Majority.—Leland, vol. ii. p.241.
Pike.—This was probably the Morris pike or Moorish pike, much used in the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth. The common pike was used very generally by foot soldiers until the reign of George II. The halberd was introduced during the reign of Henry VIII. It was peculiar to the royal guard, and is still carried by them. In Shirley's comedy, A Bird in a Cage (1633), one of the characters is asked, "You are one of the guard?" and replies, "A Poor halberd man, sir." The caliver was quite recently introduced. It was a light kind of musket, fired without a rest. It derived its name from the calibre or width of its bore.
Staffe.—This was probably a cane staff. We read in Piers Plowman's Vision of "hermits on a heap with hookyd staves."