This questions stems from a silly musing a buddy of mine and I had the other day but is there such a thing as a scabbard/sheath/hanger for polearms and/or spears and longspears or are they something that are generally carried in hand?
I believe that they are generally just carried in-hand, but I'm sure you could attach a shoulder sling to some, it just might be a little unbalancing.
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Paizo's iconic cavalier has one tucked into his back somehow...
The handle is made out of neodymium magnets. It's in the character bio and lore.
No, really, it is. You don't have to check, just go with it. Seriously. Why would I lie about this?
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Good catch in pointing this out though. Precedence set via artwork, huzzah!
Enormous knitting needles? Giant chopsticks?
generally speaking there was nothing for holding a polearm or spear but in the owners hand... cavalry and other horse mounted warriors could fasion a loop and cup for holding such weapons but the average walking warrior had no such item.
people with personal weapons or ceremonial weapons often had sheaths made out of leather, or some other light material that could be used for covering the blade out of respect or safety and easily slipped off for battle (or even fight with the sheath on when seaking to not cause lasting damage.
IIRC, spears had wooden blocks with a slit in them to go over the blade, and the whole was secured by a leather thong tied to the haft.
The leather cup and thongs can secure a polearm to a backpack or horse.
Axes and such have leather "booties" that slip over the blade and another leather loop/strap that afixes it to the weapon haft.
This questions stems from a silly musing a buddy of mine and I had the other day but is there such a thing as a scabbard/sheath/hanger for polearms and/or spears and longspears or are they something that are generally carried in hand?
Interesting question.
Some sources state that roman soldiers carried a spear in addition to their pilum, but I've never seen any evidence of such things as a scabbard for polearms in roman or renaissance art.
[edit] I found some images of roman bas-reliefs of marching legionaries with extra spears on their backpack in my roman art books. Not in battle action scenes however...
There are some Greek/Etruscan paintings where you can see hoplite-looking warriors with javelins or harpoons somehow attached to their back, but without details as to how they might have been carried.
Come to think of it, I've seen scabbards for claymore-looking swords, but never for longer two-handed sword like the German zweihänder or flammenschwert. Some German etchings of Doppelsöldner show scabbards at belt-level, but its isn't clear if the scabbard belongs to the two-handed sword or to a secondary longsword. More educated input would be welcome.
I'd be tempted to say that polearms were intended to be used as reach, disposable weapons. It's the first thing you use in a battle, then toss it aside in melee and draw your sword or whatever other easily sheathed secondary weapon for hand-to-hand.
[edit] I wouldn't be surprised if polearms units didn't have secondary weapons. If they had to drop their polearms, that would mean that the unit failed to accomplished what it was meant to do. As time went on, warcraft included more and more specialized units. As far as fantasy gaming goes, I don't think I would allow a reach weapon to be carried without penalties, but I would allow spears and halberds to be strapped around one's back. Probably realistically impractical, but close-enough for a RPG.
'findel
Naginata and Yari had actual sheathes. They only covered the blades though, and were carried. Some samurai had a way to carry them on their horses, though, but when on foot it was just carried.
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If you've ever seen one in real life, you'd know there isn't a practical way to carry it on your person other than in hand. It's way too long and you need to be able to maneuver it around obstacles (tree limbs, ceilings, etc.) They may have made covers for the blades, both to protect them and limit accidental damage, but that's as close as you get to a sheathe.
As I recall:
There were sheathes for some of the pole arms, but the were more like a leather sock with a drawstring to keep the plade from getting damaged (and to keep from accidentially poking your buddies) not as something to stop you from having to carry the weapon.
Mounted warriors often had a cup down by their feet to put the base of the haft into so they didn't have to carry the weight, but they would still have to hold on to the haft to keep it balanced.
The pack horses/mules though had long hard leather tubes to put lances and spears into that would keep the weapons carried on the side fairly close to parallel with the animals spine except a bit higher toward the front. That would only be useful if you knew it wasn't needed anytime soon.
Seems I remember seeing an old painting where footmen had tied the head of a pole arm to their pack and just let the shaft drag on the ground behind them. That seems like it would be really alkward though unless you were walking on pretty clear level ground in a straight line. So that may have been more the artist imagination than reality.
Javelins had quivers that could be hung from the back but were generally hung from the pomel (sp?) of the saddle. I believe I read they only held like 2-4 javelins though.
War chariots had actual rack on the insides of the compartment for several javelins, long spears, long flails, etc...
In Europe, polearms were mostly instruments for the common soldiers (except for ceremonial guards). So they were carried in bundles by wagons. They would only be passed out to the conscripts when they were lining up before the enemy. In fact I think there were several examples where the viking ambushes managed to burn the wagons first then were able to easily route the unarmed army.
I don't know enough Asian history to comment meaningfully on their use of polearms.
it would be as easy as nailing/riveting a loop of leather somewhere along the haft and attaching it to a peg on your backpack. Not practical for drawing quickly but easy to carry long distances that way.
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There are no "Scabbards" to put the polearm in. It would be to long and awkward. Now the blade? YES. Polemarms did have a leather cover you can put over them. Not that common, it is more for peace binding it or to protect the blade under some instances. But to carry a polearm in a quiver? Try it sometime. Take a 6 foot plus long piece of wood, add a hand axe or a hammer to the end and just try to carry it in a quiver. You'll find it always following over or if the quiver where long enough, hard to get out and still a pain in the ass or back to walk around with.
Did you ever see a Viking, Celt or even a Roman use them? NOPE. Romans carried many in hand, tossed, grabbed another, tossed until they ran out. Where as a Viking or Celt throwing your spear would be like throwing your rifle that is fully loaded at the enemy instead of shooting him.
Did you ever see a Viking, Celt or even a Roman use them? NOPE. Romans carried many in hand, tossed, grabbed another, tossed until they ran out. Where as a Viking or Celt throwing your spear would be like throwing your rifle that is fully loaded at the enemy instead of shooting him.
Hence the roman's pilum had a long and narrow shank. Once used, it bends and cannot be used back against you.
Its not unheard of to protect the blade of a polearm. My friend has a naginata with a sheath.
"Sheathes" to carry a greatsword or large axe on your back exist that you can directly draw the weapon from but they are just a single leather loop with laces to hold it shut. When you draw the weapon, you grab the end of the laces along with the hilt of the weapon and pull to unlace it and release the blade. Putting the weapon back on your back is a whole process though.
I will try to find a picture since that description may not have made much sense. Something similar might work for a spear or halberd but probably not for anything more than about 7' long.
Thanks for all the great responses. Like I said it stemmed from a silly musing we had regarding a fighter who carried a pole-arm for all occasions.
As a GM I do not think I would worry too much about it myself but it did get my brain thinking about a modified encumbrance system that not only accounted for weight but bulk factors as well.
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Some pole arm weapons did have not so much a scabard but a cover of a fashion, but these were often for weapons that had a blade of some kind. it is a fact that short spears or javelins were heald in a quiver of three to five, but these weapons were only three to four feet long so easy to draw. Any thing five foot or better was carried in hand in battel but could be tucked into the strapes of a pack or armor while traveling.