A war hammer, French: martel-de-fer, "iron hammer" is a weapon that was used by both infantry and cavalry. It is a very old weapon and gave — through its frequent use — its name to Judas Maccabeus, a Jewish rebel from the 2nd century BC, and to Charles Martel, one of France's rulers.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, war hammers were often elaborately decorated and looked beautiful. There are different types of war hammers, and in this blog we'll describe some of them.
The war hammer was popular in the late Middle Ages. When armours became increasingly advanced and swords and axes could no longer penetrate the openings in the armour effectively. That's why the hammer came into vogue. A hammer could cause significant damage through its heavy blow without needing to penetrate the armour.
A war hammer consists of a shaft and a head. The length of the shaft varies: the longest were about as long as a halberd (approximately 1.5 to 1.8 meters), the shortest about as long as a mace (approximately 60 to 90 centimeters). Long war hammers were pole weapons for infantry; short hammers were mainly used by cavalry.
War hammers, especially when mounted on a long shaft, could sometimes break their blow through a helmet and cause concussions. Later models often had a sharp tip on one side of the head, making them more versatile. The rear point could be used to hook someone's armour, reins or shield.
Usually, one first used the flat side of the hammer to knock down and stun an opponent. Once the opponent was on the ground, you'd flip the hammer and strike with the point to smash a hole in the helmet and fatally wound the opponent.
A powerful strike with a hammer (especially with the point) could exert enormous pressure — comparable to the striking force of a rifle bullet.
Full-fledged war hammers emerged in the mid-14th century in response to increasing use and effectiveness of plate armour on the European battlefield.
Around 1395, French infantry introduced advanced war hammers with points, side flanges and a simple "beak". These initially single-handed hammers later developed into longer two-handed hammers.
They became common on the battlefield and also frequently appeared in duels, especially between armed knights in tournaments or legal duels. In duels, war hammers were sometimes seen as a kind of halberd or axe, and in manuals from that time they were often called "axes" or similar names.
Duel versions often had a round shield to protect the front hand and a point at the back for more options. Some also had hooks at the back to catch and block opponents or their weapons.
While older war hammers had flat heads, a trend emerged in the 15th century to divide the head into three or four diamond-shaped points. This prevented slipping on armour and concentrated the blow on a smaller surface area. Sometimes the owner's monogram was even inscribed on the hammer, so that victims could be identified on the battlefield.
The Maul
A maul is a long war hammer with a heavy head, made of wood, lead, iron or steel. It sometimes has a spear-like point at the front of the shaft. The use of the maul as a weapon appears to have occurred from the late 14th century onwards. During the uprising in Paris in 1382, the rebels seized 3000 mauls from the city's armory; this gave the rebels the nickname Maillotins.
Later that year, the chronicler Froissart mentioned mauls at the Battle of Roosebeke, showing that it wasn't just a weapon of the poor.
A special application of the maul took place among archers in the 15th and 16th centuries. At the Battle of Agincourt, English archers allegedly used lead mauls, first as a tool to drive stakes into the ground and later as improvised weapons.
Their use is also mentioned in other sources from that time. In England, such weapons were even still used by Tudor archers until around 1562.
From the 15th century onwards, shorter war hammers were increasingly used by cavalry. At first, nobles looked down on the weapon because it came from lower circles, but later they embraced it for its practical value.
Cavalry commanders sometimes carried war hammers as weapons and as a sign of their rank; these were called "Rottmeister-hammers" or "packmaster hammers".
In landsknecht armies and in parts of Central Europe, hammers also became status symbols for lower nobility, almost equal to the sabre. According to some sources, a nobleman wouldn't leave his house without his sabre and war hammer; it could also serve as a walking stick.
Late Central European hammers fall into three types: the czekan (a hammer with a flattened square or hexagonal side and an axe blade on the back), the nadziak (classic war hammer with a flattened side and a beak on the back) and the ogbur (like the nadziak, but with an S-shaped or strongly curved beak).
These hammers usually had hardwood shafts and no point at the front.
Although the war hammer went out of fashion in many parts of Europe, it remained popular in Poland and Hungary until the first half of the 18th century.
The bec de corbin
Poleaxe or war hammer A bec de corbin is a type of two-handed war hammer or pole weapon. Initially it was a typical weapon of the infantry, but in the 15th century it was increasingly used by the aristocracy.
The bec de corbin closely resembles the Swiss Lucerne hammer, which is a poleaxe. It has a modified hammer head and a point on a long shaft.
Unlike the Lucerne hammer, the bec de corbin primarily used the "beak" for attacking rather than the hammer side.
The hammer side that gave balance to the beak was often blunt instead of multi-pronged, and the beak itself was sturdier — better suited to penetrating plate and mail armour.
However, some becs-de-corbin also had a multi-pronged hammer head. The point on top of the head was usually shorter and thicker than that of the Lucerne hammer. The term bec de corbin is sometimes also used generally in sources for different types of war hammers, such as mauls and horseman's picks.
The Horseman's Pick
The horseman's pick is the most well-known type of war hammer. It emerged in the 15th century as the cavalry hammer (also called fist or parrot hammer, French: marteau d'armes de cavalier, English: horseman's hammer or horseman's pick).
This weapon found broad application especially in Italy, France and Germany.
The horseman's pick probably originated in the Middle East and was used by cavalry in both Europe and West Asia during the Middle Ages.
The weapon resembled a war hammer but had a long, often slightly downward-curved point at the back of the head, similar to a miner's pick. A metal variant, the nadziak, was an important weapon of the famous Polish winged hussars.
The horseman's pick was also developed and used in England, including during the Hundred Years' War, where it was effectively used to pull enemy knights from their horses.
The weapon had a major advantage: it could pierce thick plate or mail armour, something a sword often couldn't do. Yet it had clear disadvantages. The horseman's pick was heavy and awkward, making it relatively easy to avoid. Moreover, it usually caused only small wounds that weren't always immediately fatal.
If struck too hard, the point could even get stuck in the opponent's armour or body, making the weapon difficult to retrieve.
It proved extremely effective against armour: a single blow could crack open a helmet or breastplate, knock an opponent unconscious from the force of the blow, or damage the armour so badly that the wearer could barely move or breathe.
In the cuirassier regiments of Emperor Maximilian II (Holy Roman Empire), officers carried cavalry hammers with extra-long points. These served both as weapons and as a sign of rank.
Towards the end of the 15th century, it became fashionable to decorate the striking surfaces of the hammer with diamond-shaped points, figures or monograms.
Although this barely improved striking power, the decoration remained popular. According to weapons expert Wendelin Boeheim, it was even more about ostentation, so that one could recognize "the hand of the hero" by the victims he had felled.
With the rise of firearms, the cavalry hammer quickly lost importance. In the transition period, short shooting mechanisms were sometimes mounted on the hammer, but eventually these experiments disappeared once firearms became standard.
Only in Hungary did the weapon remain in use for some time longer, for example as a travel weapon or even as a walking stick. From the 17th century onwards, the cavalry hammer was definitively superseded by the bayonet.
Internal links
- Poleaxe & Lucerne Hammer: Medieval Weapons
- The Morning Star: Medieval Weapon with Points and Power
- The Mace: From Prehistoric Weapon to Ceremonial Symbol
- Gambeson: Medieval Padded Armour and Protection
