Estoc



An is a  with a narrow tapered, blade 36-48 in in length. This weapon is specifically designed for puncturing and is known as the thruster or. It is characterized by a cruciform hilt with a grip for two-handed use and a straight, edgeless, but sharply pointed blade. Most s consider it a dishonorable weapon and will not be gentle with anyone foolish enough to carry one in their sight. Estocs are rare on.

Description
The estoc is a variation of the designed for fighting against  or. It is long, straight and stiff with no cutting edge, just a point. Examples from are more than 1.57 m long, with a blade of 1.32 m; however, others show a more manageable 1.17 m, with a 0.91 m blade. Such swords average about 4 lb with no examples weighing more than 6 lb.

Blade cross-sections can be triangular, square, rhomboid or flat hexagonal. This geometry leaves hardly any cutting capability as a sharpened edge could simply not be ground, but allows the weapon to be lengthy, stiff, and very acutely pointed.

Early on, the estoc was hung from the saddle when on horseback and simply hung from the belt when a soldier took to the ground. As the weapon has developed, however, infantrymen wear it in a. Most varieties of estoc provide a long grip like that of a, though others mimic the zweihänder in providing a long ricasso with a secondary guard of parrierhaken. As on the zweihänder, this extended grip gives the wielder the advantage of extra leverage with which more accurately and powerfully to thrust the long weapon. Some other forms provided finger rings, curved quillons, or other varieties of compound hilts.

History
As armour improves, so have the methods of attacking it. It was quickly realized that cutting weapons were losing their effectiveness, so crushing weapons such as maces and axes were utilized. Thrusting weapons that could split the rings of mail, or find the joints and crevices of plate armour, were also employed. Long tapered swords could also be used as lances once an actual lance had splintered. Thus was the estoc developed. The French word estoc translates to thrust.

While there is nothing to stop an estoc from being one-handed, most are two-handed, being used half-sword or two hands on the grip.

During the, recommended that foot soldiers carry “a good stiff tuck, not very long” because they often broke regular swords by using them to chop firewood.

In addition to being popular for use as a cavalry weapon, the estoc is frequently used during dismounted hand-to-hand combat at tournaments, its lack of a sharp edge reducing the risk of unintentional injury.

Hunting
It is also widely employed as a hunting sword in the late 15th century, usually for hunting wild, , and ; typically from horseback. Although hunting with a sword is less ideal than using a lance or spear, the added element of danger adds to the thrill of the hunt, since using a sword brings the hunter in closer proximity to dangerous animals, as well as bringing more glory. The estoc is useful for this purpose, being a long sword with a strong blade, able to take the shock of meeting with an animal without breaking, while also giving the necessary reach to attack from horseback. However, it also has a very thin, sharp point, designed for penetrating mail armour. This thin point has little immediate terminal wounding effect on a wild boar or bear, unless a vital organ is hit, requiring a second man to stand by with a spear to finish the wounded animal off. It is also very easy to over-penetrate, bringing the wielder into danger from the animal’s claws and teeth. Around 1500 AD, a solution was reached by replacing the thin point of the estoc with a standard leaf-shaped boar-spear head, in essence creating a one-handed short spear. To prevent the blade from over-penetrating, most are fitted with a cross-shaft above the blade. To allow the blade to fit into a scabbard, these are typically simple removable pegs of wood or bone, but some examples have spring-loaded shafts that automatically deploy when the blade is drawn. An early image of these “boar-spear swords” shows in a  after a successful boar-hunt, the riders proudly carrying their spear-pointed swords upright. These weapons quickly became widely popular all over Europe, and examples can be found in numerous illustrations and descriptions of the time.

Bullfighting
“Estoc” is also the name given for the sword used by a in the Spanish sport of bullfighting, also known as espada de matar toros (‘sword for killing bulls’). The matador’s estoc is typically a shorter (88 cm), one-handed sword used for thrusting.

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