Today we talk a look at our replica of the hunting spear of Duke Friederich IV of Austria (1382-1439).
Arms and Armor Frederick IV Spear
Duke Friederich was a member of the Habsburg dynasty, a warrior, and an active contributor to many of the hot political issues of the early 15th century.
Duke Friederich jousting at the 1415 Council of Constance
Like many noblemen of his day, Friederich was an avid hunter and one of the most interesting objects from his reign is the head of his hunting spear, preserved at his seat of Innsbruck.
The original spearhead and normal head of Frederick IV
One of the most famous escapades of the life of Friederich IV was his rescue of Antipope John XXIII from the Council of Constance where he had been deposed.
Duke Friederich and antipope John XXIII being paddled to safety
Check out this video for a rundown on this awesome spear and its attributes. Our replica features a 12" steel head mounted to an ash pole, and it is sharp, pointy, and as functional as the original. Use it for reenactment, for leaning against, or for hunting some boar (check out this blog about Nathan boar hunting in Texas). In addition, check out our full selection of historically accurate, fully functional spears and polearms hand crafted by us at our shop in Minneapolis.
Nathan Clough, Ph.D. is Vice President of Arms and Armor and a member of the governing board of The Oakeshott Institute. He is a historical martial artist and a former university professor of cultural geography. He has given presentations on historical arms at events including Longpoint and Combatcon, and presented scholarly papers at, among others, The International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Craig Johnson is the Production Manager of Arms and Armor and Secretary of The Oakeshott Institute. He has taught and published on the history of arms, armor and western martial arts for over 30 years. He has lectured at several schools and Universities, WMAW, HEMAC, 4W, and ICMS at Kalamazoo. His experiences include iron smelting, jousting, theatrical combat instruction and choreography, historical research, European martial arts and crafting weapons and armor since 1985.