spear¹

 

primitive weapon consisting of a wooden shaft tipped with a sharp point, usually 8 to 9 ft (2.4–2.7 m) in length. The point was made first of flint, later of bronze, and ultimately of steel; the spear has been in use since prehistoric times, originally as a missile weapon. Spear-throwers, such as the atlatl of the ancient Americas, are hooked sticks that are held in the hand in such a way as to increase the range and force with which a spear can be thrown. From the spears of antiquity the medieval lance and pike evolved. The pike is a long wooden shaft with a steel point that sometimes has a hook on one side. Longer by 2 or 3 ft (61–91 cm) than spears, lances were used by many European cavalry units as recently as the early 20th cent. In a few countries they are still borne in ceremonial military formations, sometimes with a small pennant near the point. Primitive peoples in remote areas still hunt and fight with spears, sometimes putting poison on the tips.

Spear λόγχη, Latin: Hasta, Lancea German: Speer, Lanze, French: Lance, Spanish: Lanza, Portuguese: Lança, Italian: Lancia) is the name of a pole weapon used for hunting and war, consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastened to the shaft, such as obsidian or bronze. The most common design is of a metal spearhead, shaped like a triangle or a leaf.

Spears were arguably one of the most common personal weapons from the late Bronze Age until the advent of firearms. They may be seen as the ancestor of such weapons as the lance, the halberd, the naginata and the pike. One of the earliest weapons fashioned by human beings and their ancestors, it is still used for hunting and fishing, and its influences can still be seen in contemporary military arsenals as the rifle-mounted bayonet.

Spears can be used as both melee and ballistic weapons. Spears used primarily for thrusting tend to have heavier and sturdier designs than those intended exclusively for throwing. Two of the most noted throwing spears are the javelin thrown by the ancient Greeks and the pilum used by the Romans.

History

Spear manufacture and use is also practiced by the Pan troglodytes verus subspecies of the Common Chimpanzee. This is the only known example of animals besides humans crafting and using deadly weapons. Chimpanzees near Kédougou, Senegal were observed to create spears by breaking straight limbs off of 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.^[1]

Archeological evidence documents that wooden spears were used for hunting 400,000 years ago. However, wood does not preserve well. 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.^[2]

By 250,000 years ago wooden spears were made with fire-hardened points. From 280,000 years ago humans began to make complex stone blades, which were used as spear points. By 50,000 years ago there was a revolution in human culture, leading to more complex hunting techniques.^{[citation needed]}..

Usefulness

The utility and longevity of the spear as a universal personal weapon rises from several factors, including versatility, cost efficiency, ease of use and effect.

A spear was a relatively low cost weapon or tool compared to other weapons available in pre-industrial societies. In this period, when metals and the ability to work them were expensive, the spear was seen as "cost effective". The steel required for a sword, for example, would be sufficient to make several spear heads. A spear not only takes less metal, but does not require the same quality of material, the same amount of time, or the same level of skill to manufacture; the result is still a weapon of potentially lethal effect.

A spear is relatively easy to use. Again, in comparison with other weapons in the periods of the spear's widest use, a spear requires less training and practice to wield effectively (though not necessarily expertly), notably for formation use since its thrusting techniques minimize disruption to teammates on either side. Modern experiments by reenactors have shown that a group of people can be trained to use spears in an effective shield wall as militia in a few weeks of part-time training.

Spears vary greatly in function depending upon the length of the shaft, weight of the point, and location of the grip. Short spears, like those developed by the Zulu, were used for single combat in close proximity. Most short and mid-length spears were also used for throwing; in fact, the Roman pilum was specifically built to stick in and foul a target's shield. Greek long pikes, on the other hand, were used in large battle formations, called phalanges (sg. phalanx), to keep the opponent at a distance. With the rise of heavily armored knights in the medieval age, spear shafts began to be reinforced to be planted against the ground and halt charging cavalry. The lance, a form of spear gripped at the base and wielded with one hand, was also developed to be used from horseback. Though cavalry spears had been used before, the lance was made popular by the medieval sport of jousting.

In addition to being a cheap, relatively easy to wield weapon that could be quickly manufactured and used in large numbers, often at a considerable distance from the target, a spear in experienced hands is fast and lethal.

Most people in modern times undervalue the spear, thinking that a sword would easily overcome anyone with a spear in single combat. It appears to be a widely held belief that a spear is useless unless arrayed in a line, but this is not the case. A spear in the hands of a skilled wielder can be as deadly as any swordsman in a one on one fight, even if fighting someone armed with a shield. Spears are among the fastest close combat weapons that exist, due to their light weight and the fact they are often wielded with two hands, allowing very quick withdrawals and feints. The great length also keeps opponents at a distance, making their weapon useless, as long as the spear wielder can prevent an enemy blade from chopping cleanly through the spearshaft.

Spear Handling

Spears, although apparently simple weapons, have a remarkable variety of wielding methods. Some are listed here from most passive to most active motions.

1. Holding the spear or bracing it against the ground, the enemy impales himself.

2. The spear is thrust out with the arms alone.

3. The spear is held stiffly, and the thrust is delivered by stepping forward.

4. The spear is thrust out with the arms while stepping forward with one or both feet.

5. The front hand releases as the back hand and back foot move forward to perform a long thrust.

6. The spear is slid through the front hand, propelled by the back hand. The forward foot steps forward and the back circles the body out of the line of thrust.

7. The spear is thrown, often at a run, releasing when the opposite foot to the throwing arm is forward.

8. The spear is held couched under one arm, allowing a swinging motion as well as a powerful thrust.

Symbolism

More than a weapon, a spear may be a symbol of power. In the Chinese martial arts community, the Chinese spear (Qiang 槍) is popularly known as the "king of weapons". In ancient Greece it was a yoke of spears that had to be borne when submitting to an enemy. The Celts would symbolically destroy a dead warrior's spear to prevent their use by another.

