crowbill, mattock, military pick

[Shadowdragon]

I'm having a lot of trouble finding information on the medieval military pick, also known as a mattock or crowbill. In particular I'm looking for the weapon's average weight and size. I'm also interested in knowing when it was in use. Can anyone suggest some good web sites with information on the military pick, or post the info I'm looking for here?

 

[mmadsen]

I'm having a lot of trouble finding information on the medieval military pick, also known as a mattock or crowbill. In particular I'm looking for the weapon's average weight and size. I'm also interested in knowing when it was in use. Can anyone suggest some good web sites with information on the military pick, or post the info I'm looking for here?

The bec de corbin (crow's beak) was a polearm, so it was fairly long, like a halberd, but even a "heavy" weapon isn't really heavy; it's just hard to swing more than a few pounds at the end of a six- or eight-foot pole.

It came into popularity later in the middle ages, in the 15th century, once heavy armor had become popular -- for obvious reasons.