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{{Short description|Early-modern Swiss combination polearm}}
[[File: Lucerne Hammer MET 14.25.222 002dec2014.jpg|thumb|The head of a Swiss Lucerne hammer with four-pronged face, long rear beak and top spike {{Circa|1520}}, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]]]

The '''Lucerne hammer''' ({{IPAc-en|l|u|ˈ|s|ɜːr|n}} {{respell|loo|SURN}}) is a [[polearm]] that combines a multi-pronged hammer, a long rear spike (''bec'' or ''beak'') and an even longer top spike. It was carried chiefly by the civic and cantonal forces of the [[Old Swiss Confederacy]] from the late 15th through the 17th centuries and takes its modern name from the large concentration of surviving examples found in the armoury of [[Lucerne]].<ref name="Goranov2003">{{cite web |last=Goranov |first=Alexi |date=2003 |title=Spotlight: The Medieval Poleaxe |url=http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_spot_poleaxe.html |access-date=22 June 2025 |website=myArmoury.com}}</ref><ref name=Oakeshott1980>{{cite book |last=Oakeshott |first=Ewart |author-link=Ewart Oakeshott |title=European Weapons and Armour |publisher=[[The Lutterworth Press|Lutterworth Press]] |year=1980 |isbn=9780718821265 |location=Guildford and London |page=51}}</ref>

== Origins and terminology ==
[[File:De Alte Armatur und Ringkunst Talhofer 279.jpg|left|thumb|Polehammer-type pollaxes depicted in [[Hans Talhoffer|Hans Talhoffer's]] ''Alte Armatur und Ringkunst'' ([[Bavaria-Landshut|Bavaria]], 1459)]]
During the 14th century, Swiss infantry favoured the [[pollaxe]] or ''{{lang|de|fussstreithammer}}'', a polearm with a short spike and a three- or four-pronged hammer face. Toward the 1470s, smiths in central [[Switzerland]] lengthened the rear beak and split the hammer into four parallel prongs, creating the form now called the Lucerne hammer.<ref name=Waldman2005>{{cite book |last=Waldman |first=John |title=Hafted Weapons in Medieval and Renaissance Europe: The Evolution of European Staff Weapons Between 1200 and 1650 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2005 |isbn=9789004144095 |series=History of Warfare |pages=161–164}}</ref> It is consequently considered a later development of the [[bec de corbin]] by some scholars,<ref name="Nudel2002">{{cite journal |last=Nudel |first=Sa'ar |year=2002 |title=The War Hammer |journal=Arms & Armour Quarterly}}</ref> though its classification and typology are the focus of debate.<ref name="Coultre2017" />

Contemporary records simply call the weapon ''{{lang|de|die Hamer}}'' or ''{{lang|de|mordaxt}}'' in German, and ''{{lang|fr|la hache}}'' in French inventories; Lucerne hammer is a modern label that distinguished the four-pronged Swiss pattern from earlier pollaxes,<ref name="Coultre2017">{{cite journal |last=Le Coultre |first=Anne-Caroline |year=2017 |title=The typological debates around Le Jeu de la Hache (BnF MS Français 1996) and their stakes for HEMA practice |journal=Acta Periodica Duellatorum |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=96–100 |doi=10.1515/apd-2017-0010 |eissn=2813-5970|doi-access=free }}</ref> having been coined by 19th-century arms collector J. Meyer-Bielmann in 1869.<ref name = Koller2021>{{Cite web |date=30 September 2021 |title=Lucerne Hammer: Swiss, 1st third of the 17th century. |url=https://www.kollerauktionen.ch/fr/-1198_498285.html |access-date=22 June 2025 |website=[[Koller (auctioneers)|Koller Auktionen]] |language=en,fr}}</ref> Although now often classed as a type of pollaxe,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Van Dijk |first=Casper J. |date=2 January 2020 |title=A New Halberd Typology (1500-1800): Based on the Collection of the National Military Museum, The Netherlands |journal=Arms & Armour |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=1–26 |doi=10.1080/17416124.2020.1728905 |issn=1741-6124 |via=[[Taylor & Francis Online]]|doi-access=free }}</ref> the Lucerne hammer lacks a bladed edge and in place of the curved beak. It is mechanically akin to the earlier Italian ''martello d'arme'' ([[war hammer]]) and to the German ''{{lang|de|fussstreithammer}}'', combining blunt and percussive elements.<ref name="Goranov2003" /><ref name="Waldman2005" />

==Construction== 
Much like the bec de corbin, examples are about {{convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} long overall.<ref name="Nudel2002" /> The steel head is fastened by two or four langets and side-lugs and made up of: 

