A very rare German Gothic War Hammer 'Dolchstreithammer'

[Swordfish]

It was sold many years ago at auction and is now in a private collection.

It is formed of a cast bronze hand which holds an iron dagger-blade of uncommon shape. The inserted blade is fixed with a rare pommel-type, a cube with beveled corners, and a globular tang button. The wooden haft, very probably the original, is fixed with two rivets with iron washers in the form of a rosette. A washer of similar form is below the ring for the aiguillette.

The German name, often used for such weapons is 'Dolchstreitkolben'. Who has established this term is unknown to me, anyway it is the wrong term. The right description is 'Dolchstreithammer'. Once there has been a discussion if this was a weapon or a sign of dignity, but depending on depictions in art, there can be no doubt that it is a weapon.

Nearly as rare as existing examples are depictions in art. After weekends of search through thousands of pictures, I have found good depictions, interestingly the majority of them in the context of polearms.

The earliest depiction in art in the context of polearms is an illuminated manuscript dating c.1460 with two depictions.This manuscript is a copy of an earlier and now lost manuscript dating c. 1420, and we can assume that this manuscript included accordant examples and these weapons were in use before 1420. The second is an altar painting dated c.1465. The next is a painting dated c.1470, and the last are two woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer, dated 1504 and 1510. That Dürer has drawn these arms not necessarily means that they were still in use at this time, artists sometimes used depictions of old arms to show ancient scenes.
Here we have the situation that we have six depictions of this weapon as a long hafted weapon, but no known real existing example, while of the short hafted type a few real existing examples are known, but I have discovered only three depictions in art. Two are from a fencing book by hans Thalhofer, dating 1459. Depicted are two man fighting on foot, one is armed with a sword, the other with a 'Dolchstreithammer'. The third is an altar painting dated c.1475. Although all sources (except Dürer's) date to the second half of the 15th century, it is likely that this weapons already existed decades before. The shape of this weapon resembles closely to the later horseman's hammer, but interestingly both depicted 'Dolchstreithaemmer' are carried by foot soldiers, and not, as I would have expected, by knights on horses. But on the basis of only two sources this may be a mere chance.

Real existing examples are very rare. One was once in the collection of Robert Forrer, the well known arms-historian. It was an excavated find from Alsatia, similar in shape to the examples in the Swiss National Museum Zurich, but dated by Forrer to the late 14th century. It's present whereabouts is unknown to me. Another similar example was at the auction sale of the Karl Gimbel collection in 1904. It is ucertain whether this was excavated or not, again it's whwereabouts is unknown to me.

In museum collections only two in the Swiss National Museum Zurich are known. One has only a short stump, which was once the blade. The second is very similar, but with a somewhat longer blade, very probably also shortened. Both look like excavated and restored. Both are dated by the museum to the second half of the 15th century. The second example is nearly identical with the Forrer example and is probably the one from Forrer with a replaced blade and another wooden haft, or may originate from the same workshop.

Another example in excavated condition, the blade broken off and lost, was at an auction sale some days ago. It was dated by the auction house c.1450.

The hands with the dagger intended for use as a polearm are surely very similar in shape to the ones used for short hafted examples, but must be heavier and larger in size. The example from the Forrer collection has a weight of 300 grams and measures 11.5 cm in length, while the one sold at auction has a length of 14.3 cm and weighs 544 grams. If we add the approximate weight of the missing blade, we have suerly a weight of more than 600 grams, which is twice the weight of the Forrer example. The section of the socket of the auction example is rectangular with chamfered edges, according to the shape of most poles for long hafted weapons, while the socket of the known 'Dolchstreithaemmer' is always round in section. Another remarkable fact is that the socket for fixing the haft is is longer and pierced for five nails. The other examples are fixed with no more than two nails or rivets. Therefore I'm absolutely sure that the one sold at auction was no war-hammer, but a polearm, and is then the only known example of this type.

If I compare the example from the private collection with the five other examples, clear differences are visible, which brings me to the conclusion that it is the earliest. The cast hand is not very detailed, but more stylized in shape, which points to an earlier date. The socket for the haft is yet not reinforced and the pommel is of a rare type which can be found on swords of the 14th century. See the sword once in the Malacrida collection and the effigy of an English knight at Halton Holegate, dated c.1320. The globular tang-button can also be found on swords of the 14th century. Therefore I date this 'Dolchstreithammer' c. 1400, or possibly a little earlier.

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