Why did falcata style weapons disappear?

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Oh, and those Halbards are very complex and deadly weapons, not at all crude. They're very sophisticated can-openers which you use to extract a knight from his tin suit.

[||Lz3||]

Even if they're ugly... I bet you wouldn't like to be in front of one.

And now to the gladius thing... I also bealive that they chose it cause

1-It was cheap and easy to make.
2-Any "idiot" can cover and then stab, no need to get good with the sword

Rome won a lot of wars just by sheer man power (ask Hannibal, or Pyrros (sp?))

[Tellos Athenaios]

Oh, and those Halbards are very complex and deadly weapons, not at all crude. They're very sophisticated can-openers which you use to extract a knight from his tin suit.

Yep AFAIK it's the swiss army knife of choice for the medieval foot soldier... For instance that hook can help you prevent enemies from escaping, dismount mounted oponents..., the spike at the side then will pierce even the best plate armour (at least if you keep your halbard assortment up to date) and the tip is no less effective than a sarissa. Combine this with more mobile support troops and you have a very effective anti-armour force which can readily adapt itself when faced with light infantry, spearmen or even archers. Plus: halbards can actually be used to good effect (if you're skilled with the weapon anyways) in the dark.

One good solid hit with any end of the halbard and you'll probably not live to tell the tale.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

You missed the axeblade below the hook, that think would take a man's head, or arm, or whatever, clean off.

[Watchman]

Pretty sure the weapons NS proved a piccie of are known as "bills", a weaponised gardening (specifically, hedge-trimming IIRC) tool that was something of an English specialty. Although remarkably similar hook-bladed polearms were used by the Italians and Ottomans, and the notoriously bewildering (and obscurely named) array of High and Late Medieval European polearms had no shortage of diverse designs which in various forms provided the same functionality. Give or take a few; staff-weapons could get awful specialised.

Main reasons for the general move towards powerful two-handed weaponry from around the 1300s onwards were on one hand their general versatility and effectiveness against cavalry, and the increasing ubiquitousness of good body armour among even common soldiery which on one hand rendered shields increasingly superfluous and on the other plain necessitated ramping up the raw destructive power employed to bust through.

Anyway, back to the falcata-kopis thingies. I was under the impression they were somewhat tricky to make and thus comparatively expensive for blades of their size? In any case, they didn't really fit into the Roman tactical system and as that pretty much dominated the entire Mediterranean military scene for centuries it is not surprising the concave blades fell by the wayside. Conversely the Romans' remaining troublesome neighbours - chiefly the diverse barbarians of Central Europe and the Iranians to the east - went for long straight two-edged blades instead, which the Romans eventually adopted too. Down the road you then had the assorted late Migration Period and Medieval single-edged choppers with a straight blade and flared edge, which AFAIK provided cleaving performance comparable to the falcata/kopis type while being structurally rather simpler and, hence, cheaper. (The first Medieval falchions may have been modified meat cleavers used by militiamen...)

[Tyrfingr]

As already mentioned, the "falcata style" sword was used through the Dark Age, into the Middle Age and on to near-modern times. (Falcata > Falchion > Sabers)

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

The Bill, more properly "billhook" is a concave cleaver which we use for stripping trees/hedging etc. They come in a variety of styles, some have the back spike but generally the farming implement is purely a hook-and-blade affair, with a short handle.

A quick search turns us this: http://pilgrim.ceredigion.gov.uk/ind...articleid=1564. As you can see they come in a variety of styles, unique to regions of England and Wales, and have short handles.