Engineering:Bear spear

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Short description: Type of pole weapon primarily used for bear hunting

A bear spear was a medieval type of spear used in hunting for bears and other large animals. The sharpened head of a bear spear was enlarged and usually took the form of a bay leaf. Right under the head there was a short crosspiece that helped limit the penetration of the spear into the body of an animal and keep it at a distance from the hunter.[1]

The bear spear was similar to a boar spear, but it had a longer and harder shaft and a larger head. Often it was placed against the ground on its rear point, which made it easier to hold the weight of an attacking beast.[1]


In the Slavic countries, it was known as a rogatina,[lower-alpha 1] and used since at least the 12th century. The Slavic term rogatina has a broader meaning: the military ones did have a wide flat head, but did not necessarily have the crosspiece.[2] According to the Hypatian Codex, it was first used as a military weapon in 1149, and as a hunting weapon in 1255, when it was used by Prince Daniel of Galicia in boar hunting; the chronicles say he "killed three of them with his rogatina himself".[3] One of the most famous is the rogatina of Boris of Tver dating to the 15th century, now in the inventory of the Kremlin Armoury.[4]

In Poland, rohatyna could have a single side hook, rather than cross.[5]

In Germany, the bear spear or Bärenspieß was known from at least the Late Middle Ages but was rather rare when compared to Eastern Europe due to the much smaller bear population.[citation needed]

Notes

  1. ↑ Rogatina/rohatyna is derived from the word rog/roh, 'horn', i.e., meaning "a horned thing"

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 [1] Spear for hunting (rus), with photos
  2. ↑ Aleksandr Viskovatov (ru), Историческое описание одежды и вооружения российских войск [Historical Description of Clothing and Weapons of Russian Troops], St. Petersburg, Воен. тип. [Military Publishing House], 1841-1862
  3. ↑ Кирпичников, А. Н. (1966). Древнерусское оружие. Часть 2. Копья, сулицы, боевые топоры, булавы, кистени IX-XIII вв.. Археология. p. 11. "Впервые в летописи рогатина отмечена под 1149 г., что в общем подтверждается и археологически... Так, в 1255 г. Даниил Галицкий, охотясь на вепрей, «сам же уби их рогатиною три»" 
  4. ↑ Myers, Bernard S.; Copplestone, Trewin (1970) (in en). Art Treasures in Russia: Monuments, Masterpieces, Commissions, and Collections. McGraw-Hill. p. 47. https://books.google.com/books?id=Xs1IAQAAIAAJ. 
  5. ↑ Andrzej Rachuba, Sławomir Górzyński, Halina Manikowska: Heraldyka i okolice. DiG, 2002, p. 363. ISBN 978-83-7181-267-5.
  6. ↑ "Arms and Armor in Renaissance Europe" The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)

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