Pollaxes - Wallace Collection with Dr. Capwell and Mr. Boer Bront, Part 1

Matt Easton with Dr. Tobias Capwell and Augusto Boer Bront at the Wallace Collection, looking at the two famous pollaxes stored in the armoury there.

[@Ken19700]

One thing is for sure, Augusto agrees.

[@allenbournes4697]

Ken MacMillan lol

[@gazzertrn]

noddy lol

[@BJ9992]

Dr Tobias' face is like "wow what a bunch of nerds, even by my standards" haha.

[@CarnalKid]

BJ9992 He has some hardcore RBF in general.

[@orangejoe204]

Dr. Capwell is an interesting character. He famously commissioned a full set of custom MacPherson plate harness--gorgeous shiny black with brass accents--strictly for historical purposes (as he was the jousting demonstrator and Curator at the Glasgow museum), but then sold it to some random mook in South Africa to hang on his wall. Still the most handsome and lovingly crafted set of functional plate I've ever seen, historical or modern. And now it's in some rich dude's den. I realize it surely cost $10k+ to make, but still... what a shame. I'd have kept it forever and showed up for work as The Black Knight.

[@jediknight73]

Lol

[@favkisnexerade]

7:42 exactly lol

[@notsoprogaming9789]

@@orangejoe204 It almost certainly cost at least 30k canadian (~20k us) and probably much more in my eye

[@Pyre001]

The security guard at 10:44 is like: 'Yeah like hell I'm gonna get involved with those guys, they've got axes...'

[@benjaminlammertz64]

I so envy this man for his job...

[@kauhanen44]

"Who the hell- oh, axemen. Fuck no."

[@grailknight6794]

Matt is trained to kill and has a giant axe in his hands! You better not get involved really...

[@dajolaw]

For all the academic know-how on display, that guard is clearly the smartest man in the room. "They have axes? F that, I'm out."

[@owo5869]

and hammer and spear all in one.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Special thanks to Dr. Capwell for letting us handle his collection and to Augusto for a very nice day hanging out.

[@wierdalien1]

scholagladiatoria pretty dang cool

[@DzinkyDzink]

Why the latter pollaxe has a flat axehead? What is the exact reason behind the design? Shouldn't a rounded blade have better cutting?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yes a curved edge concentrates the energy into a smaller contact area. The straight edge generally spreads the energy out over a large impact area. It's clear that for some reason they really liked straight edges on some pollaxes and halberds, but we don't know why. There are theories, but I don't think I have seen a convincing one yet.

[@saltypork101]

On halberds that I've seen, they seem to go even further, preferring concave axe blades! What's up with that?

[@cknmikee]

+saltypork101 I think that concave forward tilted axe heads on halberds might be specifically designed to help with draw cutting. The same could be the case with straight (tilted or not) blades actually. There are some extremely concave blades though, to a point where striking with them doesn't seem to be their primarily role anymore. They look more like parrying spikes to me to be honest. Especially in the later examples, these could be designed to catch enemy pikes.

[@SharpWalkers]

0:31 I laughed so hard at the way Augusto and Matt, one after the other, looked straight into the camera. I don't why it was funny.

[@baddgerpaw]

I laughed when you pointed it out

[@scholagladiatoria]

Part 2 is ready and coming very soon.

[@isildu]

Not soon enough ;)

[@Stephen_Curtin]

Hey Matt. The treatises show us how pollaxes were used in single combat but unfortunately say nothing about how they were used when fighting in formation on the battlefield. I would love to see you cover this topic in a video.

[@CanalTremocos]

@Stephen Isn't it generally accepted they are more of a shock troop's weapon, for where formations become harder to maintain.

[@Stephen_Curtin]

Joaquim Guerreiro What exactly do you mean by shock troops? Pollaxes were used by lines of dismounted men at arms. The poleaxe was unquestionably a great weapon for single combat in and open space, but what I'm curious about is how was it used when two lines of infantry met on the battlefield?

