A halberd was a long handled axe descended from agricultural implements. On the battlefield and in training it was a serjeant’s multi-purpose enforcer. Its spikes, blades and hooks were designed to entrap opponents and pierce armour, and its staff could be used for keeping one’s own regiment in order.

On this example, however, the hooks have become decorative loops and the blade is elaborately etched with the arms of Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, the art-loving, architecture-reforming, Arch-Bishop of Salzburg. The weapon has effectively evolved from a rugged tool of war into a sophisticated symbol of established authority, ie. a symbol of peace.

Several of these halberds are preserved in European collections, particularly in Salzburg, along with painted leather ‘watchmen’s’ shields, of which two are also in the V&A.