bec de corbin
A bec de corbin (Bec de corbeau) is a type of polearm and war hammer that was popular in late medieval Europe. The name is Old French for "raven's beak". Similar to the Lucerne hammer, it consists of a modified hammer's head and spike mounted atop a long pole.
bec de corbin
- Field
- war hammer · pole weapon · cold weapon
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wikidata · Q1930986 · wikipedia · Bec de corbin
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Unlike the Lucerne hammer, the bec de corbin was used primarily with the "beak" or fluke to attack instead of the hammer head. The hammer face balancing the beak was often blunt instead of the multi-pronged Lucerne, and the beak tended to be stouter; better designed for tearing into plate armor, mail, or gambeson. Nonetheless, some becs-de-corbin also had a multi-pronged hammer. The spike mounted on the top of the head was also not nearly as long and thin as on the Lucerne. Sometimes used as a general term to describe several types of war hammer, such as mauls and horseman's picks. A similar name, bec de faucon (meaning "falcon's beak"), refers to a related weapon. The difference between a bec de faucon and bec de corbin is subjective, depending on whether they look more like the beak of a raven or falcon. • Illustration — Illustration of a bec de corbin
Medieval pole weapon, war hammer with a pointed head, and usually with a long handle
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Bec de corbin, revision 1342096514 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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1- war hammerTerminology
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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