1888

Halberd

Meilen, 1610‒1620

Since the late medieval period, the halberd (or halbert) was, aside from the pike, the most important, often battle-winning weapon. Among Graubünden and Swiss soldiers, they were very widespread until the 17th century.

In the museum’s collection, far more than a hundred of these pole weapons can be found. However, since many replicas were made in the 19th century, a substantial number of them are not as old as they appear to be. Nevertheless, the exhibited halberd can in fact be attributed to an early-modern armourer. It was made by Hans Balthasar Erhardt (approx. 1580‒1636) from Meilen.