War scythe
Type of pole weapon with a curved single-edged blade with the cutting edge on the concave side of the blade
A war scythe or military scythe is a form of pole weapon with a curving single-edged blade with the cutting edge on the concave side of the blade. Its blade bears some superficial resemblance to that of an agricultural scythe from which it likely evolved, but the war scythe is otherwise unrelated to agricultural tools and is a purpose-built infantry melee weapon. The blade of a war scythe has regularly proportioned flats, a thickness comparable to that of a spear or sword blade, and slightly curves along its edge as it tapers to its point. This is very different from farming scythes, which have very thin and irregularly curved blades, specialised for mowing grass and wheat only, unsuitable as blades for improvised spears or polearms.
Quotes
edit- All exclaim in unison: "Enough of this captivity!" We've got the scythes of Ratswavitse, Kościuszko, if God wills.
- Józef Wybicki, "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" (1747), the Polish national anthem
- Original Polish: Na to wszystkich jedne głosy, dosyć tej niewoli, mamy racławickie kosy, Kościuszkę Bóg pozwoli.
External links
edit
Encyclopedic article on War scythe on Wikipedia
