Polish Hussar Lance/Spear examples?

[adrian]

I do not know what the purpose of these hooks is, to me they appear rather weak to have a serious & direct offensive or defensive role & they immediately remind me of the lashing 'hooks' on this combination musket/crossbow (see link). I have no idea if they are for fastening something to the lance and this is merely food for thought.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ation+crossbow

[Victrix]

As I understand it, the famous Polish Winged Hussars were equipped with exceptionally long lances of 4-7m. This meant that their lances would reach a pikeman first if the lance was longer than the pike. It also meant that the lances had to be hollow to reduce weight. Some say the lances splintered easily on impact and were disposable, others argue that the hollowness actually made them stronger and more able to absorb shocks. I understand that the Polished Winged Hussars charged at full gallop, and the shock impact must have been considerable. Some local sources claim that the lance could skewer several enemies on impact.

I think I have seen hooks like that somewhere but can’t recall where. They look like they are intended to catch and rip or deflect (enemy pikes?). The sharp blades attached on the sides would slice where the point might be deflected or it might cut enemy pikes on impact. I tried to search for an antique kopia on the internet to compare but was unable to find one.

[BUCC_Guy]

I found this snippet from a book. These examples of Kopia heads certainly back up the “disposable” idea. My spear is different in every possible way, except that it’s pointy.

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Victrix

As I understand it, the famous Polish Winged Hussars were equipped with exceptionally long lances of 4-7m.

So true. A thought just came to me: if we are to assume that this weapon is indeed of Polish origin, and since from our discussion so far it doesn't seem to fit the description of the kopia associated with the hussars, could it possibly be a regulation pattern used by some other type of Polish military unit? If we had an idea, it could guide us to search in other areas.

The vexing thing is that there seems to be no other comparable examples in existence. At least to our present knowledge. Hopefully the historical military literature might provide an answer, or at least a clue.