16th century halberd; origin??

Reventlov · 5th July 2016, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Here we have seen the variations of such markings found on polearms, and I was thinking that perhaps these were possibly arsenal, guild or other significant indicators.

Hi Jim,
While searching the collection of the Swiss Museum, I found a couple halberds that might offer a hint along these lines. In a small number of cases two different marks appear, each individual mark appearing more commonly alone... One of the marks is a familiar star mark. The repeated marks each include a similarly shaped mark of a leaf or spade, though the mark is executed in two different ways... coincidence? One possibility could be that one mark is that of the smith, the other that of an arsenal...

Jim McDougall · 5th July 2016, 05:55 AM

Thanks very much Reventlov,
That is very helpful, and I agree that these pairings may well be the result of such combinations. While makers seem to have recorded their marks with guilds, ironically it does not seem that guilds, arsenals and armouries left record of their markings.

The general motif of piercings in deliberate configurations, motif etc are also interesting as to what prompted their use on these polearms.

5th July 2016, 05:55 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,632	Thanks very much Reventlov, That is very helpful, and I agree that these pairings may well be the result of such combinations. While makers seem to have recorded their marks with guilds, ironically it does not seem that guilds, arsenals and armouries left record of their markings. The general motif of piercings in deliberate configurations, motif etc are also interesting as to what prompted their use on these polearms. Last edited by Jim McDougall; 8th July 2016 at 12:30 AM.