Glaive

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Glaive

A glaive is a polearm consisting of a single-edged blade

Blade

A blade is the flat part of a tool, weapon, or machine that normally has a cutting edge and/or pointed end typically made of a flaking stone, such as flint, or metal, most recently steel....
on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese naginata

Naginata

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
Guan Dao

Guan dao

A guandao kwandao or kuantao is a type of China pole weapon that is currently used in some forms of Chinese martial arts. In Chinese it is properly called a ??? yan yue dao , the name under which it always appears in texts from the Song to Qing dynasties such as the Wujing Zongyao and Huangchao Liqi Tushi....
. However, instead of having a tang

Tang (weaponry)

The tang of a sword or fixed-blade knife is that part of the blade extending into and usually through the Hilt#grip that is fastened to it.A full tang means that the grip conforms to the shape and follows the outline of the tang, which is a solid piece of metal ....
like a sword

Sword

A sword is a long, edged piece of metal, used as a cutting, thrusting, and clubbing weapon in many civilizations throughout the world. The word sword comes from the Old English language wikt:sweord, cognate to Old High German swert, Middle Dutch swaert, Old Norse sver? Old Frisian and Old Saxon swerd and Dutch langua...
or naginata

Naginata

Naginata is a pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the samurai class. It has become associated with women and in modern Japan it is studied by women more than men; whereas in Europe and Australia Naginata is practiced predominantly by men - this is however only simply a refection of the martial arts de...
, the blade is affixed in a socket-shaft configuration similar to an axe head. Typically, the blade was around 45 cm (18 inches) long, on the end of a pole 2 m (6 or 7 feet) long. Occasionally glaive blades were created with a small hook on the reverse side to better catch riders.

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Encyclopedia

A glaive is a polearm consisting of a single-edged blade

Blade

Japan

Naginata

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
Guan Dao

Guan dao

Tang (weaponry)

Sword

Naginata

Guisarme

A guisarme was a pole weapon used in Europe primarily between 1000-1400. It was used primarily to dismount knights and horsemen. Like most pole weapon it was developed by peasants by combining hand tools with long poles: in this case by putting a pruning hook onto a spear shaft....
s.

According to the 1599 treatise Paradoxes of Defense by the English gentleman George Silver

George Silver

George Silver was a gentleman of England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who is known for his writings on fencing. He is thought to have been the eldest of four brothers , and eleventh in descent from Sir Bartholomew Silver, who was knighted by Edward II of England....
, the glaive is used in the same general manner as the quarterstaff

Quarterstaff

A quarterstaff is a Middle Ages England weapon, consisting of a shaft of wood, sometimes with metal-reinforced tips. The name is also used for the fighting staves of other cultures, such as the Japanese bo , China gun , or France b?ton fran?ais....
, half pike, bill

Bill (weapon)

The bill is a polearm used by infantry in Europe in the Viking Age by Vikings and Anglo-Saxons as well as in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries....
, halberd

Halberd

A halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. Possibly the word halberd comes from the German words Halm , and Barte ....
, voulge

Voulge

A voulge is a type of pole weapon that existed alongside the similar glaive in medieval Europe. Superficially, a voulge might strongly resemble a glaive, but there are some notable differences in construction....
, or partisan

Partisan (weapon)

A partisan is a type of pole weapon that was used in Europe during medieval times. It consisted of a spearhead mounted on a long shaft with protrusions on the sides, which aided in the user in parrying sword thrusts....
. Silver rates this class of polearms above all other individual hand-to-hand combat weapons.

Other uses

The word glaive has historically been given to several very different types of weapon.

The word glaive originated in French. Almost all etymologists derive it from either the Latin (gladius) or Celtic (*cladivos, cf. claymore
Claymore

The term claymore may refer to one of two distinct types of Scotland swords. It may refer to a two-handed sword with a crossguard, of which the guard were usually turned down, used by the Scottish Highlands of Scotland, or to a basket-hilted broadsword adopted in the 16th century, which is still worn as the full dress sword in the Scott...
) word for sword. Nevertheless, all the earliest attestations in both French and English refer to spear
Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastened to the shaft, such as obsidian, iron or bronze....
s. It is attested in this meaning in English roughly from the 14th century to the 16th.
In the 15th century it acquired the meaning described above.
Around the same time it also began being used as a poetic word for sword (this is the main use of the word in Modern French).
In the film Krull
Krull (film)

Krull is a 1983 heroic fantasy film film director by Peter Yates and film producer by Ron Silverman. Released by Columbia Pictures, it stars Kenneth Marshall as Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony as Princess Lyssa....
, the word 'glaive' was used to refer to a whirling projectile blade similar in structure to a shuriken
Shuriken

Shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that were generally for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing. They are sharpened hand-held blades made from a variety of everyday items such as needles, nails, and knives, as well as coins, washers, and other flat plates of metal....
but much larger and cast and used like a chakram
Chakram

The chakram , sometimes called a war quoit, is a throwing weapon that was used by the ancient hindus, Sikh people; it is a flat metal disc with a sharp outer edge from 5 to 12 inches in diameter....
(a weapon much like a frisbee
Frisbee

Flying discs are disc-shaped objects, which are generally plastic and roughly 20 to 25 centimeters in diameter, with a lip. The shape of the disc, an airfoil in cross-section, allows it to flight by generating lift as it moves through the air while rotating....
) or hunga munga
Hunga Munga

The Hunga Munga is an African tribal weapon. It is a handheld weapon and consists of a metal pointed blade with a curved back section and separate spike near the handle....
.