[@Kubaaa555]

What about glaives and naginatas? We want see them too

[@IPostSwords]

I have to get myself to the Wallace collection one day. Such an amazing variety and quality of arms.

[@wierdalien1]

IPostSwords i live really close, all things considered and I still havent got to it

[@IPostSwords]

I live in Australia, which is my current excuse. But I'll be in europe soon, so I'll have to visit.

[@MaciejNaumienko]

I've been there last year - totally worth it.

[@penttikoivuniemi2146]

They close at 5 PM, just a warning... I went to England this Summer, and obviously went to see the Wallace Collection, and by the time I got there I only had 45 minutes to actually look at things. And I'd probably be entertained for a week just examining all the fancy stuff there, it has a ton of interesting things even aside from the weapons and armor. And oh, it's free.

[@IPostSwords]

If I did go to england I'd probably travel from museum to museum, and I'd probably allocate a full day to the Wallace collection, as well as some other museums (Royal Armoury, maybe the V&A Museum)

[@Zajuts149]

Augusto just hit the jackpot. In the Wallace collection, talking with Matt and Dr. Capwell, and handling a pollaxe:)

[@yoya.]

Wow, good job. Really knocked it out of the park with that one.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Thanks

[@tisFrancesfault]

I've loved poleaxes since secondary school, my history teacher had one along side a suit of, if i remember correctly, genuine 17th century armour (Stuart).

[@Knight_Astolfo]

10:47 "What have I done?"

[@KyallIreland]

Dr. Capwell is remarkable. Always love seeing two great minds working together.

[@rat_thrower5604]

That's some furious nodding

[@LuxTheSlav]

Augusto smiling and nodding periodically is just about the best thing about this video :D

[@Pompelipom33]

I love these videos when you have detailed discussions with Tobias about weapons (and armours). So much interesting info about the weapon.

[@ElGeecho]

Matt Easton and Dr. Capwell both enjoy talking so much, that it sometimes feels like there's a tiny bit of tension when they're on video together. As if one is impatient to talk some more while the other is talking. lol

[@Doorsofprcptn]

Yeah somewhat maybe, I was thinking "let Dr Capwell speak plz" because he has interesting knowledge and I like to listen to his stories and insight and we can always hear Mr Easton talk in his other videos. Ohh and of course the video ends when Dr Capwell starts talking, dang it ;)

[@atic7910]

young people... working in the museum... Awesome!

[@kairyumina6407]

I was in this room on my honeymoon in June! The Wallace collection is truly amazing

[@Feminismisfornobody]

i went there it was great was kind of hoping i'd see matt wondering around tho tbh

[@CarnalKid]

Feminism is for nobody One only sees Captain Context when he wishes to be seen.

[@BurniOwnz]

Always glad to see Tobias. I can't put my finger on it, but he has one of those perfect narration voices.

[@Duhya]

*nods*

[@GOAT-rl2uq]

Awww yisss, poleaxes! I love axes and axe like weaponry in general, great to get more of this sort of content on the channel!

[@Immopimmo]

Pollaxes! :D I wish my wife was a pollaxe...

[@DzinkyDzink]

They don't have holes in them, why would you want one?

[@penttikoivuniemi2146]

Do you use your wife to hit armored opponents?

[@merlball8520]

Loved this episode. Excellent!

[@kurtbogle2973]

A pollaxe, I have to make one of those. Thank you for the documentation of what it looks like.

[@blueband8114]

Looking forward to part 2. Very interesting.

[@BigZ7337]

Thanks for the great video, I'm looking forward to part 2. :)

[@shanejustice7307]

A wealth of information....thank you.

[@blz346]

Really looking forward to the next part.

[@NotMeButAnother]

Wow, I love how dense in information this video was.

[@Psiberzerker]

Thank you so much for doing this, Matt! (I

[@ryan2500ya]

great video, good job guys

[@LordInter]

first video suggested after is a similar one from 2015, wow how things change and improve 😁

[@Ninjamanhammer]

Yay, more Capwell!

