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Corsèque
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Corsèque

c. 1520 · steel; round wood haft; tassel

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

The corsèque is a pole arm with a symmetrical three-pronged head consisting of a central double-edged blade and two sharp, upturned wings. The side blades served several functions: as guard to protect the soldier's hand when a thrust was delivered with the central blade; as a hook for unseating a mounted opponent; and to trip the opponent's horse. The corsèque was used mostly in Italy and France from the 1400s to the early 1600s. The version here is sometimes called a chauve-souris after the French word for "bat," since the side blades are thought to resemble a bat's wings.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineCorsèque, c. 1520. Italy, Venice. Steel; round wood haft; tassel; overall: 269.2 cm (106 in.); blade: 36.5 cm (14 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.1535

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