Spear

For other uses, see Spear (disambiguation).

A photograph of an American native, a Hupa man with his spear - by Edward Sheriff Curtis, dated 1923

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.

The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or bronze.

The most common design for hunting or combat spears since ancient times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a barbed triangle, lozenge or leaf. The heads of fishing spears usually feature barbs or serrated edges.

Spears can be divided into two broad categories: those designed for thrusting and those designed for throwing.

Origins

Spear manufacture and use is not confined to human beings. It is also practised by the Pan troglodytes verus subspecies of the Common Chimpanzee. Chimpanzees near Kédougou, Senegal were observed to create spears by breaking straight limbs off trees, stripping them of their bark and side branches, and sharpening one end with their teeth. They then used the weapons to hunt galagos sleeping in hollows. Orangutans also have used spears to fish, presumably after observing humans fishing in a similar manner.

Prehistory

Hunting spear and knife, from Mesa Verde National Park

Archeological evidence found in Germany documents that wooden spears were used for hunting since at least 400,000 years ago. Wood does not preserve well, however, and Craig Stanford, a primatologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Southern California, has suggested that the discovery of spear use by chimpanzees probably means that early humans used wooden spears as well, perhaps, five million years ago.

Neanderthals were constructing stone spear heads from as early as 300,000 BP and by 250,000 years ago, wooden spears were made with fire-hardened points.

From 200,000 BP onwards, Middle Paleolithic humans began to make complex stone blades with flaked edges which were used as spear heads. These stone heads could be fixed to the spear shaft by gum or resin or by bindings made of animal sinew, leather strips or vegetable matter. During this period, a clear difference remained between spears designed to be thrown and those designed to be used in hand-to-hand combat. By the Magdalenian period (c. 15000-9500 BC), spear-throwers similar to the later atlatl were in use

The fighting spear

Spears were one of the most common personal weapons used in the Stone Age, and they remained in use as important military and hunting implements until the advent of firearms. They may be seen as the ancestor of such military weapons as the lance, the pilum, the halberd, the naginata, the glaive, the bill, and the pike. One of the earliest weapons fashioned by human beings and their ancestors, the spear is still used for hunting and fishing, and its influences still may be seen in contemporary military arsenals as the rifle-mounted bayonet.

Spears may be used as both ballistic and melee weapons. Spears used primarily for thrusting may be used with either one or two hands and tend to have heavier and sturdier designs than those intended exclusively for throwing. Those designed for throwing, often referred to as javelins, tend to be lighter and have a more streamlined head, and they may be thrown either by hand or with the assistance of a spear thrower such as the atlatl or woomera. From the atlatl dart, the arrow for use with bows eventually developed.

Ancient history

Infantry spears

Sumerian spearmen advancing in close formation with large shields - Stele of the Vultures, c.2450 BC

Short, one-handed spears featuring socketed metal heads were used in conjunction with a shield by the earliest Bronze Age cultures. They were wielded in either single combat or in large troop formations. This tradition continued from the first Mesopotamian cultures, through the various ancient Egyptian dynasties, to the period of the Ancient Greek city states.

The Greeks

The spear is the main weapon of the warriors of Homer's Iliad. The use of both a single thrusting spear and two throwing spears are mentioned. It has been suggested that two styles of combat are being described; an early style, with thrusting spears, dating to the Mycenaean period and a later style, with throwing spears, from the Archaic period.

In the 7th century BC, the Greeks evolved a new close-order infantry formation, the phalanx. The key to this formation was the hoplite, who was equipped with a large, circular, bronze-faced shield (hoplon) and a 7–9 ft. (2–2.75 m) spear with an iron head and bronze butt-spike (doru). The hoplite phalanx dominated warfare among the Greek City States from the 7th into the 4th century BC.

The 4th century saw major changes. One was the greater use of peltasts, light infantry armed with spear and javelins. The other was the development of the Sarissa, a two-handed pike 18 ft. (5.5 m) in length, by the Macedonians under Phillip of Macedon and Alexander the Great. The pike phalanx, supported by peltasts and cavalry, became the dominant mode of warfare among the Greeks from the late 4th century onward until Greek military systems were supplanted by the Roman legions.

