Polearms are great and still somewhat underrated (although that has gotten a lot better in recent years). The poleaxe (or pollaxe) and halberd are particularly iconic for the Middle Ages and Renaissance. But what even are they? How do you distinguish them from each other and from various battle axes? Let's take a look at the practical use, background, definition, and how they're made. Also the polehammer / Lucerne hammer... which is an "axe" according to people back in the day. ;) *** Sources *** French pollaxes from 15th century Italian pollaxe, ca. 1475 Halberds Medieval imagery Jeu de la Hache 077 - VXT 2018 Hache de Pas - Combat 16 *** Time Stamps *** 00:00 - 00:48 Introduction 00:48 - 01:30 Length difference 01:30 - 03:46 Poleaxe grip & techniques 03:46 - 04:48 Halberd usage & reach 04:48 - 07:09 Development / purpose / armor 07:09 - 11:53 Terminology & definition 11:53 - 13:00 Earliest halberds / What's a Voulge? 13:00 - 13:34 Time span 13:34 - 14:20 Construction 14:20 - 15:29 Final thoughts / rating / outro *** Music *** Intro song: "Illuminate" by Vindsvept Used with artist's permission Outtakes: "Little People At Work" by Horrorpen Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license (CC BY 3.0) Outro: "Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records Used with artist's permission *** Support the channel *** Help fund future videos, get bonus content and access to an exclusive Discord server Other ways to support the channel by shopping through affiliate links: Kult of Athena, my favorite online store for reproductions of historical arms and armor, fantasy swords, etc: Where to get HEMA gear and practice swords: Want to treat your face fluff? I highly recommend the balms and oils from Beard Sorcery: *** Social media & merch *** How to contact me (can't always reply, as I get too many messages): See a list of my video uploads: Channel-related shirts and other merch: #history #weapon #polearm