Bec de corbin
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A bec de corbin is a European polearm consisting of a combination of a hammerhead, spike, and hook mounted atop a long shaft. Unlike other long weapons of similar design, such as war hammers, a bec de corbin is intended to be used with the "beak", treated as the front side of the weapon, rather than the hammer.
Description
Although a bec de corbin is the product of a modified hammerhead attached to a staff, it is not a dedicated war hammer. A spike protruding from the top of the head dominates its profile while on the other side of the hammer face is a hook commonly referred to as a beak. This beak is designed to tear through enemy armor and into their flesh underneath, and the weapon was essentially a war pick.[1]
The leaf-shaped spikes of bec de corbin employed by the Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins, however, were so broad and prominent that they effectively functioned as spearheads. A gilded variant of this type of bec de corbin also saw service with the French Assassins though it was inferior as a combat weapon.[1]
History
During the French Revolution, the bec de corbin was among the many weapons within the arsenal of the Parisian Brotherhood of Assassins.[1]