The bill is a polearm weapon used by infantry in medieval Europe.
The bill is similar in size, function and appearance to the halberd

Halberd

A halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. Possibly the word halberd comes from the German words Halm , and Barte - in modern-day German, the weapon is called Hellebarde. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on...

, differing mainly in the hooked blade form. Other terms for the bill include English bill, bill hook or bill-guisarme

Guisarme

A guisarme was a pole weapon used in Europe primarily between 1000-1400. Like many medieval polearms, the exact form of the weapon is hard to define from literary references and the identification of surviving weapons can be speculative...

.

Design

Derived originally from the agricultural billhook

Billhook

The billhook is a traditional cutting tool known and used throughout the world, and very common in the wine-growing countries of Europe, used widely in agriculture and forestry The billhook (also bill hook – although this more usually refers to either a metal or plastic hook used to hold bills,...

, the bill consisted of a hooked chopping blade with several pointed projections mounted on a staff. The end of the cutting blade curves forward to form a hook, which is the bill's distinguishing characteristic. In addition, the blade almost universally had one pronounced spike straight off the top like a spear head, and also a hook or spike mounted on the 'reverse' side of the blade. There were many types of bill. English bills tended to be relatively short, with broad chopping heads, while Italian bills (ronche) often had very long thrusting points. The English distinguished between several varieties of bill, including the black, brown, and forest bills, but the differences between them are currently not fully understood.

George Silver

George Silver

George Silver was a gentleman of England during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, who is known for his writings on fencing. He is thought to have been the eldest of four brothers , and eleventh in descent from Sir Bartholomew Silver, who was knighted by Edward II...

, writing in 1599, stated that the (military) black bill should be 5 or 6 feet (1.8 m) long, while the (possibly civilian) forest bill should be 8 or 9 feet (2.7 m) long.

One advantage that it had over other polearms was that while it had the stopping power

Stopping power

Stopping power is a colloquial term used to describe the ability of a firearm or other weapon to cause a penetrating ballistic injury to a target, human or animal, sufficient to incapacitate the target where it stands....

 of a spear and the power of an axe, it also had the addition of a pronounced hook. If the sheer power of a swing did not fell the horse or its rider, the bill's hook was excellent at finding a chink in the plate armour of cavalrymen at the time, dragging the unlucky horseman off his mount to be finished off with either a sword, spear or the bill itself. These characteristics also made it effective against heavily armoured infantry, dragging them into the melee or exploiting the weak points in their armour. The small point found on the trailing edge of some bills was useful for puncturing armor as well—concentrating the force of the blow onto the point.

During the 16th century when most European states were adopting the pike

Pike (weapon)

A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...

 and arquebus

Arquebus

The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...

, the English preferred to stick with the combination of bill and English longbow

English longbow

The English longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, is a powerful type of medieval longbow about 6 ft long used by the English and Welsh for hunting and as a weapon in medieval warfare...

. Even in the Elizabethan period, bills were still common with levies sent to fight the Scots. The Battle of Flodden Field

Battle of Flodden Field

The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...

 (1513) was a classic match between Continental-style Pikes formations (Scots) and Billmen (English).

Along with the pike, the bill is mentioned as being one of the main weapons of the Irish rebels in Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

 during the 1798 rebellion.

Variants

The shorthanded bills were used by the army of historic India as well, mainly by infantrymen of Bengal. Nowadays smaller versions are used as agricultural tools and as kitchen appliances.

An agricultural version, commonly known as either a brush-ax or bush-ax, is readily available in rural hardware and farm-supply stores in the United States today. It has a 4 feet (1.2 m) handle, and a 16 inches (40.6 cm) head. It is extremely useful for clearing undergrowth and unwanted hedgerows. Both the concave and convex edges may be sharpened edges, but spear-points and back-hooks are not available. Expertly used, the brush-ax can fell a 3 inches (7.6 cm) tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 with a single blow. Inexpertly used, it can pose a grave danger of accidental maiming to those standing nearby.