However, many "lancer" units in this period were not fully made of lance-armed men. Many European armies were eager to imitate what the French (and by extension, the Poles) were doing. The success of Polish lancers in Napoleon's service (as well as Napoleon's own Polish-inspired lancers) lead other European nations to adopt the lance.įashion was therefore one reason why lancers became so popular so fast in the early 19th century. The "lancer craze" began in Eastern Europe and gradually spread West. These weapons were initially about 7-8 feet long, although this would soon change, as we'll see. These 19th century lances were shorter, thinner, and more versatile weapons than their medieval predecessors.
The first army to make a push to adopt the lance was the Polish army, which adopted an 8 foot lance in 1789, shortly before the Russian annexation of Poland. Instead of lances, cavalrymen began to rely on their swords and pistols.Īfter being absent for 150 years, the lance made a resurgence in the early 1800s, albeit it in a different form. The arrival of practical firearms sidelined heavy armor, removing the raison d'être for heavy lances. However, lances would largely disappear from European battlefields by the 1650s (although they remaining popular for sporting). From the Late 14th century onwards, lances were up to 13th feet long and were so heavy they needed to be rested on a hook on the breastplate (which also helped the knight take the shock of the impact). Lances were a good fit for the dominant men and methods of European warfare at the time: heavily-armored men on heavy horses charging into battle against other armored men.Īs armor technology improved lances got correspondingly longer and heavier. The first burst of popularity was from the 11th to the 16th centuries. In the last millenia or so, cavalry lances became popular twice and extinct twice, for different reasons in both cases.
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