Partisan (pertuisane)

French infantry were very fond of partisans - in sieges they were much more handy in assaults and so on than the unwieldy pike - there were often edicts trying to limit their use so they were obviously popular. They came in all sorts of designs, usually symmetrical and sometimes with a sun motif as the example from 1690 demonstrates. The third example is a mid 18th century repro from G Gedney Godwin - it looks a lot like some of the styles from the Louis XIV era - see the picture of the trenches at Tournai. The other example marked E is from St Remy 1697.