In our present Age of Information, there has perhaps been no greater exposure to the martial customs of our ancestors since those same ancestors practised their martial customs themselves. Unfortunately, this overload of information can leave some of us feeling confused or overwhelmed. Sometimes.

It is clear that some martial systems predominate today’s world of historical fighting arts. Unarmoured longsword, rapier and sword and buckler are perhaps the most common weapon systems explored and developed in recent years and decades. Halfsword and other armoured combatives are increasing in popularity.

If we were to have the privilege of looking through an imaginary ‘chronoscope’ at out ancestors, we might be a little surprised to see that our own preferences for weapons don’t necessarily mirror the ideals of predecessors.

Historical literature, both biographical and fictional, abound with knightly heroes and villains who always seem to have either shining bright or ebony black armour, adorned with brocade and silk, with their hearts set on winning the favourable thoughts of their chosen damsel. If the examples from within the accounts of Jaque de Lalaing, Olivier de la Marche and Tirant lo Blanc are to be taken, then we would see that oftentimes, the heroes would reach for none other weapon than their pollaxe.

And why wouldn’t they? There are few weapons which have more offensive aspects to it. Essentially, every bit that isn’t used to hold the weapon is utilised in some way to thrash the opponent in either a bashy or stabby manner. When heroes of olde wanted to prove themselves in the lists, be it tournament or judicial duel; if they were not ahorse, they would account for themselves with a pollaxe.

Fortunately for us, there is a wealth of information… primary sources, no less… that give explicit detail on how to use this devastating yet elegant and sophisticated weapon.

Unfortunately for us, these primary sources aren’t always presented in the most digestible manner. Incomplete pictorial sequences and poorly or inadequately written texts fog our vision of the use of the weapon as it was intended to be used.

Hugh Knight Jr. has been a student of axe play for…well…who knows how many years? Earlier this year, after much investment of time and probably sanity too, he published a book purely on the subject of pollaxe combat, entitled ‘The Play of the Axe: Medieval Pollaxe Combat’, available from http://stores.lulu.com/hughknight .

What he has done is extract every pollaxe play from the currently available German sources and the Burgundian Le Jeu de la Hache and digested them for us into a cleverly constructed tome of photo-sequences accompanied with easy to follow and understand modern English explanations.

The body of the book is broken up in the same manner as the instructions within Le Jeu into plays which rely on the various components of the axe. Such a dissection of the system makes for an effective learning tool, while the photographic sequences show the key moments from every one of the plays described. To remain accountable, Hugh has referenced every play shown so that the discerning audience can assess for themselves the accuracy of the interpretations.

Preceding the chapters on how to actually use the pollaxe are chapters discussing issues such as strategy, how to train, fundamentals and recommended equipment. With the information provided, it should be entirely possible for someone with little to no previous exposure to historical martial arts and learn the fine art of combat with a pollaxe.

That said, people with a background in HEMA, and even those who have experimented with the pollaxe before will benefit from this book. The interpretations presented by Hugh have been developed, defined and refined over many years and have been subject to vigorous testing and experimentation. As such, I believe that the content of the book can be regarded as High Quality.

There are many out there who do not like to depend on modern interpretations to develop their own understanding of the Art, preferring to work directly from the primary sources. For the most part, I am one of those people. Before this book I hadn’t really delved much into the world of the pollaxe. I had glossed over the sources, but it hadn’t really sunk in. This book benefitted me in that I can now look at the primary sources and see instantly in my mind what the Master was trying to convey. In essence, this book will teach you how to really ‘read’ the primary sources. Even the obscurely illustrated ones.

So if you’re a re-enactor who wants to have a bash at more historically accurate and devastatingly effective combat techniques; a new HEMA student looking for a subject to study; or a seasoned HEMA practitioner looking to expand your repertoire of martial knowledge, then pick up this book and have a thorough read. Then go read Tirant lo Blanc and the other sources already mentioned…just for fun and inspiration.

The book is available in class-friendly spiral bound or the slightly less expensive perfect-bound for your bookshelf. I will say, that being in black and white, the photos aren’t the highest quality. That however is a product of the printing, not the author, and the photos are still more than adequate for determining just what part of your opponent’s body your pollaxe needs to smash or stab.

Dave

I bought this book about 3 weeks ago and though i haven't had a lot of time to look through it i would have to agree with dave's assessment; a good book, easy to work with, straightforward presentation and overall interesting. One day i might get around to working through the book, not any time soon though. Not sure what to do about poleaxe simulators though? The purple heart rubber ones seem pretty expensive for what you get?

I think initially you could get by with using wooden heads. If you're not actually hitting each other other than for training/drilling, I think that'd be fine.

Longer term, yeah, the purpleheart ones are a bit expensive. I'm currently trying to find some rubber thick enough to make my own; cheaper.

Dave

We've started making up our own pollaxes - out of a number of layers of sheet rubber. Simple, and we're very please with how they turned out - the heads bounce off your opponent, the hook crumples under hard pressure (but can be felt), and you can definately hook with them. And we're not even the most technically accomplished of people ...

__________________
Mark
CNS/Indes Fechtshule
cnshakes@gmail.com

"Blow wind, come wrack. / At least we'll die with harness on our back."

That sounds really good Mark. Care to share any pictures?

Are you guys doing it in harness or what?

Dave