Spears & Lances

Pole Weapons — Subcategory

Overview

The spear — a sharpened point on a shaft — is the oldest deliberately shaped human weapon, appearing in the archaeological record over 300,000 years ago. In its thrown form it served as the primary hunting and war weapon of prehistoric humanity; in its thrusting form it was the dominant close-combat weapon for most of recorded history. The lance is the cavalry version — adapted for use from horseback, especially for the mounted charge.

The Spear

Prehistoric Spears

• Wooden spears — The Schöningen spears (Germany, c. 300,000 BCE) are the oldest known wooden weapons; balance indicates they were thrown
• Atlatl-propelled darts — The spear-thrower (atlatl) was the major ranged weapon until the bow; significantly increased range and velocity
• Stone tips — Knapped flint and obsidian spearheads appeared from the Upper Paleolithic onward

Ancient Military Spears

• Greek doru — 2–3 meter hoplite spear; counterbalanced bronze butt-spike; held in overhand or underhand grip in the phalanx
• Roman pilum — Not a thrusting spear but a heavy javelin; lead-weighted iron shank designed to bend on impact; thrown before closing with the gladius
• Germanic framea — Short throwing and thrusting spear; Tacitus noted the Germans relied primarily on the framea

Medieval Spears

The spear never disappeared from medieval warfare but was often overshadowed by the lance and pike:

• Infantry spear — Simple weapon; 1.5–2.5 meters; used with shield in shield-wall formations
• Winged spear — Projections below the blade prevent over-penetration and catch opponent's weapons; Norse and Carolingian
• Hunting spear — Heavy crossbar below the blade stops a charging boar; same principle applied to the military boar spear

Asian Spears

• Yari (Japan) — The primary weapon of Japanese infantry; multiple forms (straight, cross-bladed); see Feudal Japan
• Qiang (China) — The universal Chinese military spear; flexible shaft that vibrated unpredictably on impact
• Voulge, glaive, fauchard — European and Asian weapons in the spear-polearm continuum

The Lance

The lance is the cavalry spear — optimized for the mounted charge:

Ancient and Medieval Lances

• Xyston — Macedonian cavalry lance; 3.5 meters; used by Alexander's Companion cavalry in the wedge charge
• Medieval lance — Progressive development from a light throwing/thrusting spear to the couched lance by the 11th century
• Couched lance — Held under the armpit, braced against the body; transfers the full momentum of horse and rider into the lance point; the defining weapon of medieval heavy cavalry
• Coronel tip — Blunt star-shaped tip for jousting tournaments; reduced lethality for sport

Later Lances

• Polish winged hussar lance — 5–6 meters; hollow wood; remarkably lightweight; delivered devastating charges in 17th century warfare
• Military lance (19th century) — Revived by Napoleonic-era lancers (Polish and French uhlan regiments); proven effective in pursuit of routing infantry; used through WWI by some cavalry units

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This article is a stub. Contributions covering specific spear and lance types, cultures, and battles are welcome.

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