Editing Poleaxe (section)

== The construction of the poleaxe ==
[[File:Godfrey of Bouillon, holding a pollaxe. (Manta Castle, Cuneo, Italy).jpg|thumb|[[Godfrey of Bouillon]] holds a short [[Lucerne hammer]]. Anachronistic fresco dated 1420.]]
[[File:Alytus County COA.png|thumb|Warrior holding a poleaxe in the coat of arms of [[Alytus County]], [[Lithuania]]]]
The poleaxe design arose from the need to breach the plate [[armour]] of [[man-at-arms|men at arms]] during the 14th and 15th centuries. Generally, the form consisted of a wooden [[wikt:haft|haft]] some {{convert|1.5|-|2|m|ft|abbr=on}} long, mounted with a steel head. It seems most schools of combat suggested a haft length comparable to the height of the wielder, but in some cases hafts appear to have been created up to {{convert|2.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length.
[[File:Cod.1324 24r.jpg|alt=Illustration of two men in armor fighting with poleaxes and taunting one another (in french).|thumb|''"'''Guards of the pollax in armour"''''' From Philippo di Vadi's treatise on fencing entitled "''De Arte Gladiatoria Dimicandi"'']]
The design of the head varied greatly with a variety of interchangeable parts and rivets. Generally, the head bore an [[Battle axe|axe head]] or [[War hammer|hammer head]] mounted on ash or other hard-wood shafts from 4–6&nbsp;ft in length, with a spike, hammer, or fluke on the reverse.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Price |first=Brian R. |date=2015 |title=The poleaxe: The changing face of warfare |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48578454 |journal=Medieval Warfare |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=36–38 |jstor=48578454 |issn=2211-5129}}</ref> In addition, there was a spike or spear head projecting from the end of the shaft which was often square in cross section, sometimes referred to as the "dague dessous".<ref name=":0" /> The head was attached to the squared-off wooden pole by long flat strips of metal, called ''langets'', which were riveted in place on either two or four of its sides to reinforce the pole against being chopped through in combat.<ref>{{Citation |title=Pollaxe |date=c. 1450 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/26720 |access-date=2024-12-08}}</ref> A round hilt-like disc called a ''rondelle'' was placed just below the head. They also appear to have borne one or two rings along the pole's length as places to prevent hands from slipping. Also of note is that the butt end of the staff, opposite the weapon's head, bore a spike or shoe.

On quick glance, the poleaxe is often confused with the similar-looking [[halberd]]. While they may have both been designed for hacking and piercing through armor plates, the axe blade on a poleaxe seems to have been consistently smaller than that of a halberd. A smaller head concentrates the [[kinetic energy]] of the blow on a smaller area, enabling the impact to defeat armour, while broader halberd heads are better against opponents with less mail or plate armour. Furthermore, many halberds had their heads forged as a single piece, while the poleaxe was typically modular in design.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://medieval.stormthecastle.com/armorypages/polearms/poleaxe.htm |title=The Poleaxe |access-date=2019-11-21 |archive-date=2021-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224075215/http://medieval.stormthecastle.com/armorypages/polearms/poleaxe.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>