The obuch, obuszek or obuszysko is a type of melee weapon, very similar to a horseman's pick (Polish: nadziak) but differing from it with a curved beak opposite the hammer. In Poland, it was customary to distinguish this type of weapon by the type of tip: if it has a sharp, perpendicular beak, it is a horseman's pick; if the beak is curled downward, it is an obuch; if it has an axe head, it is a czekan. Most often there was a hammer on the opposite side of the blade.
Used from the 16th to the 18th century by the Szlachta (Polish nobility), it often had a shaft length of 80 to 100cm (31 to 39in) and was carried like a staff and was often bound in velvet and gold twine.
It was a weapon often used in duels and brawls. It was supposed to be safer than a horseman's pick, from which it was made, but the difference was not great, for which reason it was forbidden to bring this type of weapon to sejmiks and also to some churches.
In old Poland, wearing an obuch was so common (for nobles) that it spawned the saying: Bez karabeli ani z pościeli, bez obuszka ani od łóżka ("Don't leave your bedding without a karabela, don't leave your bed without an obuch"). It was a common secondary weapon to a Polish sabre (karabela).
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal, or to crush rock. Hammers are used for a wide range of driving, shaping, breaking and non-destructive striking applications. Traditional disciplines include carpentry, blacksmithing, warfare, and percussive musicianship.
A war hammer is a weapon that was used by both foot soldiers and cavalry. It is a very old weapon and gave its name, owing to its constant use, to Judah Maccabee, a 2nd-century BC Jewish rebel, and to Charles Martel, one of the rulers of France. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the war hammer became an elaborately decorated and handsome weapon.
A sabre or (American English)saber is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as the hussars, the sabre became widespread in Western Europe during the Thirty Years' War. Lighter sabres also became popular with infantry of the early 17th century. In the 19th century, models with less curving blades became common and were also used by heavy cavalry.
The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background.
The Vis or Vis 35 is a Polish 9×19mm caliber, single-action, semi-automatic pistol. Its design was inspired by the Colt 1911 pistol designed by American John Moses Browning.
A bec de corbin 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. 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. Bec de corbin is 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, refers to a related weapon called a poleaxe or, more specifically, to the hook on its reverse side.
The horseman's pick is a weapon of Middle Eastern origin used by cavalry during the Middle Ages in Europe and the Middle East. It is a type of war hammer that has a very long spike on the reverse of the hammer head. Usually, this spike is slightly curved downwards, much like a miner's pickaxe. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with war hammer. A metal-made horseman's pick called "nadziak" was one of the main weapons of the famous Polish Winged Hussars. A weapon of late make, the horseman's pick was developed by the English and used by billmen. It was used with great success during the Hundred Years' War. A use of the horseman's pick was to tear men from their mounts.
A battle axe is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were designed differently to utility axes, with blades more akin to cleavers than to wood axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-handed.
Poland has no official motto of the State, namely the one which is recognized as such by the Polish national law.
Sarmatism was an ethno-cultural identity within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was the dominant Baroque culture and ideology of the nobility that existed in times of the Renaissance to the 18th centuries. Together with the concept of "Golden Liberty", it formed a central aspect of the Commonwealth social elites’ culture and society. At its core was the unifying belief that the people of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth descended from the ancient Iranian Sarmatians, the legendary invaders of contemporary Polish lands in antiquity.
Szabla is the Polish word for sabre.
Lobster-tailed pot helmet, also known as the zischägge, horseman's pot and harquebusier's pot, was a type of combat helmet. It was derived from an Ottoman Turkish helmet type. From c. 1600, it became popular in most of Europe and was especially worn by cavalrymen and officers. The helmet gradually fell out of use in most of Europe in the late 17th century; however, the Austrian heavy cavalry retained it for some campaigns as late as the 1780s.
A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a trap, a power tool, or a quick release. A small amount of energy applied to the trigger leads to the release of much more energy.
The P-64 is a Polish semi-automatic pistol designed to fire the 9×18mm Makarov cartridge. The pistol was developed in the late 1950s at the Institute for Artillery Research by a team consisting of: W. Czepukajtis, R. Zimny, H. Adamczyk, M. Adamczyk, S. Kaczmarski and J. Pyzel. The P-64 is also known as the CZAK.
The Polish hussars, alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which were intended to demoralize the enemy during a charge. The hussars ranked as the elite of Polish cavalry until their official disbanding in 1776.
Horse grooming is hygienic care given to a horse, or a process by which the horse's physical appearance is enhanced for horse shows or other types of competition.
Hauskyjza is a foodstuff made of cottage cheese, carum and other ingredients, which are mixed, put aside for a few days to acquire the characteristic sharp flavor, scent and tacky consistency, and then warmed and fried. Often baking soda is used to condition the cottage cheese. Hauskyjza or Ser Smazony or Ser Zgliwiały is a traditional product in the regions of Greater Poland, Pomerania, Kuyavia, Subcarpathia and Silesia. Before refrigerators were widely available, it was valued because of its high fastness.
An axe is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split, and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialised uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, also called a haft or a helve.
The bangkung or bangkon is a slashing weapon, meant to deliver hacking-type blows. It is a short sword originating in the Sulu Archipelago of the Philippines. The bangkung was used primarily by the Moro people of the Sulu and is not associated with Moros in other areas such as Mindanao, although it is sometimes found in coastal regions. While the bangkung is a very effective sword, it was not popular unlike the panabas and the pirah and for this reason it is one of the most rarely found Moro edged weapons. Few were produced and even fewer survive.
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