Early 16th Century Lucerne Hammer

Constructed by Lancaster Armoury using traditional methods.

The Lucerne hammer, named as such due to the city of Lucerne in Switzerland being its presumed place of origin, is an archetypal example showcasing the arms race that occurred during the late Medieval period and into the Renaissance.

Featuring an array of components capable of dispatching an opponent, the Lucerne hammer tells us what the main requirements were for knights when in the market for a close-quarters polearm, not to mention what the main dangers were that knights faced on the battlefield during this time.

The long central spike is curiously large, with spikes of this length more often featuring on taller pole arms, or pike shafts, with the intended use being for anti-cavalry. So, to see a spike this exaggerated on a pole arm reserved for knightly combat is subject to curiosity, perhaps giving us a glimpse into what the owner of the Lucerne hammer was intending, or at least expecting, to use it for.

On the flip side, we also know that there was little to no uniformity when it comes to 15th - 16th Century pole arms, so the Lucerne hammer can also easily be described as a particularly high-end example of a knightly pole arm which was required for on-foot melee combat by the user, with the requirement for anti-cavalry use as well.

A suitable comparison would be to look at the various surviving 1500s-1600s pole arms currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, where there are contemporary knightly pole arms which feature short, stubby central spikes. It is believed that the most common use for these spikes were to pierce into the small exposed gaps in the opponents armour - and to anyone who has practised Rondel dagger treatises, you'll surely find that a shorter blade lends itself to much more accurate and reliable thrusts as opposed to a longer blade.

Due to this comparison, the Lucerne hammer provided just enough curiosity for us here at Lancaster to reproduce a pole arm inspired by the Lucerne.

Other than the overly long central spike, the rest of the Lucerne pole arm is fairly standard in its features.

The crows-beak spike on the back was, of course, used for piercing and gouging holes in plate armour, not to mention the useful benefit of being able to hook the opponent with it, either to draw them in closer, or to push them away - either way, an experienced pole arm user would be able to confidently use the crows-beak to force the opponent into standing where you wanted them to - and, as such, dominate the fight.

On the front face, features a hammer head which has been separated into four prongs. Again, there is no prime reason why some hammers were one-piece, and other were separated into two, three, or four prongs, but we do know that four prongs help - at least a little - to gain purchase on impact, essentially getting a bite on the opponents armour as you hit them. This is useful as it helps prevent the hammer head from sliding over the curved plate armour and dispersing some of the energy away from the initial impact.

The four prongs help with friction, allowing the user to pull away easier and preventing a glancing blow from making the user move out of his controlled stance in an attempt to reel back his weapon before striking again.

Specification:

Top spike is 36cm

Beak length is 9cm

Hammer length is 6.5cm

Overall head length beak and hammer plus centre eye is 20cm

Side spikes give it a width of 14cm

Langets are 48cm

Overall length 2.4m