The saintie is an Indo-Persian parrying spear. It is a staff weapon that can be used both for offensive and defensive purposes. They have been produced since the 16th century and were used up to the 19th century. The use of saintie is extremely scarce today. [1]
Since swords remained expensive items affordable only to affluent officers, staff weapons or polearms or even simple blades fixed to long shafts were developed as a cheaper alternative with highly effective use. Staff weapons were given for the ordinary foot soldier to equip them with powerful and effective killing tools. The Indo-Persians innovated a wide range of staff weapons e.g. iron maces, long-handled battle axes, and long shafts with pointed spearheads at the point e.g. the spear-like saintie. [1]
Staff weapons may have evolved from agricultural implements or from simple clubs. They could be as effective as swords in face-to-face combat. Following the gunpowder revolution, the staff weapons were gradually rendered obsolete. Despite the condition, many staff weapons remained in use and the shape is virtually unaltered up. Some Asian armies in the 18th-century and even in the 19th-centuries still use staff weapons in a battle. [1]
The saintie is used as a parrying weapon. It is a versatile weapon with both defensive and offensive function. The shaft, with its ribbed or ringed design, could be used like a staff to deflect hostile blows. The spear point was thickened to allow an offensive thrust to penetrate the enemy's thick clothing or armor. [1]
Saintie usually measures between 26.75 inches (67.9 cm) to 35 inches (89 cm). [2] The saintie is an all steel or all iron weapon. It consists of a spearhead and a ribbed shaft. The spear blade is thickened and may be serrated to help penetrate stronger armor. The shaft is similarly made of steel or iron and is designed with ribbed hafts or with ring-like features that goes along the length; this is used for parrying swords and other weapons. In some examples, the ribbed hafts are replaced with an intricate and complex pattern, perhaps indicating that the owner of the saintie was an affluent officer or the saintie is merely a display object. Some saintie are found with a thin layer of gold and silver.
The center of the shaft is usually smooth, designed to be strongly gripped. A loop handguard made of strong iron is attached to the center of the shaft to protect the hand. This iron handguard is often elaborately shaped, despite its protective use as knucklebow. [1] Sometimes there's a second spear point placed on the iron handguard. [3] The bottom end of the saintie has a kind of finial, which is used to deliver non-lethal blow to the enemy. [1]
The shaft of the saintie sometimes concealed another dagger. [3]
A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly melee weapons, with a subclass of spear-like designs fit for thrusting and/or throwing. Because many polearms were adapted from agricultural implements or other fairly abundant tools, and contained relatively little metal, they were cheap to make and readily available. When belligerents in warfare had a poorer class who could not pay for dedicated military weapons, they would often appropriate tools as cheap weapons. The cost of training was comparatively low, since these conscripted farmers had spent most of their lives using these "weapons" in the fields. This made polearms the favoured weapon of peasant levies and peasant rebellions the world over.
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as bone, flint, obsidian, copper, bronze, iron, or steel. The most common design for hunting and/or warfare, since ancient times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle, diamond, or leaf. The heads of fishing spears usually feature multiple sharp points, with or without barbs.
A mace is a blunt weapon, a type of club or virge that uses a heavy head on the end of a handle to deliver powerful strikes. A mace typically consists of a strong, heavy, wooden or metal shaft, often reinforced with metal, featuring a head made of stone, bone, copper, bronze, iron, or steel.
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