I was diving into TV tropes which is always a bit of a rabbit hole and came across National Weapons. For example, Japan has the Katana (even if it was more of a sidearm). Does your country have a weapon that represents/identifies it in such a way?

8 comments
  1. German non weaponry nerd here: Germania does wield a broadsword (I think), but I’d say, there’s no “national weapon” – however much others attach Tanks/ Messerschmidts/Stukas to us.

    Tribal, and thus regional nowadays, the more popular ones would be the saxa (a sword type, ans linked to now lower Saxoxy) and the Franziska ( an axe type linked to the Franks, but here alone, you might see, where the issues with claiming anything as “national” starts, lol).

    One thing I have to say, is that that didn’t stop us from incorporating this or that in our language.

    – If something is very average ( like this years ESC songs..) it’s *08/15*
    This goes back to a standard MG

    – a dessert, said to be made from bakery leftovers and chocolate is called *Granatsplitter*

    – On some stretches of the Autobahn, and on the field/walk/tractor/bicycle paths between our many smalltowns, you’ll likely encounter concrete slabs ..we call them *Panzerplatte*

    – If some behaviour/reaction is obvious to us, we *know our Pappenheimers* which refers to a regiment of the 30year-war (1618- 1648) and a play by Schiller.

    – The term *Spießer* or *Spießbürger* , which refers to early city ppl/lower ranks in medieval and later times and their main weapon. Now, even without references to actual classes, the term means *narrow minded person* at best.

  2. [Arnautka](https://www.ashokaarts.com/shop/albanian-arnautka-long-musket-with-all-steel-engraved-furniture-18th-early-19th-century) I think. Whenever I see [old paintings](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskBalkans/comments/ssftq0/nqm_paitings_of_albanian_soldiers_in_19th_century/) and [pictures](https://histclo.com/imagef/date/2012/10/alb-tribe01s.jpg) of Albanians in the 19th century, that type of long gun will often be visible. The influence is obviously Ottoman and I believe all Balkan countries have something like this, but Arnutka literally means “Albanian-style (gun)”.

    If you mean what types of blades, most stereotypical will again be Ottoman influenced, like yatagan, but still with their local flavor, in particular in the way the hilt is decorated.

  3. Well not really a weapon in itself but I would wager that the Pickelhaube ist still widely recognized, even though Prussia itself no longer exists

    More modern Germany probably the tanks like the tiger and the MG 34 from WW2, maybe even a Luger pistol

  4. I don’t really think Finland has one. We have a knife, called [puukko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puukko), that is used as a weapon late at night in front of grills and kebab places on any given weekend all over Finland, but that’s really a tool at its heart, not a weapon.

  5. Portuguese people don’t generally walk around projecting identity into weapons, so there’s nothing super famous, but I suppose that the most known weapon we had for history nerds is a [Ship Black Sword](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espada_preta_de_bordo), known colloquially as “colhona”, which is a male genitalia metaphor, mostly because of its protective rings. It was painted black so as to not reflect the sun at sea and not give away ship positions from afar.

    Tangentially, there’s also a Portuguese Martial art called [Jogo do Pau (Staff/Stick Game)](https://youtu.be/ajMnwhKgr1s?t=197), developed by/for farmers to fight against invading armies from Spain. It’s actually sort of violent-looking.

  6. I’d probably say the longbow for England and Wales. Started out as Welsh but adopted by the English, to the point that every man was require by law to do an hours longbow practice a week. Famously used to defeat the French at Agincourt.

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