Austrian halberd

[Victrix]

Originally Posted by fernando

Also my halberd, said to have been forged by Pankraz Thaller, has the three holes set. The smith's mark is a bit blurred, but Dittrich Reinhart from Landeszeughaus Graz museum came to such conclusion. No Saint Andrew's cross, though.
Why do say your example is not munitions grade ? Are the edges not sharp ?


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Maybe it is fairly munitions grade. It’s sharpened. I just thought the design is fairly elaborate so thought it might be used mainly for guard duty. But the more ceremonial examples can be more or less fully covered with gilt etchings which this clearly is not. It’s also quite large in terms of size. I understand the St.Andrews cross is also sometimes called a saltire, in the world of heraldics at least.

[fernando]

Yes, looks like this cross already existed as an heraldic symbol, before it has been connoted with Saint Andrew's episode. It is said that this Apostle, assuming not to be worthy of being crucified in the same way as Jesus, requested a different cross to be used, the so called Crux decussata, one being then named after him. Until up to the XVIII century a cross of such form was used for torture and lethal purposes. In 1759 a mass execution took place in Portugal, in order to extinguish two powerful noble families, accused of regicid attempt. Among the various means used to torture and kill the accused, this cross (we call it 'aspa') was used to bind the senior Duke, in order to smash his bones until he died.
Whether this cross, when decorated in halberds, represents an heraldic or a sacrifice symbol ... go figure.


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[Victrix]

In this context I’m pretty sure it’s used in an heraldic manner in order to link it with a certain territory.

The cross of Burgundy was adopted by Imperial Habsburg Spain as the symbol on their flag. Then the Habsburg empire was split between the Spanish Western part including overseas colonies and the Eastern Austrian part by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in the 1550s. So the cross on the halberd is probably a symbol of the Habsburg Empire at the time.

The cross of Burgundy flag is still flown in some parts of the former Spanish Empire today.

[fernando]

Noted ...Thanks .



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