[@HeroLanding]

That's a beautiful poleaxe.

[@zerrowolf6747]

Very cool, I have his book covering this collection! Good to see the people and place behind it.

[@gfhjkfghj4208]

God, that gothic style axe is such a gorgeous beast.

[@Jremyisawsome1111]

Lovely, lovely poleaxes.

[@martialme84]

6:00 It is hard not to like you, considering how you are mindful about your viewers´ point of view and how it is present in your mind that many of us have a certain "agenda" as to why we watch the kinds of videos that creators like you put on the internet. Details like the recessed languettes are easy to miss on a video like this. Even if you pay close attention and have seen footage of polearms often. Thank you very much for giving a shit about our viewpoints. (edit) I´m getting the feeling that my knowledge of the english language didn´t quite permit me to get across exactly what i was trying to...Well you work with what you got.

[@RyanRyzzo]

Smashing!

[@Hellspijker]

Need More!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@OutlawMaxV]

This is amazing! Spoil me more!

[@roberttauzer7042]

Toby my man! Long time no see. Phenomenal vid btw.

[@marcdonovan3331]

Augusto been practicing the nods!

[@robinburt5735]

You could make a drinking game with this. Everytime someone nods take a shot :)

[@DoktorWeasel]

Liver failure would kick in by the end of the video.

[@yermanoh]

like a kid in a sweet shop

[@muskyelondragon]

These are absolutely wicked weapons. If I was wearing good plate armor the pollaxe is my first weapon choice.

[@garyg3468]

Shout out to the guy standing there while Matt holds a Poleaxe over his head in a striking fashion for like 1/2 this vid >XD

[@Xileph410]

Moreeee!!! Please...

[@th_blck_knght]

Could you maybe sometime, maybe in multiple videos, go into detail on medieval scabbard construction, like, what sort of pieces were they made of.

[@Yorosero]

I'd love to own a battle-ready replica of that ornate poleaxe.

[@NoahWeisbrod]

We all would, mate.

[@DoktorWeasel]

It does seem to be the model for most replicas I've seen. Most of the rest being modeled off of that earlier one. But the attention to detail always varies from maker to maker. I think the Arms and Armor one is considered the best mass-produced replica. www.arms-n-armor.com/pole010.html But for a really exact or highly decorated copy you'd have to do custom.

[@DoktorWeasel]

sbcontt Could be, I don't really follow his channel. If that's the case then custom might be the best option for something usable.

[@eerohongisto821]

AD MORTEM INIMICUS!

[@matteussilvestre8583]

Uh... Deus Vult?

[@eerohongisto821]

Halberdier its from for honor but good to know

[@Kiyomoto657]

@@eerohongisto821 I'm here two years late for a Lawbringer comment.

[@spookyshark632]

Dammit I need part 2 already

[@Prometheus720]

When you brought out the older poleaxe and started talking about the evolution of weapons, that made me wonder if anyone has made a simple timeline of European weapons and why they were developed/popularized/spread. It would be interesting to see how weapons and armor came about, at what time period, and in what locations in some sort of interactive fashion.

[@DoktorWeasel]

I've seen some very basic ones for things like pole-arm and sword types and helms. For example: www.tameshigiri.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/evolution-of-pole-arms.jpg and: img.myconfinedspace.com/wp-content/uploads/tdomf/213571/SwordFamily.png and: angelasancartier.net/wp-content/uploads/Evolution-of-European-medieval-helmets.jpg

[@aldor9357]

The ship continues

[@edi9892]

I really like the first pollaxe. It might be plain, but it has a nice, harmonic proportions. The one thing that makes me wonder though is the small axe-head. If it was concave like most late halberds, it would be fine for bashing armour, but this one is clearly for chopping soft targets. For this purpose, it is a bit small. In fact, it is too small to chop off someones head, which is not a problem per se, since a severed spine or jugular is enough, but hitting a moving target with such a small cutting surface is far from trivial.

