Booze pen
| Booze pen | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Polearm |
| Designations: | Skewer, pork skewer, gag skewer |
| Use: | Hunting weapon |
| Working time: | until now |
| Region of origin / author: |
Holy Roman Empire |
| Distribution: | Europe |
| Overall length: | approx. 230 cm, variable |
| Handle: | Wood, leather, metal, approx. 200 cm |
| Particularities: | Gag on the blade or shaft |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Boar Spear , also Sauspieß called, is a short spear for hunting on wild boars . Its structure largely corresponds to the winged lance , a type of lance used for warfare in the early Middle Ages.
Emergence
The boar was used earlier - and is now increasingly used again in driven hunts - to kill wild boar. Sometimes only the iron tip is referred to as a booze pen, the whole spit as a ger .
The approx. 2 m long shaft is often wrapped with leather straps to increase the grip. The blade of a traditional boar pen is always strong, broad and connected to the equally strong shaft by a spout . A cross - guard , usually made from an antler pole, prevents the animal from being pierced with this weapon and ensures a safe distance. In order to make breakage unlikely, the shaft is usually not cut from wood, but from a specially selected wood. As a rule, the very sturdy ash wood is used for this. The broad and sharp tip of the boar pen is supposed to destroy the heart, lungs and main blood vessels when it is pushed into the chest or chamber of the animal in such a way that immediate death occurs.
A fully grown boar is very strong. If it struggles, it can cause extremely serious injuries, which can also be fatal. The attack takes place at a short distance of a few steps. Keiler , so males, tearing it with their tusks or fangs legs, where by shredding of arteries can occur death by bleeding within minutes. Brooks , i.e. female animals, bite.
It was considered a royal test of courage to go wild boar hunting with just a boar pen. Charlemagne's successful hunt for a boar is accordingly also honored in the St. Gallen manuscript Carolus Magnus et Papa Leo from 799.
The skewer, also known as the gag skewer, was also used as a weapon of war and was worn as a status symbol by the captains of the infantry in the 16th century .
Usage today
The boar pen is still used today to kill injured game (hunter's language: interception ). Killing a wild boar with a boar has the advantage over a shot that the dogs holding the pig are not endangered and their hearing is not impaired by the bang. Every now and then the boar pen is carried as a defensive weapon for a possible attack during the hunt. However, dealing with it requires experience and skill.
The boar pen is one of the traditional cold weapons of the hunters and, apart from the special case mentioned above, is mainly used as a decoration for hunting rooms and as an award for deserving hunters.
According to German hunting law, the sole use of a boar pen for wild boar hunting is not expressly prohibited. However, hunting with a boar pen regularly becomes problematic if there is a risk of animal cruelty due to a lack of experience and skill. The aspect of endangering your own health and life in close combat with a defensive animal must not be forgotten.
The technique of hunting with the boar pen was carried out according to the following procedure: The animal was tied (i.e. held in place) by dogs and caught with the pen . In a few cases the animal was allowed to run up : the wild boar was provoked to attack and the hunter (in a crouching position) aimed the spring supported on the hip at the pig, which ran into the blade.
coat of arms
A boar pen is a mean figure in the coat of arms . It can be displayed as a whole weapon or only as part of the coat of arms . The striking weapon point is suitable as part of it. The heraldic tinging is not limited to one color.
Examples
- of places
- Hemhofen (in the left Obereck in red shield)
- Kunreuth , Forchheim district
- Leymene (those of the kingdom of Reichenstein )
- Schretstaken , Duchy of Lauenburg district
- of the von Reichenstein family in Switzerland
- of the Count Palatine Cross of a monument near Zscheiplitz (Burgenlandkreis, Saxony-Anhalt)
See also
literature
- Matthias Johannes Bauer (ed.): Long sword and pork spit. The anonymous fencing manuscript from the buried holdings of the historical archive of the city of Cologne. Academic Printing and Publishing Company - ADEVA, Graz 2009, ISBN 978-3-201-01920-0 .
- Bare weapons, 4th booze pen. In: Ilse Haseder , Gerhard Stinglwagner : Knaurs Großes Jagdlexikon. License issue. Weltbild-Verlag, Augsburg 1999, ISBN 3-8289-1579-5 , p. 108.
- Lisbeth Zahawi: Sample lists of the Balingen Office from 1521 to 1603 , Brisbane 2008, ISBN 3868052054 , p. 36.
