Swordstaff

A swordstaff (Old Danish: sværdstaf), or staffsword (Old Danish: stavsværd, Old Swedish: stafsværdh,^[a] Middle Low German: stafswert), is a Medieval polearm mentioned in Scandinavian sources. It is a figurative term, referencing a spear, or similar, utilizing with a sword- or dagger-esque blade and crossguard.^[1][2]

Evidence of the weapon in use at the battle of Elfsborg (Alvesborg) in 1502 is provided by Paul Dolnstein,^[3] a landsknecht mercenary who fought in the battle, who refers to the Swedes carrying "good pikes made from swords". He also provides sketches of the weapon.^[4]

Period Swedish texts mention swordstaffs separately along with other polearms, such as halberds, poleaxes, partisans, spears, and thereof.^[2] A period text uses the term brander (compare Old Norse: brandr), an older term for swordblade, to drescribe the blades of swordstaffs:

Jagh haffuer tinget vj (6) ny brande till staffswerdh, och jag haffuer ingen penning ath betala them med, eren i wiid penninge, gören wel och sender hiid nogre, her staar ey peningha til fongx paa pant.

I have negotiated VI (6) new blades for swordstaffs, and i have no money to pay for them, (yours in with money?), do well and send here some, here stand no money to catch for pawn.

— Bidrag till Skandinaviens historia ur utländska arkiver. Fjerde delen. Sverige i Sten Sture den äldres tid, 1470–1503 (1875). p. 314.

Various other languages have analog terms which might have referred to similar or the same type of weapon.

• Middle Dutch: stafswert – dagger^[1]
• Middle Low German: stafswert – swordstaff,^[2] hunting spear, dagger^[1]
• Old English: stæfsweord – sword cane^[1]
  • Middle English: staffsword – sword cane^[1]
• Old High German: stapaswert – throwing spear^[1]
  • Middle High German: stapswert – dagger, sword cane^[1]
• Old Norse: hǫggspjót – hewing spear

In Variarum rerum vocabula cum sueca interpretatione (1538), Sweden's oldest dictionary, Latin: venabulum, a type of hunting spear, is translated as both "swine skewer" (swijn spett), and "swordstaff" (staff swärdh).^[1]

In Russia, a similar weapon, called rogátina (Russian: рога́тина), a heavy daggerbladed spear for hand-to-hand combat and hunting large animals (compare sovnya), featured in later forms a full crossguad and sword length blade.^[5]

The weapon has visual similarities to the partisan and langue de boeuf and may share common origins. However, Scandinavian sagas make references to a number of pole weapons, usually translated as "halberd" or "bill".^[6] These weapons are used to cut and to stab but their names suggest they were derived from the spear rather than a cutting weapon, such as the hewing spear (höggspjót) and the atgeir.^[7] While clearly identifiable artistic or archaeological evidence of the form of these weapons is lacking, it is possible that the swordstaff may be a late derivative of this family of weapons.

Chinese polearms that resembled swordstaves were also commonly used in ancient China from the late Warring States/Qin dynasty to the Han dynasty era. These were known as the pi (鈹), translated into English as either "sword-staff" or "long lance", and a long bladed ranseur-like swordstaff weapon called the sha (鎩) with a blade that was around 62 cm (24 in) long (up to 80 cm (31 in) long) and a hilt that was about 19 cm (7.5 in) long.

• Chinese swordstaff called a pi (鈹), Han dynasty
• Han dynasty Sha 铩 with bat shaped guard and scabbard
• Closeup of a modern recreation of the sha with a bat shaped guard
• Han dynasty sha (swordstaff), modern recreation of the classic version of the swordstaff "sha" from the Han dynasty era

• Glave
• Guandao
• Guisarme
• Fauchard
• Naginata
• Partisan (weapon)
• Sovnya
• Spontoon
• Viking halberd

• Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon – Schwertstab (in German)
• "Senmedeltida stångvapen i svenska källor" (Late medieval polearms in Swedish sources)