* Hammer face consisting of four spikes set in line with the shaft; early heads are massive for crushing [[plate armour]], later 16th-century heads are lighter with longer, sharper prongs to improve penetration.<ref name = Oakeshott1980 /><ref name=Waldman2005 /><ref name=MilitaryHistory>{{cite magazine |last=Guttman |first=Jon |date=2012 |title=Billhook |magazine=Military History |publisher=[[Weider History Group]] |page=21 |volume=29 |issue=4 |issn=0889-7328}}</ref>
* Rear beak of a stout, slightly down-curved form, capable of piercing [[Chain mail|mail]] and plate.<ref name="WHN">{{cite web |date=2002 |title=Polearms of Medieval Europe |url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/polearm/ |access-date=22 June 2025 |website=Warfare History Network}}</ref>
* Dague, or top spike, that was lengthened across the 16th century until on parade pieces it rivals a [[Pike (weapon)|pike]] head, mirroring trends in the [[halberd]].<ref name = Waldman2005-2>{{cite book |last=Waldman |first=John |title=Hafted Weapons in Medieval and Renaissance Europe: The Evolution of European Staff Weapons Between 1200 and 1650 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2005 |isbn=9789004144095 |series=History of Warfare |pages=163–164}}</ref> 

Several armouries stamped an "L" or a cantonal coat of arms on the domed collar beneath the hammer. [[Nidwalden]] and [[Bern]] kept sizeable stocks, but surviving numbers are small compared to Swiss halberds.<ref name = Goranov2003 /> 
== Fighting use ==
The weapon was wielded two-handed. Manuals such as [[Le Jeu de la Hache|''Le Jeu de la Hache'']] ({{circa|1400}}) and [[Hans Talhoffer|Hans Talhoffer's]] ''[[Fechtbuch]]'' (1467) treat the long-shafted hammer and pollaxe as premier knightly arms for foot combat, emphasising:

* Thrusts with the top spike against gaps in plate armour.
* Hooking with the rear beak to drag mounted men from the saddle.
* Blunt trauma with the hammer to buckle plates or break mail.<ref name="Anglo1991">{{cite journal |last=Anglo |first=Sydney |author-link=Sydney Anglo |year=1991 |title=Le Jeu de la Hache |journal=Archaeologia |volume=109}}</ref><ref name="Coultre2017" />

Swiss civic guards continued to carry Lucerne hammers on watch, at executions, and in escort duty into the 17th century, long after the weapon had left the battlefield.<ref name = Waldman2005-3>{{cite book |last=Waldman |first=John |title=Hafted Weapons in Medieval and Renaissance Europe: The Evolution of European Staff Weapons Between 1200 and 1650 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2005 |isbn=9789004144095 |series=History of Warfare |page=163}}</ref>

== In modern culture ==
Within the [[Historical European martial arts|Historical European Martial Arts]] community, the Lucerne hammer is treated as the armoured-combat pollaxe taught in ''Le Jeu de la Hache'': practitioners drill thrusts with the long spike, percussive strikes with the four-pronged head and hooking pulls with the rear beak. Because of the weapon’s mass and injury risk, most schools confine work to technical sequences in full armour; free sparring is rare. Training relies on specialised simulators: rubber-headed polehammers predominate for safety, while wooden or blunted-steel versions are chosen when authentic weight and balance are required. The pollaxe set is now a standard element of advanced HEMA curricula and features regularly at European and North American events.<ref name="Coultre2017" />

Depictions of the Lucerne hammer (usually under the in-game name polehammer) feature in a number of medieval combat video games. The weapon was added in the December 2013 content update for ''[[Chivalry: Medieval Warfare]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cook |first=Dave |date=1 February 2013 |title=Chivalry: Medieval Warfare gets massive content update, details here |url=https://www.vg247.com/chivalry-medieval-warfare-gets-massive-content-update-details-here |access-date=22 June 2025 |website=[[VG247]] |language=en}}</ref> and was reintroduced in its 2021 sequel ''[[Chivalry 2]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Colucci |first=Mike |date=2021-07-05 |title=Chivalry 2 class guide: Overview, subclasses, and best weapons for every class |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/chivalry-2-class-guide-subclasses-best-weapons-class/ |access-date=2025-06-22 |website=[[Digital Trends]] |language=en-us}}</ref> Other games that include the weapon are ''[[Kingdom Come: Deliverance]]'' (2018),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Mark |date=15 January 2025 |title=Kingdom Come Deliverance: 10 Best Polearms and Spears, Ranked |url=https://gamerant.com/kingdom-come-deliverance-best-polearms-spears-ranked/ |access-date=22 June 2025 |website=[[Game Rant]] |language=en}}</ref> and ''[[Mordhau (video game)|Mordhau]]'' (2019).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grantham |first=Joe |date=12 July 2023 |title=Best Mordhau Builds To Try Out |url=https://gamerant.com/mordhau-best-builds/ |access-date=22 June 2025 |website=[[Game Rant]] |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Swiss arms and armour]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Pole weapons}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucerne Hammer}}
[[Category:European weapons]]
[[Category:Medieval polearms]]
[[Category:Medieval weapons]]
[[Category:Military history of Switzerland]]