Cavalry spears

During this time the spear was also used by cavalry. The majority of ancient cavalry units were equipped either with javelins or a one-handed thrusting spear similar to that used by infantry. Some, however, used longer spears. The Macedonian Xyston was 12–14 ft. (3.6–4.2 m) in length and could be used with one or two hands. The use of the two-handed Kontos by heavily armored soldiers on horseback, known as Cataphracts, was developed first by nomadic eastern Iranian tribes and spread throughout the ancient world. These would be used to great effect by the Successor kingdoms and the Parthians and, later, by the Sassanians and Sarmatians. Later Roman and Byzantine armies also made use of these troops.

The Romans

Re-enactor outfitted as a Roman legionary carrying a pilum

In the pre-Marian Roman armies the first two lines of battle, the hastati and principes, often fought with swords and pila, heavy javelins that were specifically designed to be thrown at an enemy to pierce and foul a target's shield. Originally the Principes were armed with a short spear called a hasta, but these gradually fell out of use, eventually being replaced by the Gladius. The third line, the triarii, continued to use the hasta.

From the late 2nd century BC, all legionaries were equipped with the pilum. The pilum continued to be the standard legionary spear until the end of the 2nd century AD. Auxilia, however, were equipped with a simple hasta and, perhaps, throwing spears. During the 3rd century AD, although the pilum continued to be used, legionaries usually were equipped with other forms of throwing and thrusting spear, similar to auxilia of the previous century. By the 4th century, the pilum had effectively disappeared from common use.

Middle East and North Africa during Islamic period

A Palestinian sufi ascetic carrying a short assegai in 1913

Muslim warriors used a spear that was called az-zaġāyah. Berbers pronounced it zaġāya. In English it is generally called an Assegai.

A shami Arab warrior (ca.1914) carrying a long hunting az-zaġāyah

It is a pole weapon used for throwing or hurling, usually a light spear or javelin made of hard wood and pointed with a forged iron tip.The az-zaġāyah played an important role during the Islamic conquest as well as during later periods, well into the 20th century. A longer pole az-zaġāyah was being used as a hunting weapon from horseback. The az-zaġāyah spread far into sub-saharan Africa as well as India.It was the weapon of choice during the Fulani jihad as well as during the Mahdist War in Sudan. It is still being used by Sikh Nihangs in the Punjab as well as certain wandering Sufi ascetics (Derwishes).

European Middle Ages

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the spear and shield continued to be used by almost all Western European cultures. Since a medieval spear required only a small amount of steel along the sharpened edges (most of the spear-tip was wrought iron), it was an economical weapon. Quick to manufacture, and needing less smithing skill than a sword, it remained the main weapon of the common soldier. The Vikings, for instance, although often portrayed with axe or sword in hand, were armed mostly with spears, as were their Anglo-Saxon, Irish, or continental contemporaries.

Infantry spears

Broadly speaking, spears were either designed to be kept in hand (thrusting spears), or to be thrown (throwing spears). Within this simple classification, there was a remarkable range of types. For example, M.J. Swanton identified thirty different spearhead categories and sub-categories in Early Saxon England. Most medieval spearheads were, however, broadly speaking, leaf-shaped. Notable types of Early medieval spears include the Angon, a throwing spear with a long head similar to the Roman pilum, used by the Franks and Anglo-Saxons and the winged (or lugged) spear, which had two prominent wings at the base of the spearhead, either to prevent the spear penetrating too far into an enemy or to aid in spear fencing. Originally a Frankish weapon, the winged spear also was popular with the Vikings. It would become the ancestor of later medieval polearms, such as the partisan and spetum.

The thrusting spear also has the advantage of reach, being considerably longer than other weapon types. Exact spear lengths are hard to deduce as few spear shafts survive archaeologically but 6 ft. - 8 ft. (1.8m - 2.5m) would seem to have been the norm. Some nations were noted for their long spears, including the Scots and the Flemish. Spears usually were used in tightly ordered formations, such as the shieldwall or the schiltron. To resist cavalry, spear shafts could be planted against the ground. William Wallace drew up his schiltrons in a circle at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 to deter charging cavalry, but it was a widespread tactic, sometimes known as the "crown" formation.

