Helebard

Due to the introduction of better protective equipment and armor that covered the whole body, the spear outgrew its usefulness, which spurred the development of varios types of polearms. The most prominent place among such weapons was accorded to the halberd which was first produced in the late thirteenth century in the territory of Switzerland. The halberd consists of a long spike, a fan-shaped axe on the front side and a hook-formed blade on the reverse side, all mounted on a long wooden shaft through a cone or other long metal rails.

It was first used in 1315 in the battle of Morgarten, where 1300 Swiss foot-soldiers vanquished, thanks to the use of halberds, 4,000 cavalrymen and 8,000 infantrymen of the Austrian army.

From that time until the second half of the sixteenth century, halberds played one of the leading roles in battlefields across Europe.