Pike
Specifications
- Type
- Polearm
- Origin
- Macedonia / Switzerland
- Era
- 4th century BCE; revived 14th–17th century
- Notable Users
- Macedonian phalangites, Swiss pikemen, Spanish tercios
- Epoch
- Middle Ages
History
The pike is an extremely long thrusting spear, typically 4–6 meters in length, wielded in dense formations. Alexander the Great's Macedonian phalanx carried the sarissa, a 5.5-meter pike that created an impenetrable wall of iron points. The weapon was revived in the 14th century by the Swiss, whose disciplined pike squares shattered the dominance of mounted knights at battles like Morgarten (1315) and Grandson (1476). Spanish tercios combined pikemen with arquebusiers to create the most formidable military formation of the 16th century.
Significance
The pike proves that reach and discipline can defeat individual skill and expensive equipment. Swiss pikemen — common infantry — defeated the flower of European chivalry repeatedly, ending the feudal knight's reign on the battlefield.
More from the Middle Ages
18 weapons
54 Weapons. Five Epochs. One Poster.
The Pike is one of 19 weapons from the Middle Ages featured on the poster.
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