ranseur

The ranseur is a European polearm that appears in late medieval to early modern armies, roughly from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The term is of French origin and is used in various inventories and treatises from that period. The weapon typically features a long shaft, often made of ash, with a hardened head mounted at the end. The head commonly includes a long, narrow spear blade; on many examples there is a secondary projection such as a hook or curved lobe on the opposite side, and some heads show multiple points or a hooked spur. Designs vary by region and maker, and some variants resemble a spear with an integrated grappling hook.

In use, the ranseur was designed for thrusting and for grappling or dismounting opponents. The side hook could seize a weapon, drag a rider from a horse, trip an opponent, or pull shields aside, making it useful in both anti-armor and dismounted combat. It was deployed in infantry formations alongside other polearms and was employed to disrupt cavalry charges or to extend reach in melee.

Regional distribution includes French, Burgundian, Swiss, and German forces, with the weapon appearing in courtly and military contexts of the period. The ranseur coexisted with other polearms such as the halberd, partisan, and glaive, and it gradually declined as firearms became more dominant and standardized infantry equipment emerged.

Today, surviving ranseurs are found in European museum collections. They are of interest to weapons historians and practitioners of historical martial arts, who study period manuals and replicas to understand technique and usage.