A bardiche, berdiche, bardische, bardeche, or berdish is a type of polearm used from the 14th to 17th centuries in Europe. Ultimately a descendant of the medieval sparth axe or Dane axe, the bardiche proper appears around 1400, but there are numerous medieval manuscripts that depict very similar weapons beginning c. 1250. The bardiche differs from the halberd in having neither a hook at the back nor a spear point at the top.[1] The use of bardiches started in early 14th-century Austria.[2]
In the 16th century the bardiche was associated with the streltsy, arquebusiers of Imperial Russia established by Ivan the Terrible.[3]
The blade varied greatly in shape, but was most often a long, cleaver-type blade. The distinction was in how the blade was attached to the pole. The bardiche blade was attached to the pole either via two sockets (one at the top of the pole and one lower, at the base of the blade) or one socket at the top and one surface mount at the base, effectively mounting the heavy blade to the wooden shaft. This construction is also seen in Scottish polearms, such as the Lochaber axe and Jeddart staff, and bardiches are known to have been imported into Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries.[4] Depending on the design of the particular weapons in question, at times a bardiche may greatly resemble a voulge.
While the blade was often very long for an axe (usually exceeding 2 feet (60 cm)) the shaft was one of the shortest of all polearms; rarely did it exceed 5 feet (1.5 m) in length. It relied more on the weight of its heavy blade to do the damage than a swing from a long pole. This makes the bardiche more similar to the Dane axe, in some respects, than to a true polearm.
In pre-imperial Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, this weapon was used to rest handguns upon when firing. It was standard equipment for the streltsy (on foot, mounted, and dragoon units) and also for the infantry of the Commonwealth; a shorter version was invented by John III Sobieski, ruler of the Commonwealth.[5]