Halberd

HALBERD s. (germ. helmbarte, axe with handle). variety of pole weapon, topped with a long, broad and pointed blade, which is crossed by a second, crescent-shaped one: a halberd blow.
– Encycl. The halberd was a pole weapon made in such a way that the man who carried it could both cut and thrust. It was handled with both hands and it could cut off the head of a horse or that of a man, in spite of the resistance of the strongest coats of mail or the most solid armours. As early as the XI th century, the halberd was used by some of the Norman warriors who took part in the battle of Hastings, as demonstrated by the famous tapestry made by Queen Mathilde, which depicts the fight. It remained the weapon of the english infantry until Elizabethan times. France did away with it in 1756, it now merely ornates swiss guards in churches.

Extract from the Trousset encyclopedia, 1886 – 1891.