From Universal to Specialized Weapons? The Techniques of Spear Fighting of Slavs vs. Other Peoples in the European Early Middle Ages. Selected Examples

Abstract

Spear is one of the oldest weapons used by man for combat and hunting. The widespread use of spears was associated with, among other things, the relative ease of their manufacture and the relationship of price to combat utility. There are inaccuracies in the literature related to terminology, such as spear and javelin. It is important to consider how spear was used in fight, whether it was used exclusively for fighting by stabbing and possibly cutting, or whether it was also thrown. The first ones to be mentioned in the sources, the Sclaveni and the Antes, fought mainly with short spears and shields. The term άκοντίον (akontion in Latin transliteration) applied in this context was used to describe the javelin. Also Arabic sources from the 9th century describe Slavs using javelins and short spears. European iconography from the 9th—12th centuries also shows that spears intended for close combat could also be thrown. The spear has undergone far-reaching transformations over the centuries, but the original change was that of use, which entailed an adaptation of form. In the 11th century it began to evolve in two directions: towards the knight’s lance, and later the infantry pike. Very long spear specimens have been found that exceeded 3 m, which may be a manifestation of both of these trends. Only the finding of the lower spear butt could give us the answer whether we are dealing with an infantry or a cavalry weapon in a given specimen.