myArmoury.com - The halberd and other European polearms

Posts: 936 Location: WV

Fri 24 Mar, 2006 9:11 pm

The halberd and other European polearms

The halberd and other European polearms, 1300-1650 (Historical arms series) by George A Snook
# Unknown Binding: 32 pages
# Publisher: Museum Restoration Service (1998)
# Language: English
# ISBN: 0919316387

does anyone have this book? is it worth getting? any details of what the 64 pictures are of? or are they all of pole arms in other books?

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Danny Grigg

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Posts: 337

Fri 24 Mar, 2006 9:54 pm

I have it and personally it is well worth the price of admission, even if it is a rather short book.

Check this out:

http://virtuatheque.free.fr/The%20Halberd%20a...learms.pdf

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Steve Grisetti

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Posts: 1,812 Location: Washington DC metro area, USA

Sat 25 Mar, 2006 3:43 am

Whoa. :cool: Thanks for the link to the book pdf, Danny! It looks like a great primer on polearms.

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Eric Nower

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Posts: 174 Location: Upstate NY

Sat 25 Mar, 2006 7:25 am

Thats Nice! Steves right it looks like a great intoduction to a vast subject.

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Danny Grigg

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Posts: 337

Sat 25 Mar, 2006 9:12 pm

I happened upon the link while searching for more infomation and pictures of the Kriegsgertel, which is shown in the link.

I actually have the printed book, not the pdf, however from what I can tell the pdf is the entire book.

Does anyone have any information or pics to share of the German Kriegsgertel?

Thanks

Danny

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Wolfgang Armbruster

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Posts: 322

Sun 26 Mar, 2006 6:14 am

Danny Grigg wrote:

I happened upon the link while searching for more infomation and pictures of the Kriegsgertel, which is shown in the link.

I actually have the printed book, not the pdf, however from what I can tell the pdf is the entire book.

Does anyone have any information or pics to share of the German Kriegsgertel?

Thanks

Danny

Kriegsgertel means War-Gertel. I can't think of a correct translation of "Gertel", but it was (and still is) a Gardening tool used for cutting branches. It's still being produced in Germany and Switzerland in different sizes. While Gertel is the name used for the Swiss-version (which is slightly bigger), the Germans call it a "Hippe". There is also a Kriegshippe.
The main difference between the war-version and the gardening tool is simply that the War-Gertel is mounted on a long pole.
Hope this helps a bit.

Interestingly the english link for the Gertel at wikipedia is the Billhook: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billhook

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David Black Mastro

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Posts: 279 Location: Central NJ

Mon 27 Mar, 2006 7:37 am

Wolfgang Armbruster wrote:

Danny Grigg wrote:

I happened upon the link while searching for more infomation and pictures of the Kriegsgertel, which is shown in the link.

I actually have the printed book, not the pdf, however from what I can tell the pdf is the entire book.

Does anyone have any information or pics to share of the German Kriegsgertel?

Thanks

Danny

Kriegsgertel means War-Gertel. I can't think of a correct translation of "Gertel", but it was (and still is) a Gardening tool used for cutting branches. It's still being produced in Germany and Switzerland in different sizes. While Gertel is the name used for the Swiss-version (which is slightly bigger), the Germans call it a "Hippe". There is also a Kriegshippe.
The main difference between the war-version and the gardening tool is simply that the War-Gertel is mounted on a long pole.
Hope this helps a bit.

Interestingly the english link for the Gertel at wikipedia is the Billhook: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billhook

Since a bill is a "gardening tool used for cutting branches", would it not be logical to postulate that gertel translates as "bill"?

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Matthew D M

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Posts: 63 Location: SouthEast Texas

Mon 27 Mar, 2006 7:49 am

Nice! Printed it out for later reference.

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Wolfgang Armbruster

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Posts: 322

Mon 27 Mar, 2006 8:44 am

David Black Mastro wrote:

Wolfgang Armbruster wrote:

Danny Grigg wrote:

I happened upon the link while searching for more infomation and pictures of the Kriegsgertel, which is shown in the link.

I actually have the printed book, not the pdf, however from what I can tell the pdf is the entire book.

Does anyone have any information or pics to share of the German Kriegsgertel?

Thanks

Danny

Kriegsgertel means War-Gertel. I can't think of a correct translation of "Gertel", but it was (and still is) a Gardening tool used for cutting branches. It's still being produced in Germany and Switzerland in different sizes. While Gertel is the name used for the Swiss-version (which is slightly bigger), the Germans call it a "Hippe". There is also a Kriegshippe.
The main difference between the war-version and the gardening tool is simply that the War-Gertel is mounted on a long pole.
Hope this helps a bit.

Interestingly the english link for the Gertel at wikipedia is the Billhook: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billhook

Since a bill is a "gardening tool used for cutting branches", would it not be logical to postulate that gertel translates as "bill"?

You're right. Sounds like the most logical translation :)
Some more info: The Kriegs-Hippe and Gertel were both used during the Bauernkriege (peasant-wars) in the early 16th century. People back then also turned flails and siccles into arms by mounting them on a pole. However, these weapons proved to be not very useful against mercenaries in armour with Pikes and Halberds.
Wikipedia, usually not my preferred tool of research, has a surprisingly well-written article on the topic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peasants%27_War

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Danny Grigg

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Posts: 337

Tue 28 Mar, 2006 1:31 am

Thanks for the information

So what's the different between the Kriegsgertel, Kriegssense, Kriegshippe and Kriegssichel?

Were they all peasant weapons invented during the Bauernkriege?

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Wolfgang Armbruster

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Posts: 322

Tue 28 Mar, 2006 3:38 am

Danny Grigg wrote:

Thanks for the information

So what's the different between the Kriegsgertel, Kriegssense, Kriegshippe and Kriegssichel?

Were they all peasant weapons invented during the Bauernkriege?

All I know is that these weapons were used during the Bauernkriege. Turning farming-tools into weapons is the next logical step for someone who doesn't have a lot of money at his disposal, so I wouldn't be surprised if people had done the same thing before the peasant wars.
But it's true that these weapons were used predominantly during the Bauernkriege.

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