Would a Two-handed hammer be considered a polearm?

Question

I know that Spears, halberds, glaives, etc... are polearms, but I was wondering if a War Hammer with a shaft long enough to be used with 2 hands would fall under that contergory.

Also, were two handed hammers more used in melee combat, or against mounted soldiers?

Answer 1

No, it would not be considered a pole arm. A pole arm has to be on a pole, and just having a two handed handle isn't long enough. I'm not even sure how common a two handed hammer would have been. Any hammer with a useful weight on the end would be horribly unweildly if it was that long. And why not use an axe or spear then?

Mounted troops were usually attacked with polearms where ever possible. It gave enough reach to negate the speed advantage.

Answer 2

No it is not a polearm. For polearm think, long, cheap, effective weapon against cavalry. As for its main use I doubt there were too many it would have depended on the use but I would look at melee.