Who used a medieval war hammer?

Answer 1

According to the histories I have read, the war hammer was introduced during the 14th century. This would make it a weapon of the Late Middle Ages.
A war hammer is a very simple weapon, and would be, like many other weapons, a natural adaptation of a farm implement. It is hard for me to imagine that it was not used earlier than the 14th century, and the fact that it was not recorded earlier does not mean it was not in use. This would seem especially to be true, considering that the Vikings had the traditions about Thor's hammer being used in battle.

2nd answer: The reason that the war hammer became more common in the late medieval ages was that armor technology steadily improved over the period. As transitional armor and later full plate armor was introduced it became harder and harder to injure a heavily armored fighter with an ax or sword. In addition, sloped and rounded sections of armor were designed to try to not just stop the cutting edge, but cause the blow to turn aside and glance off, greatly reducing the amount ofkinetic energy delivered to the target.

One strategy that wasdevelopedtocombatthis was an increase in blunt weapons like the war hammer. By delivering a focused blunt strike the attacker was not trying to penetrate the armor, but rather to just deliver as much impact energy to the target as possible. Concussions, broken bones, and crushed tissues could take the enemy out of the fight just as well as an open wound from a blade could.

Answer 2

War hammers were a late medieval weapon developed as an alternative to a sword or ax. As armor systems improved over the middle ages it became increasingly difficult to penetrate the armor of a knight with a bladed weapon, and a sword or ax would often deliver a glancing blow that would squander much of the force behind the strike. A blunt weapon could transmit the entire force of the blow, even if it did not penetrate the armor, possibly dealing blunt force trauma wounds such as concussions, broken bones, or crushed soft tissues.

War hammers came both is short one handed versions that were used from horseback or in close combat, and longer two handed version that were used primarily by infantry, designed to be effective against mounted foes. Some versions had a spike projecting from the opposite side of the hammer head, which could be used to strike a lightly armored foe, or to entangle reins or an enemyshield or to strike at a horse to cause it to fall andforciblydismount the rider. The hammer head was fairly small, like a modern carpenter's hammer, to concentrate the force of the blow on a single point. This is in contrast to the maul, which is essentially a military version of a sledge hammer.

The war hammer was used by all types of soldiers in the late middle ages, both aristocratic and common, both mounted and afoot, depending on the exact design.

2nd Answer:
It's origins can actually be traced back to the Stone Ages (see Medieval Poleaxe link listed below).
Maurice, Elector of Saxony (March 21, 1521 - July 9, 1553) had his portrait (posthumously) painted with his war hammer in hand, by Lucas Cranach the Younger.
The Swiss popularized a polearm during the 15th-17th centuries that has come to be called the Lucerne Hammer.