Lesson plan
Corseque
The corseque is a type of European polearm, characterised by a three-lobe blade on a shaft. The head features a long spike and two shorter and stronger lateral blades. The Corseque is said to have originated in Corsica, from where it takes its name; at the end of the Middle Ages many Corsicans leaving the island to become mercenaries in Terra Firma It would have evolved from the spetum or pertuisnane, in the later Middle Ages. It was popular in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Surviving examples have a variety of head forms, but there are two main variants, one with the side blades (known as flukes or wings) branching from the neck of the central blade at 45 degrees, the other with hooked blades curving back towards the haft. The corseque is usually associated with the rawcon, ranseur and runka. Another possible association is with the "three-grayned staff" (grayned meaning "bladed") listed as being in the armoury of Henry VIII in 1547 (though the same list also features 84 rawcons, suggesting the weapons were not identical in 16th century English eyes). Another modern term used for particularly ornate-bladed corseques is the chauve-souris.
Article summary
The corseque is a type of European polearm, characterised by a three-lobe blade on a shaft. The head features a long spike and two shorter and stronger lateral blades. The Corseque is said to have originated in Corsica, from where it takes its name; at the end of the Middle Ages many Corsicans leaving the island to become mercenaries in Terra Firma It would have evolved from the spetum or pertuisnane, in the later Middle Ages. It was popular in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Surviving examples have a variety of head forms, but there are two main variants, one with the side blades (known as flukes or wings) branching from the neck of the central blade at 45 degrees, the other with hooked blades curving back towards the haft. The corseque is usually associated with the rawcon, ranseur and runka. Another possible association is with the "three-grayned staff" (grayned meaning "bladed") listed as being in the armoury of Henry VIII in 1547 (though the same list also features 84 rawcons, suggesting the weapons were not identical in 16th century English eyes). Another modern term used for particularly ornate-bladed corseques is the chauve-souris.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.