Weapons & Warriors: The Cutlass of the Europeans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

The most famous sword used by pirates in the 1600’s and 1700’s is often rumored to have been invented by pirates, but my research turns that out to be an unproven legend. The Cutlass has been a common tool for sailors for centuries. Its blade is strong enough to cut heavy ropes and canvas, and small enough to be used in close quarters combat. The blade was short enough to easily avoid getting entangled in various riggings found on a sailing vessel while fighting off a boarding party, or boarding another vessel.

The blade is broad, flat, curved, and about 2 feet in length (approximately 0.61 meters). Only the outside of the curved blade is sharpened, and the handle is usually protected by a hand guard of some kind, either a cup shaped piece of elaborately designed metal, or a simple loop. This gives the Cutlass an additional technique with the backhand or jab using the pommel or guard to strike an opponent that is too close to slash with the blade. The hand guard is also useful in protecting the sailor from losing fingers when a blade strikes the handle.

Weapons & Warriors: The Horseman's Pick of the Europeans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

The cavalry of Europe had a variety of weapons in their arsenal. One of the craziest and yet effective against the heavy plated knights was the Horseman’s Pick. The design evolved from a version of the war hammer. The balance for the head was sharpened and stretched to create a long spike that was sometimes curved.

All of the weight of the Horseman’s Pick was concentrated in the head of the weapon. The thin light wooden or steal shaft allowed the wielder to swing the weapon and let the momentum of the spiked head do its damage. This was an easy weapon to generate a lot of force with, but the weight of the weapon required the warrior to pull back before a swing. Any Knight that could see the Horseman pull back would have a couple seconds to prepare for the attack, making it a slow and difficult to hit with weapon.

Weapons & Warriors: The Halberd of the Europeans

The Halberd, also known as the Swiss Voulge, was a very popular weapon among the Swiss soldiers during the 1300’s and 1400’s. It was not as long as many of the other polearms, but was still a capable weapon against charging cavalry. The halberd is a combination of staff and axe, and unlike a lot of the longer polearms, it was very useful in melee combat against most any weapon. 

Art by TL Jeffcoat

The warriors who trained with halberds were called Halberdiers. Unlike pikes and spears, which are best used thrusting or planting against charging enemies, the Halberd could be held like a staff, or even similar to a daneaxe except with less power and more finesse. The axe blade and spike gave it an extra “edge” in fighting against swords and morning stars. The longer reach of a halberd could often deter an untrained opponent. 

Weapons & Warriors: The Corseque of the Europeans

Art by TL Jeffcoat

At first glance, some would think the Corseque was an over-sized fancy spear. It is actually a member of the polearm family. It was very popular in Europe during the 1500’s and 1600’s. There were many kinds of polearms, especially in Europe. Some had small axe blades or spikes, some were topped with a single spear head, and some were shorter and had multiple blades and spikes. The Corseque was around 4.5 to 7.5 feet (or 1.5 to 2.5 meters) and topped with three blades at the tip, but not like a trident. The center blade was long and flat with two slightly thicker but shorter blades flanking either side. All three blades were made as one complete steel piece with a hollow interior at the base so that a long wooden shaft could be wedged in.

Polearms were most often used by infantry to keep warriors on horseback away from them in battle. The reach of most polearms was enough to strike down a horse or the rider before they could get in reach with hoof or sword. The Corseque had two different styles of blades. The center blade had the typical purpose, to puncture anything that charges the warrior holding it. The blade was long enough to completely penetrate the human body or the neck of a horse and strong enough to puncture a breastplate with enough momentum. 

Weapons & Warriors: The Morning Star of the Europeans

Art by Steven DeVon Jones

Many people have always confused the Morning Star with a mace or flail. Even I used to do it when I was first learning about bludgeoning weapons while playing Dungeons & Dragons as a kid. I knew a mace had a metal shaft with a balled end for crushing things, and I knew the flail had chains. When I ran across the morning star, I was lost. Over the years I’ve stumbled across various people calling a mace a morning star, and sometimes a flail.

In truth, the Morning Star is not the same thing. It isn’t anything like a flail because the Morning Star does not have any chains. It is more closely related to the mace in shape, but that’s where the similarities end. Instead of nubs or angles around the balled end, the Morning Star has a large spike protruding from the top and the ball is covered in smaller spikes or sharpened edges.

There is no uniform version of a Morning Star because it is simply a club-like bludgeoning tool with spikes. They vary in size, from small easily held in one hand types to long heavy two handed shafts with a massive spiked head. While the mace evolved into a steel shaft with a rounded head, the Morning Star retained its wooden shaft. The spikes could be made from virtually anything, but in Europe it was generally steel or iron.