A New Halberd Typology (1500-1800): Based on the Collection of the National Military Museum, The Netherlands

Abstract

European halberds as the subject of research has been partly neglected in mainstream historical academic discourses. The research that has been primarily focused on trends in development of halberd design from the 14th to the 18th century. However, this research does not provide insight into the large variety of halberd design present in collections around the world. To examine this variety, this article offers a classification system for halberds and provides insight into the factors influencing their design during the 16th and 17th centuries. The first part of the article presents a halberd typology based on the collection of 131 examples in the National Military Museum, the Netherlands, to provide a system to classify and simplify communication. This typology is based on a hierarchical system, from classes, based on the design of the point and socket of the halberd, to types and subtypes, based on the blade and beak design. In total 4 classes, 14 types and 5 subtypes could be recognised. The second part of the article provides insight into the dating and use of the recognised types based on art and historical texts. Using this method, a trend could be recognised in halberd design: straight-edged halberds were presumably being used by larger groups of individuals, for example during battles. While concave edged halberds were probably used by smaller groups, for example personal guards, and were designed to control the opponent’s weapon and inflict trauma primarily with the point.