Throwing spears became rarer as the Middle Ages drew on, but survived in the hands of specialists such as the Catalan Almogavars. They were commonly used in Ireland until the end of the 16th century.

Spears began to lose fashion among the infantry during the 14th century, being replaced by pole weapons that combined the thrusting properties of the spear with the cutting properties of the axe, such as the halberd. Where spears were retained they grew in length, eventually evolving into pikes, which would be a dominant infantry weapon in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Cavalry spears

Cavalry spears were originally the same as infantry spears and were often used with two hands or held with one hand overhead. In the 11th century, after the adoption of stirrups and a high-cantled saddle, the spear became a decidedly more powerful weapon. A mounted knight would secure the lance by holding it with one hand and tucking it under the armpit (the couched lance technique) This allowed all the momentum of the horse and knight to be focused on the weapon's tip, whilst still retaining accuracy and control. This use of the spear spurred the development of the lance as a distinct weapon that was perfected in the medieval sport of jousting.

In the 14th century, tactical developments meant that knights and men-at-arms often fought on foot. This led to the practice of shortening the lance to about 5 ft. (1.5m.) to make it more manageable. As dismounting became commonplace, specialist pole weapons such as the pollaxe were adopted by knights and this practice ceased.

European Renaissance and after

German reenactors of pikemen

Infantry weapons

The development of both the long, two-handed pike and gunpowder in Renaissance Europe saw an ever increasing focus on integrated infantry tactics. Those infantry not armed with these weapons carried variations on the pole-arm, including the halberd and the bill. Ultimately, the spear proper was rendered obsolete on the battlefield. Its last flowering was the half-pike or spontoon, a shortened version of the pike carried by officers and NCOs. While originally a weapon, this came to be seen more as a badge of office, or leading staff by which troops were directed. The half-pike, sometimes known as a boarding pike, was also used as a weapon on board ships until the 19th century.

Cavalry weapons

At the start of the Renaissance, cavalry remained predominantly lance armed; gendarmes with the heavy knightly lance and lighter cavalry with a variety of lighter lances. By the 1540s, however, pistol-armed cavalry called reiters were beginning to make their mark. Cavalry armed with pistols and other lighter firearms, along with a sword, had virtually replaced lance armed cavalry in Western Europe by the beginning of the 17th century, although the lance persisted in Eastern Europe, from whence it was reintroduced into the European mainstream in the 19th century.

The spear in East Asia

Vietnam

Dong Son spear heads

Spear is the most common ancient arm found in Vietnam along with the axe. Spear heads are of various sizes and shapes, some are only dozen centimeters in length, while some are thirty to forty centimeters long. Spear shafts also varies greatly. Soldier figures on 13th century vases show very short spears that used together with shields, on the other hand, cavalry spears up to three to four meters long, much resemble the European lance are drawn by 17th century Westerner.

Warring States and early Sinitic empires

Shang Dynasty spear heads

Spears (Qiang) were used in Asia first as hunting weapons amongst the ancient Chinese. They became popular as infantry weapons during the Warring States and Qin era, when spearmen were used as especially highly-disciplined soldiers in organized group attacks. When used in formation fighting, spearmen would line up their large rectangular or circular shields in a shieldwall manner. The Qin also employed long spears (more akin to a pike) in formations similar to Swiss pikemen in order to ward off cavalry. The Han Empire would use similar tactics as its Qin predecessors. Halberds, polearms, and dagger axes were also common weapons during this time.

Spears were also common weaponry for Warring States, Qin, and Han era cavalry units. During these eras, the spear would develop into a longer lance-like weapon used for cavalry charges.