Livy records that the Romans and their early enemies would force prisoners to walk underneath a 'yoke of spears', which humiliated them. It has been surmised that this was because such a ritual involved the prisoners' warrior status being taken away. In the early Roman armies the first two lines of battle, the hastati and principes, fought with swords, while the elite triarii who formed the final line fought with spears.

Odin's spear (called Gungnir) was of ashwood, made from the "World-Tree" Yggdrasil, and it may be remarkable that Chiron's wedding-gift to Peleus when he married the nymph Thetis at a wedding attended by all the Olympians, was an ashen spear (although this could be coincidental, as the nature of ashwood with its straight grain made it an ideal choice of wood for a spear).

Also in Greek Mythology Zeus' bolts of lightning can be interpreted as a symbolic spear, and some would carry that into the spear that is frequently associated with Athena, interpreting her spear as a symbolic connection to some of Zeus' power beyond the Aegis.

Another spear of religious significance was the Spear of Destiny, an artifact believed by some to have vast mystical powers.

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).

Making a Spear

Making a spear using a rock end is a little hard to do, so focus on the basics of spear making. Usually, the most efficient and non-time-costly way of doing this is just a sharpened stick. The sharpened wood, when thrown or lunged directly forward, can cause just as much damage as a rock pointed spear. To make it as lethal as possible, you will want it to be sharpened with a razor blade. Two VERY important rules to this: 1. If the razor is rusty, this will become very tiring, and dangerous. If the blade catches loose, getting slashed is a risk. 2. The lower you get from the spears point, the better. This makes the point 6x sharper than it could usually be. To do this, there is a technique. You need the spear to be at least 10in. below your average measurment. Make a three inch measurment from the tip down. This is where you should start. Remember: A clean, non-rusty knife will do perfectly, as it cuts cleanly and gives a straight cut, making the spear sharper. Making the spear with a rock is not very smart, but if you must do this as a last resort, if you do not have a razor, then this will be alright, however, chances are that the tip will develop a bit of a dust, which will cover the spears end, and decrease its lethalality by a great amount. When the spear is made, it can cut through almost every type of skin, fur, scales, ect. The only thing that will not have a guranteed result is attacking an alligator, shark, or other creatures with harder scales or bones, but with a well placed head hit, can kill it if thrown at a strong force. To make the power of this weapon increase even higher, an atlatl will increase the strength of this weapon tenfold. PLEASE keep in mind, you must treat an atlatl just as you would treat any other deadly weapons, such as a gun or a bow and arrow. The reason of this is because long ago, the native americans used these to hunt and kill huge mastodons and wooly mammoths, making this a very, very dangerous weapon.

Types of spears

Spears which are not usually thrown

Arbir Aunurgith Awl pike Barchi Boar spear Bohemian ear spoon Chimbane Contus Doru Dung Fauchard Guandao (关刀/関刀) Halberd Half pike Hasta Ji Jousting lance

Kadji Kamayari Katakamayari Kontos Lance Magari yari Military fork Mon-Gil Mon-Gil Ox tongue Partisan Pike Plançon a picot Qiāng (槍) Ranseur Rifle-and-bayonet (built in the likeness of a spear, a blunt long shaft and a tip to thrust with, but not usually considered one) Rochin (unsure whether thrown) Rummh

Sangu Sarissa Sibat Spetum Spontoon Sudis Su yari Taru Tepoztopilli (Actually a slashing weapon) Trident Trishula To-ono Xyston Yari

Spears usually thrown

Angon Assegai Ballam Bandang Bhala Bilari Budiak Cateia Chimbane Cirit Contus Do-War Egchos Enhero Fal-feg Falarica Framea Gravo Golo Granggang Hak Hinyan Hoko Huata Irpull Ja-Mandehi Jaculum Jarid Javelin Jiboru Kasita

Kan-Shoka Kannai Koyuan Kujolio Kuyan Laange Lance-Ague Lanza Lama-pe Leister Mahee Makrigga Makura Yari Mandehi liguje Máo (矛) Mkukt Mongile Mongoli Mu-Rongal Nage-Yari Nandum Nerau One flue harpoon Paralyser Patisthanaya Pelta Pill Pillara Pilum Plumbatae

Sang Sangkoh Sanokat Saunion Shail Shanen kopaton Siligis Short spear (or common spear) Simbilan Sinan Sligi Soliferrum Spiculum Sudanese lance Tahr Ruan Tao Tawok Telempang Vel Te yari Tirrer Tjunkuletti Toggling harpoon Tombak Tschehouta Tumpuling Two flue harpoon Wainian Wallunka Wi-Valli Zagaye

Famous Spears

• Spear of Destiny Spear that pierced the side of Jesus.
• Gungnir Spear of Odin, famous god in Norse mythology.
• Amenonuhoko Spear of Izanagi and Izanami, creator gods in Japanese mythology .
• Spear of Lugh or Spear of Lúin named after Lugh, a god in Irish mythology.
• Gáe Bulg Spear of Cúchulainn, hero in Irish mythology.
• Trishula Spear of Shiva, a Hindu god.
• Octane Serpent Spear of Zhang Fei (Yide) from the Three Kingdoms period in China

See also

• Pole weapon
• Dart
• Arrow
• Lajinaa
• Atlatl
• Woomera
• Migration period spear
• Viking Age arms and armour
• lance
• pike (weapon)

Notes and references

External links

• SPEAR (O. Eng. spere, O. H. Ger. sper, mod. Ger. sp
• Anglo-saxon spear forging
• Modern spear-forging techniques
• Basic Spear Training

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