"Welsh Bill"
Culture
English
Datelate 1500s–early 1600s
Mediumsteel and wood
Dimensions251 × 29 cm (98 13/16 × 11 7/16 in.), 4 lb. (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.131
DescriptionUnshod staff of octagonal section. Head with long, tapered socket of round section; long, narrow main blade of triangular section, curving forward and sharpened on the inside, surmounted by a short forward-pointing spike near the tip; short quadrangular spike projecting from the rear of the main blade near its base, from which issues upward a long thrusting spike of quadrangular section.Label TextThis weapon is a variant on the bill, an agricultural tool that evolved into a military weapon. But the elongated lines of the "Welsh bill" make the weapon too delicate for battlefield use. Such weapons were mostly carried by town guards, serving largely as a deterrent to unruly crowds.ProvenanceMackay collection (#J-55) Purchased by Museum from Gimbel Brothers (NYC) on October 31, 1941. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
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