Medieval Japan

Ukiyo-e print of a samurai general holding a yari in his right hand

Medieval Japan employed spears for infantrymen to use, but it was not until the 11th century in Japan that samurai began to use spears over bows.Several spears(Yari) and pole weapons were very fearsome in the Japanese theatres; the naginata was a heavy, but powerful pole arm often used by mounted samurai in the 16th century. It was described as a sword attached to a spear and although it was unwieldy, skilled users could fight many opponents at once.

Korea

In Korea, turds are smothing they all love spear infantry were used regularly by the Three Kingdoms of Korea armies. Goguryeo and Silla soldiers were well-trained and hardened by years of war. By fighting lifetimes of war, they discovered that heavily armored spear infantry was very effective in breaking apart thickly defended areas and charging cavalry units.

Halberd-like pole weapons were also common weapons amongst Asian armies. A notable use of a pole weapon in Asia would be during the Imjin Wars, between the Koreans and the Japanese. Korean castle and fort defenders typically, were armed with the dangpa, a variation of a pole weapon called a trident. The dangpa was a favorite amongst the Korean vanguards because of its usefulness in siege combat, its striking power, and its piercing capabilities. It was particularly effective against Japanese samurai and ashigaru armor and was used, en masse, to corner multiple swordsmen. The dangpa was used by a few Korean marines in Admiral Yi's naval operations as "pushing" infantry, literally meaning to push back Japanese marines; the remainder of Korean marines carried swords to board Japanese ships, or bows and arrows to attack from a distance. Other Korean pole arms included the woldo, which resembled the Chinese Kwan Dao.

The spear in Mesoamerica

As advanced metallurgy was largely unknown in pre-Columbian America, most weapons in Meso-America were made of wood or obsidian. This didn't mean that they were less lethal, as obsidian may be sharpened to become many times sharper than steel. Meso-American spears varied greatly in shape and size. While the Aztecs preferred the sword-like macuahuitl for fighting, the advantage of a far-reaching thrusting weapon was recognised, and a large portion of the army would carry the tepoztopilli into battle. The tepoztopilli was a pole-arm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices, it was roughly the height of a man, with a broad wooden head about twice the length of the users' palm or shorter, edged with razor-sharp obsidian blades which were deeply set in grooves carved into the head, and cemented in place with bitumen or plant resin as an adhesive. The tepoztopili was able both to thrust and slash effectively.

Throwing spears also were used extensively in Meso-American warfare, usually with the help of an atlatl. Throwing spears were typically shorter and more stream-lined than the tepoztopilli, and some had obsidian edges for greater penetration.

The spear in Africa

Zulu man with iklwa, 1917

The Zulu people of eastern South Africa were known for their particular skill with shortened thrusting spears called iklwa and throwing spears called assegai. These spears were designed for close combat and often were wielded in conjunction with a large oval shield. Advanced skills in close combat allowed the Zulu military to conquer much of southeast Africa.

Spear hunting

One of the earliest forms of killing prey for humans, hunting game with a spear and spear fishing continues to this day as both a means of catching food and as a cultural activity.

Types of hunting spear

• Barred spears: A barred spear has a crossbar beneath the blade, to prevent too deep a penetration of the spear into an animal. The bar may be forged as part of the spearhead or may be more loosely tied by means of loops below the blade. Barred spears are known from the Bronze Age, but the first historical record of their use in Europe is found in the writings of Xenophon in the 5th century BC. Examples also are shown in Roman art. In the Middle Ages, a winged or lugged war-spear was developed (see above), but the later Middle Ages saw the development of specialised types, such as the boar-spear and the bear-spear. The boar-spear could be used both on foot or horseback.
• Javelin
• Harpoon
• Multi-bladed spears

Modern spear hunting

Spear hunting fell out of favour in most of Europe in the 18th century, but continued in Germany, enjoying a revival in the 1930s. Spear hunting is still practiced in the USA, notably by retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Gene Morris, NFL Defensive End Jared Allen, and "Motor City Madman" Ted Nugent. Animals taken are primarily wild boar and deer, although trophy animals such as cats and big game as large as a Cape Buffalo are hunted with spears. Alligator are hunted in Florida with a type of harpoon.

