entry for this item follows that for "Boar spear" -- one example of that group, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has a pair of fixed lugs on the socket as well, which establishes a conceptual link between weapons designed for sport as well as war.