[@discochoir]

Great vid. Was over too fast. Matt would you agree that the straight edge axe blade is better against plate than the rounded edge? My reasoning is that plate armour is rounded to deflect so a straight edge is less likely to glance. That and the sharp corners could bite into armour. Thoughts?

[@zaganim3813]

ya should ask em to put this video up on the wallace collections website!

[@phantomapprentice6749]

That 2nd poleaxe is built like someone was really paranoid about it getting chopped off in a parry also the strange guard it has.

[@MrGustaphe]

The transverse langettes went as a loop above the head, right? The two that go in line with the head, is that too a single length of metal, and is it laid between the head and the wood?

[@DaaaahWhoosh]

I really hope Part II expands on the backstory of the Joust of Peace.

[@scholagladiatoria]

It does.

[@DoktorWeasel]

Could you maybe do a video with him regarding jousts? Like the historical rules for jousting, the various styles of joust and when/where they were popular and the equipment and techniques needed for each. Considering he's both a historian and a jouster himself, I'm sure he'd have great insights. Maybe more talk about heavy cavalry and lance charges in a war context as well.

[@KimmoKM]

Always nice to see Dr. Capwell Anyhow, looking at the bottom end of the shaft in 6:30, the pollaxe appears to have a rounded metal tip. Is that common, and how does it compare to a spike?

[@scholagladiatoria]

That is covered in Part 2 ;-)

[@edi9892]

Question about langets: Don't the rivets weaken the staff? If I had to fix an axe or hammer to a long pole, I would rather attach the langets with perpendicular bands similar to a barrel. That way no holes would weaken the staff and any force would press against a larger surface.

[@Experiment-ft3hg]

Matt if you read this comment I have a question on the poleaxe with the hand guard. It seems to be four sided on the shaft above the hand guard but six to eight sided below the guard. I'm I seeing that correctly? And is that the shape on the other poleaxe shaft? Thanks

[@dajolaw]

3:00 - One of my first thoughts when seeing the pollaxes was, "I wonder if the shafts are original, or a later remounting?" I've clearly been watching your videos too long. :-)

[@DoktorWeasel]

Same here. Sounds like they haven't carbon-dated them. That could possibly settle whether they are original, and maybe help pin down the date. I'm not sure how expensive it is, and of course it does involve taking a piece of the wood off, and the collection probably doesn't want to do that.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Carbon dating is not usually precise enough to date things this modern.

[@DoktorWeasel]

I know it has large error bars, but I thought it was enough to tell a 19th century replacement from a 14th century original. But I guess not.

[@zerozerosud]

Wow, Augusto on the schola channel! I guess the HEMA world is a small one but it's weird to see people I associate to the international/public sphere meet with someone who inhabits a more local/personal folder of my brain ^^

[@emarsk77]

About langets protecting the shaft from breaking on impact, there's a nice video of Skallagrim testing a pollax and the shaft broke right below the head at the first strike. On impact, there's a lot of leverage between the tip of the blade and its attachment, and in the slow-mo you can really see it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omWaepeZbMahfZY

[@proteg1788]

Drawing from my engineering background and fence repair experience (own a horse farm), I am guessing the fully boxed langets is "too strong". Total guess. It focuses the blow on the wood right where the langets end. By using strips and being less rigid, they would add some strength but not so much to remove too much flexibility. Its a balance between strength and flexibility. Guessing.

[@pauladams1814]

Amazing weapons. Intuitively I would have thought the hammer with the 4 protuberances would do more damage than the meat tenderizer one.

[@scholagladiatoria]

To an unarmoured person, yes. Though I think the purpose of both is probably basically the same - to bite against the plate armour and transfer the maximum possible energy to the body underneath.

[@wierdalien1]

scholagladiatoria do you think youd get more chance of localised buckling, not suggesting puncture, with the four point or the tenderizer?

