Spear?

[Raf]

If its old , which it appears to be and looks like a boar spear then that’s probably what it is . The defining characteristics of a boar spear are the wide side bars , as opposed to the lugged spear as in the example illustrated above . A style which goes back to the early medieval period and beyond. The side bars are absolutely necessary to stop the injured boar impaling itself on the spear and savaging its attacker. They must have been an essential hunting tool and although decorative examples do exist the majority were probably simple blacksmith made with no more attention lavished on them than any other agricultural implement . As such I would have thought this is a rare survival that deserves to be celebrated.

Like billhooks they had potential as an extemporised weapon.

From Paulus Hector Mair 1517 – 1579) . German aristocrat, civil servant, and fencer. The boar spear:versus the halberd.

'take his thrust away with your blade on your left side. In that moment, follow in after with your left leg and stab him in his nuts.'

Halberd owners beware
.

[Jim McDougall]

As this is clearly a very old piece and is simply made as would be done by a blacksmith, and in the manner known to have been used in boar hunting spears, it would seem that by Occams principle..it must be a boar spear head.As this is a discussion sharing opinions, all we can do is speculate, and present our cases accordingly.

It is well known that often tools (implements) could become weapons, just as often weapons became tools (using swords for utility). Hunting swords were essentially hangers and used for both.

It is well noted that the lugs on the naval boarding pike I posted are narrow, however the blade seems to have remarkable similarity. Here I would note that pikes did not always have such lugs or crossbars, often simply with blade alone. However, looking into other contemporary polearms, the spontoon typically seemed to have this kind of crossbar, though often in decorative shapes.
Perhaps the cross bar equipped spontoon might have been used in boar hunting?

According to the late Howard Blackmore ("Hunting Weapons",1971) in describing the tucks (thrusting swords) used in hunting boar, sometimes had the crossbar or some type of device to limit penetration (sometimes a disc on the blade) but not invariably. The purpose noted for protecting the hunter seems of course to have become more thoroughly present through the years.

Returning to the potential for this being perhaps an ersatz weapon, for the 'cause' in Revolutionary War times, George Neumann (op.cit.) notes on p.193:
"...when the American Revolution began, the colonies were unable to arm all of their forces with firearms. As a supplementary interim weapon they resorted to the 17th c. pike. The heads were easily forged by local blacksmiths and mounted on poles averaging 12-16 ft. in length".

Further, "...apparently the same crude heads used on land were employed by American naval vessels for boarding spears. The shafts were generally shorter than the land pike (about 5-7 ft.) and omitted the iron butt cone which cut into the wood decks".

It is worth noting that in the American Revolution, much as the circumstances in the Spanish colonies, firearms were much more an issue than typically described in the literature. In the Spanish colonies, especially in the northern frontiers far from regular supply entrepots, guns were not especially reliable and poorly serviced. To make matters worse, the even bigger issue was powder, almost invariably of poor quality and lack of availability. This led to the lance becoming the most commonly used weapon.
This was not just in warfare, but hunting.

In the American Revolution, contrary to popular belief, the flintlock long gun on every mantle was not a standard, and fewer colonists had or knew how to use guns than realized ("Arming America", Michael Bellisles, 2000). Again, the even bigger problem was the lack of ammunition and powder.

While these kinds of crudely made weapons are not commonly found in collecting, as most were simply discarded through the years, and did not have the obvious appeal of edged weapons or guns, they remain most interesting relics when found.

Shown is a British spontoon, detail listed on these notes that the crossbar is intended to prevent penetration into enemy from going too deep, thus preventing withdrawal of the weapon and effectively disarming the user.

[Raf]

It occurred to me that the blade shape of Aspalathos spear might be generically related to to the blades of boar hunting swords. Good for poking the pig on horseback but maybe not so good for wrestling it on the ground.

[M ELEY]

My point exactly, Jim. Many of the spontoons of the era had a crosspiece as well and some of the more privative-style types resemble the piece being discussed. I'm not counting out that it could be a boar spear head, but there's room for other possibilities. Great picture of a British spontoon, BTW!

[Raf]

So when Lyon and Turnbull described these as German or Bohemian boar spears they got it wrong ?

[Norman McCormick]

Originally Posted by Raf

So when Lyon and Turnbull described these as German or Bohemian boar spears they got it wrong ?

Hi,
It would seem so.
Regards,
Norman.

https://collections.royalarmouries.o...ect-25511.html

https://collections.royalarmouries.o...ect-33633.html

https://collections.royalarmouries.o...ect-28532.html

[Raf]

Agreed. My point was to show that spontoons , genuine or copies sometimes get mis described as boar spears.

[Akanthus]

Originally Posted by Raf

If its old , which it appears to be and looks like a boar spear then that’s probably what it is . The defining characteristics of a boar spear are the wide side bars , as opposed to the lugged spear as in the example illustrated above . A style which goes back to the early medieval period and beyond. The side bars are absolutely necessary to stop the injured boar impaling itself on the spear and savaging its attacker. They must have been an essential hunting tool and although decorative examples do exist the majority were probably simple blacksmith made with no more attention lavished on them than any other agricultural implement . As such I would have thought this is a rare survival that deserves to be celebrated.

Like billhooks they had potential as an extemporised weapon.

From Paulus Hector Mair 1517 – 1579) . German aristocrat, civil servant, and fencer. The boar spear:versus the halberd.

'take his thrust away with your blade on your left side. In that moment, follow in after with your left leg and stab him in his nuts.'

Halberd owners beware
.

Yes Raff you are right.The cross bars have to prevent penetrating the blade too deep in the animals body,so that the hunter could not draw back the boar spear.If you look at the classic spears, the cross bars are never part of the blades.They are connected to the socket of the blade or to the shaft by leather strips or later they were srewed to the socket.Often you can find holes in this area ,because the bars got lost.The bars have to be flexible,because you have to move the spear to enlarge the wound,so that the lounges collapse and the animal dies quickly.Bars,connected to the blade would inhibit the mobility of the spear and would be counterproductive.The blade doesn't have to be very long.20 to 30 cm are sufficient.

[Raf]

Their are illustrations that look as if the blade and cross bar are one piece. Not sure how old , or genuine the second example is.

[Akanthus]

Originally Posted by Raf

Their are illustrations that look as if the blade and cross bar are one piece. Not sure how old , or genuine the second example is.

Perhaps the forms i saw in the collections and i refer to ,developed from the early forms you showed in the book illustration ( Late 15.th Century ? ) With the weapon on picture 2 i would not like to struggle with an angry wildboar……

[Akanthus]

Originally Posted by Akanthus

Yes Raff you are right.The cross bars have to prevent penetrating the blade too deep in the animals body,so that the hunter could not draw back the boar spear.If you look at the classic spears, the cross bars are never part of the blades.They are connected to the socket of the blade or to the shaft by leather strips or later they were srewed to the socket.Often you can find holes in this area ,because the bars got lost.The bars have to be flexible,because you have to move the spear to enlarge the wound,so that the lounges collapse and the animal dies quickly.Bars,connected to the blade would inhibit the mobility of the spear and would be counterproductive.The blade doesn't have to be very long.20 to 30 cm are sufficient.

Pics.:
- Vor und nach der Jägerprüfung, Krebs,2004
-Katalog Deutsches Jagd und Fischereimuseum ,München,1966
- Blankwaffen im Museum Jagdschloss Kranichstein,Westphal,2010