#lucerne hammer

[oldschoolfrp]

"The Nomenclature of Pole Arms" by Gary Gygax explained exactly what all those obscure names in the AD&D Players Handbook meant (article in Dragon magazine 22, February 1979). This expanded on a pair of articles that originally appeared in the first two issues of The Strategic Review in 1975. Unfortunately these issues came and went, leaving most AD&D players confused about many of these terms for another decade.

Note the heading for the "Partisans" section is missing, following the "Ranseur" paragraph. There the infamous "Bohemian ear spoon" finally is revealed to be a variant partisan with spikes instead of small side blades. Later the "Lucern hammer" (or "Lucerne") is illustrated and described as a very pointy piercing weapon with extra prongs, not the blunt bludgeoning weapon many cleric players assumed.

Gygax was a good researcher and synthesizer of secondary sources. He was dedicated to crafting diverse material into a single coherent rules system. Game rules generally are improved when terms are defined precisely and consistently.

But that goal sometimes made him prone to nerd rage when critiquing some else's different use of terminology. In reality these old names did not have precise meanings across all time and space. Given that "medieval" spans at least 500 years by some definitions, and Europe alone had many different nations, cultures, and languages, there's room to accept that primary sources didn't agree about all of these names.

(For that Will McLean comic, see previously)

[skullgrind]

LUCERNE HAMMER - The Grinder's Song (2026)

[armthearmour]

A Pollaxe with a shortened haft constructed like a Lucerne Hammer,

OaL: 48 in/121.8 cm

Western Europe, ca. 1470-1520, housed at the Art Institute of Chicago.

[armthearmour]

A Pollaxe commonly called a Lucerne Hammer, Swiss, 15th century, housed at the Musée de l'Armée.

[armthearmour]

A Pollaxe, Lucerne Hammer, or Bec de Corbin,

OaL: 79.9 in/202.9 cm

Head Length: 8.5 in/21.6 cm

Width: 9.6 in/24.5 cm

Weight: 7.5 lbs/2608.2 g

Italy, 15th century, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[armthearmour]

A Lucerne Hammer made for the burghers' militia of Lucerne, probably made in Luzern, Switzerland, ca. 1500, housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

[armthearmour]

The Metropolitan Museum of Art lists this as a Lucerne Hammer, although I believe it can also technically be called a Bec de Corbin or a Pollaxe. Swiss, ca. 1520.

[blastbeat]

lucerne hammer [canada] // atmospheric black metal.

“fawn’s fortress” was released as a single via bandcamp in 2025.

the song was written for "from dreams to living things iii: from the plough to the stars" from fiadh productions: "100% of proceeds from this compilation will benefit fawn's fortress animal sanctuary, a non profit located in the magical pine barrens of new jersey".