[@grinofthegrimreaper]

Maybe it's more about the type of damage than the amount. The 4-spike head seems a good design if your main goal is to try and get through armor (partially at least), which would make sense for earlier, thus weaker and thinner, types of plate. On the other hand the meat tenderizer style is bad at going through armor, but is excellent at caving it in. Later plate was almost impenetrable, it was far easier to cave the armor in and make breathing (for example) really hard, potentially impossible, than trying to penetrate it. Not an expert though, so take this with a grain of salt haha

[@grinofthegrimreaper]

also, the spiked one seems dangerously prone to getting stuck in the armor

[@pauladams1814]

Many interesting points thanks

[@HatcheDWheeL]

Dammit Matt! Unexpected cuts may work well in fighting, but that does not mean it translates well into video editing!

[@FyoungK]

That guy is agrees with every word Matt says

[@Einomar]

FyoungK Well if Matt's assessment is correct what is there to do but agree?

[@wierdalien1]

FyoungK not qutie sure what blather about

[@faenrir11]

why are those pole axe blades flat in some cases? It would seem that a flat edge delivers less concentrated force than a curved edge and yet the flat (straight) edge is a later thing. What's the reason?

[@wierdalien1]

Halberdier thats possible

[@fabiovarra3698]

but you would have the hammer to hit the helmet

[@clearmelody6252]

Indeed, and the fact that most swords have flat or mostly flat edges doesn't stop them from doing the same. If you make the cut with the right technique, the blade doesn't need a curve to cut effectively.

[@MrMiddleWick]

It looks dope as fuck

[@robinburt5735]

Indeed, sometimes it's just because someone thinks it looks cool.

[@richarddelotto2375]

Just a thought, sir, but I suspect the shorter poleaxe would be of far greater use fighting in city streets,

[@SuperFunkmachine]

Have a lot of axes been re-shafted up to eye level, in the 18th/19th century.

[@TheOhgodineedaname]

The heads look significantly smaller than I expected by looking at photo's

[@kurtbogle2973]

So does basis staff technique work for a Pollaxe ?

[@Lextor667]

How many times the guy on the right nodded?

[@sealo97]

Awesome video just started getting into pole axes and pole arms .. I’d love to visit the collection where abouts is it?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Manchester Square, near Bond Street underground station, London.

[@sealo97]

Thanks I’ll be sure to give it a visit I’m not to far away :) I just got back from the royal armoury in Leeds and that was awesome too

[@j3b3mt1username]

great video.. i am looking to recreate one and this video is really helpfull. but something puzzels me. on wallace collection web page mesurment from axe to hammer states around 16cm... they look much larger in video o.O

[@martialme84]

7:08 In case you care about German pronunciation: "vom Tag" is to be said as 1.) - phom tug - or 2.) - fom tug - The letter "v" in German words is always said like the letter "f".

[@kurtbogle2973]

Isn't a Pollaxe a consolidation of the spear and the axe so a solider has a more versatile weapon at his disposal?

[@jamesmoechnig3855]

Would either of these axes have been used as combat weapons by large numbers of troops? The newer one in particular appears to have significant craft and effort in it, which makes me think it was perhaps an unusually fine object in its time. How would it compare to the weapon of ordinary troops? (edit:) ... and that's answered in Part 2.

[@scholagladiatoria]

No, these are 'knightly' weapons. The commoners' version would be a halberd or bill.

[@ryanjones3043]

Is that a bobble head they invited to the museum? I think they gave it a name.... was it Augusto?

[@augus7085]

-Could you make a video telling us about armor? Personally I am interested in understanding Indian armor vs European or samurai armor. No one has made a video about this. Thank you in advance.

[@DoktorWeasel]

Have you seen the collaborative videos of Knyght Errant and The Metatron? They did mobility demonstrations and comparisons of European plate and samurai armor. Of course they did focus on the individual harnesses they had available, which were of different dates. But still had some nice overview. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYO1Z3xjd7F-mLM and kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmO6nGetbr9ja9k Also if you're not familiar with the channel, Knyght Errant is hands down the best channel for European plate armor I've seen. Tons of great information and good clear presentation. kzbin.infovideos I don't know if there are any comparable channels for Indian or Japanese armor. I think Metatron touches on Japanese armor some more in his other videos, but I don't know how much, I never really got into his channel.

