Swordstaff
A swordstaff (Old Danish: sværdstaf), or staffsword (Old Danish: stavsværd, Old Swedish: stafsværdh,[a] Middle Low German: stafswert), is a Medieval polearm mentioned in Scandinavian sources. It is a figurative term, referencing a spear, or similar, utilizing with a sword- or dagger-esque blade and crossguard.[1][2]
Evidence
[edit]Period description
[edit]Evidence of the weapon in use at the battle of Elfsborg (Alvesborg) in 1502 is provided by Paul Dolnstein,[3] a landsknecht mercenary who fought in the battle, who refers to the Swedes carrying "good pikes made from swords". He also provides sketches of the weapon.[4]
Period Swedish texts mention swordstaffs separately along with other polearms, such as halberds, poleaxes, partisans, spears, and thereof.[2] A period text uses the term brander (compare Old Norse: brandr), an older term for swordblade, to drescribe the blades of swordstaffs:
Jagh haffuer tinget vj (6) ny brande till staffswerdh, och jag haffuer ingen penning ath betala them med, eren i wiid penninge, gören wel och sender hiid nogre, her staar ey peningha til fongx paa pant.
I have negotiated VI (6) new blades for swordstaffs, and i have no money to pay for them, (yours in with money?), do well and send here some, here stand no money to catch for pawn.
Other languages
[edit]Various other languages have analog terms which might have referred to similar or the same type of weapon.
- Middle Dutch: stafswert – dagger[1]
- Middle Low German: stafswert – swordstaff,[2] hunting spear, dagger[1]
- Old English: stæfsweord – sword cane[1]
- Middle English: staffsword – sword cane[1]
- Old High German: stapaswert – throwing spear[1]
- Middle High German: stapswert – dagger, sword cane[1]
- Old Norse: hǫggspjót – hewing spear
In Variarum rerum vocabula cum sueca interpretatione (1538), Sweden's oldest dictionary, Latin: venabulum, a type of hunting spear, is translated as both "swine skewer" (swijn spett), and "swordstaff" (staff swärdh).[1]
In Russia, a similar weapon, called rogátina (Russian: рога́тина), a heavy daggerbladed spear for hand-to-hand combat and hunting large animals (compare sovnya), featured in later forms a full crossguad and sword length blade.[5]
Origins
[edit]The weapon has visual similarities to the partisan and langue de boeuf and may share common origins. However, Scandinavian sagas make references to a number of pole weapons, usually translated as "halberd" or "bill".[6] These weapons are used to cut and to stab but their names suggest they were derived from the spear rather than a cutting weapon, such as the hewing spear (höggspjót) and the atgeir.[7] While clearly identifiable artistic or archaeological evidence of the form of these weapons is lacking, it is possible that the swordstaff may be a late derivative of this family of weapons.
Chinese swordstaff
[edit]Chinese polearms that resembled swordstaves were also commonly used in ancient China from the late Warring States/Qin dynasty to the Han dynasty era. These were known as the pi (鈹), translated into English as either "sword-staff" or "long lance", and a long bladed ranseur-like swordstaff weapon called the sha (鎩) with a blade that was around 62 cm (24 in) long (up to 80 cm (31 in) long) and a hilt that was about 19 cm (7.5 in) long.[citation needed]
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Chinese swordstaff called a pi (鈹), Han dynasty -
Han dynasty Sha 铩 with bat shaped guard and scabbard -
Closeup of a modern recreation of the sha with a bat shaped guard -
Han dynasty sha (swordstaff), modern recreation of the classic version of the swordstaff "sha" from the Han dynasty era
See also
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Also spelled: staffswærdh, staffswerdh
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h "stavsvärd". saob.se. Swedish Academy. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ^ a b c "stafsvärdh". runeberg.org. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ^ Hodnet, Andrew Arthur (2018). The Othering of the Landsknechte (PDF) (MA thesis). North Carolina State University.
- ^ Richards, John (2002). Landsknecht Soldier 1486–1560. Warrior, No. 49. Osprey. pp. 51–52.: media:dolstein 2.gif
- ^ "рога́тина". blindcat.ru. Retrieved 2025-06-08.
- ^ Orkisz, Jan (2016). "Pole-weapons in the Sagas of Icelanders: a comparison of literary and archaeological sources". Acta Periodica Duellatorum. 4 (1): 177–212. doi:10.1515/apd-2016-0006. ISSN 2064-0404.
- ^ "Viking Age Arms and Armor: Other Viking Weapons". Hurstwic. Archived from the original on 2012-02-13.
External links
[edit]
- Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon – Schwertstab (in German)
- "Senmedeltida stångvapen i svenska källor" (Late medieval polearms in Swedish sources)