The spear in myth and legend

Symbolism

The Norse god Odin, carrying the spear Gungnir on his ride to Hel

Like many weapons, a spear may also be a symbol of power. In the Chinese martial arts community, the Chinese spear (Qiang 槍) is popularly known as the "king of weapons".

The Celts would symbolically destroy a dead warrior's spear to prevent its use by another.

In classical Greek mythology Zeus' bolts of lightning may be interpreted as a symbolic spear. Some would carry that interpretation to the spear that frequently is associated with Athena, interpreting her spear as a symbolic connection to some of Zeus' power beyond the Aegis once he rose to replacing other deities in the pantheon. Athena was depicted with a spear prior to that change in myths, however. Chiron's wedding-gift to Peleus when he married the nymph Thetis in classical Greek mythology, was an ashen spear as the nature of ashwood with its straight grain made it an ideal choice of wood for a spear.

The Romans and their early enemies would force prisoners to walk underneath a 'yoke of spears', which humiliated them. The yoke would consist of three spears, two upright with a third tied between them at a height which made the prisoners stoop. It has been surmised that this was because such a ritual involved the prisoners' warrior status being taken away. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the arrangement has a magical origin, a way to trap evil spirits. The word subjugate has its origins in this practice (from Latin sub = under, jugum=a yoke).[4]

In Norse Mythology, the God Odin's spear (named Gungnir) was made by the sons of Ivaldi. It had the special property that it never missed its mark. During the War with the Vanir, Odin symbolically threw Gungnir into the Vanir host. This practice of symbolically casting a spear into the enemy ranks at the start of a fight was sometimes used in historic clashes, to seek Odin's support in the coming battle. In Wagner's opera Siegfried, the haft of Gungnir is said to be from the "World-Tree" Yggdrasil.

Other spears of religious significance are the Holy Lance and the Lúin of Celtchar, believed by some to have vast mystical powers.

The Japanese ronin Miyamoto Musashi killing a giant nue - print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, nineteenth century

Sir James George Frazer in The Golden Bough noted the phallic nature of the spear and suggested that in the Arthurian Legends the spear or lance functioned as a symbol of male fertility, paired with the Grail (as a symbol of female fertility).

Tamil (Thamizh) people worship the spear as the weapon of the god Murugan. Murugan's spear is called the Vel. In Srilanka and India there is a dominant caste named Vellalar. The name vellalar is derived from vel + aalar, which means "ruler of the spear".

Legendary spears

• Amenonuhoko, spear of Izanagi and Izanami, creator gods in Japanese mythology
• Gáe Bulg, spear of Cúchulainn, hero in Irish mythology
• Green Dragon Crescent Blade, a guan dao wielded by General Guan Yu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms
• Gungnir, spear of Odin, a god in Norse mythology
• Holy Lance, said to be the spear that pierced the side of Jesus
• Octane Serpent Spear of Zhang Fei (Yide) from the Three Kingdoms period in China
• Spear of Fuchai, the spear used by Goujian's arch-rival, King Fuchai of Wu, in China
• Spear of Lugh, named after Lugh, a god in Irish mythology
• Trident, a three-pronged fishing spear associated with a number of water deities, including the Etruscan Nethuns, Greek Poseidon, and Roman Neptune.
• Trishula, a three-pronged spear wielded by the Hindu deities Durga and Shiva
• Rhongomyniad, or simply 'Ron,' the spear of King Arthur according to british tradition.

Types of spears

Main article: List of types of spears

See also

• List of types of spears
• Arrow
• Atlatl
• Dart
• Spearfishing
• Viking Age arms and armour
• Woomera

External links

Historical

• SPEAR (O. Eng. spere, O. H. Ger. sper, mod. Ger. sp)
• Anglo-Saxon spear forging
• Ancient Weapons - Spears
• Viking Spears
• Irish Living History site
• Masai Spears
• The Vel in Sri lanka

Modern

• Modern spear-forging techniques
• Legal Status of Spear Hunting in the United States of America
• Jimmy's Backpacking Page--Trail Spears