[@augus7085]

Thank you :D

[@jazzybeatssupreme]

Could I ask who created treatises on bill fighting at all?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Antonio Manciolino from 1531 is one example.

[@danielleriley2796]

Couldn’t you carbon date the pole in the pole axe? Especially the second one? Sure the wood might be recycled and the shaft might be a later replacement for the original but if you dated both shafts then one may be markedly older than the other and the bigger the age split make it easier to infer age ranges.

[@KDAirman]

And weren't there not also like the raven beak bec de corbin same time as poll axe

[@beaucrawford538]

The smaller of the two gentlemen seems to really enjoy nodding in agreement.

[@Smackosynthesis]

Huh.... Thought they would be bigger. By a good bit.

[@LukeChaos]

10:45 ..."Nope."

[@hazzardalsohazzard2624]

What differentiates a halberd from a pollaxe? And is poleaxe and pollaxe just different spellings for the same word?

[@DoktorWeasel]

I think he addresses that a bit in the previous pollaxe video he did with Dr. Capwel. If I recall the distinction can be a bit fuzzy at times. But generally a pollaxes is shorter than a halberd, has a three-part head construction while halberds tend to be single piece and is intended more as a 'knightly' weapon for armored fighting as opposed to used en-mass by common soldiers. Here's the older video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHrCZ61_nZiUd9k Or maybe it was in the accompanying video about a halbard: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iajHlnZ9bNqbY5o As for the spelling, pollaxe is actually more correct although both are used. It's often assumed to be poleaxe because it is an axe on a pole, but in this case the origin is completely different. Poll is an archaic word for 'Head' (the word survives in opinion polls, where it's used in the context of getting a 'head count'). So Head Axe.

[@icejohn94]

i'm watching back at this video, but i was thinking an other thing, just a detail. but... what if you wanted your weapon to break at a certain point so that "if" it breaks you still have an axe. as a reenactor, i found out that one handed axe and war hammers have about the same length as that metal reinforcement at the end, so i thought to myself, well if it breaks i still have a usable axe. i would prefer my pole axe not to break, but if ever it happend i would still have an weapon suitable angainst armored opponent. i would still use my sword as a backup weapon, but it would just happend that there would be an other useable weapon on the field for me to eventualy pick up and use if i get the chance to do so. even if it never happens. but wait.... before you say that it was not meant to be that way, try to think of it as you dueling, you both have the same weapon, you both are probably in armor, it could happen that it would break and then what, is the duel finished or is the condition to kill the opponent ? in Talhoffer manuscript about judiciary duels, you see them finishing the opponent and killing them. so it would be a fight to the death. but if you managed to not die and your weapon was broken, you would still have that weapon you could pick up to defend yourself, and maybe try to win the battle. i can't tell for sure it was intended to be designed for that "secondary" purpose but there might be a chance that they could have thought about this.

[@ThisOldHat]

POLLAXE!!!!!!

[@MrAwawe]

Why haven't they carbon dated the hafts? If indeed a rehafting has been made, then knowing when would be very informative, and if the hafts are original, then carbon dating would tell you almost exactly when they were made.

[@thelonerider5644]

I would think the straight edged head would be less effective...

[@ChumblesMumbles]

So does this mean Augusto is a Pollaxpert?

[@VampiricHorde]

@ 10:45. guy walks on then walks off. lol

[@Strategiusz]

What? The hammer end is for jousting?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Hah, no. This is covered at the beginning of Part 2.

[@alinalexandru2466]

No,it looks like the head of a jousting lance:historicenterprises.com/images/472_large.jpg

[@R8V10]

Is this in 340P?

[@scholagladiatoria]

No, 1080.

[@Ken19700]

KZbin defaulted to 480p for me but it can be changed in the video's settings.

[@R8V10]

On okay it's just not very clear.

[@mathurm100]

why was the guy on the right nodding so much?