Lance in the context of "Javelin"

Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a tactical reserve; they are also often termed shock cavalry. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, heavy cavalry were generally mounted on large powerful warhorses, wore body armor, and armed with either lances, swords, maces, flails (disputed), battle axes, or war hammers; their mounts may also have been protected by barding. They were distinct from light cavalry, who were intended for raiding, reconnaissance, screening, skirmishing, patrolling, and tactical communications.

The Holy Lance, also known as the Spear of Longinus (named after Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is alleged to be the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his crucifixion. As with other instruments of the Passion, the lance is only briefly mentioned in the Christian Bible, but later became the subject of extrabiblical traditions in the medieval church. Relics purported to be the lance began to appear as early as the 6th century, originally in Jerusalem. By the Late Middle Ages, relics identified as the spearhead of the Holy Lance (or fragments thereof) had been described throughout Europe. Several of these artifacts are still preserved to this day.

Holy Lance relics have typically been used for religious ceremonies, but at times some of them have been considered to be guarantees of victory in battle. For example, Henry the Fowler's lance was credited for winning the Battle of Riade, and the Crusaders believed their discovery of a Holy Lance brought them a favorable end to the Siege of Antioch.

A cataphract was a form of armoured heavy cavalry that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa.

Historically, the cataphract was a very heavily armoured horseman, with both the rider and mount almost completely covered in scale or lamellar armour over chain mail, and typically wielding a kontos (lance) as his primary weapon.

A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet windows may occur singly, or paired under a single moulding, or grouped in an odd number with the tallest window at the centre.

The lancet window first appeared in the early French Gothic period (c. 1140–1200), and later in the Early English period of Gothic architecture (1200–1275). So common was the lancet window feature that this era is sometimes known as the "Lancet Period".

A polearm or pole weapon is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, extending the user's effective range and striking power. Polearms are predominantly melee weapons, with a subclass of spear-like designs fit for thrusting and/or throwing. Because many polearms were adapted from agricultural implements or other fairly abundant tools, and contained relatively little metal, they were cheap to make and readily available. When belligerents in warfare had a poorer class who could not pay for dedicated military weapons, they would often appropriate tools as cheap weapons. The cost of training was comparatively low, since these conscripted farmers had spent most of their lives using these "weapons" in the fields. This made polearms the favoured weapon of peasant levies and peasant rebellions the world over.

Polearms can be divided into three broad categories: those designed for extended reach and thrusting tactics used in pike square or phalanx combat; those designed to increase leverage (due to hands moving freely on a pole) to maximize angular force (swinging tactics) against cavalry; and those designed for throwing tactics used in skirmish line combat. The hook on weapons such as the halberd was used for pulling or grappling tactics, especially against horsemen. Because of their versatility, high effectiveness and low cost, there were many variants of polearm, which were much-used weapons on the battlefield. Bills, picks, dane axes, spears, glaives, guandaos, pudaos, pikes, poleaxes, halberds, harpoons, sovnyas, tridents, naginatas, bardiches, war scythes, and lances are all varieties of polearms.

Uhlan (/ˈuːlɑːn, ˈjuːlən/; French: uhlan; German: Ulan; Lithuanian: ulonas; Polish: ułan) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Poland, France, Russia, Prussia, Saxony, and Austria. The term "lancer" was often used interchangeably with "uhlan"; the lancer regiments later formed for the British Army were directly inspired by the uhlans of other armies (even though they were never known by that name).

Uhlans traditionally wore a double-breasted short-tailed jacket with a coloured plastron panel at the front, a coloured sash, and a square-topped Polish lancer cap (rogatywka, also called czapka). This cap or cavalry helmet was derived from a traditional Polish cap design, formalised and stylised for military use. Their lances were traditionally topped with a small, swallow-tailed flag (pennon) just below the spearhead.

A cuirassier (/ˌkwɪrəˈsɪər/ KWIRR-ə-SEER; French: [kɥiʁasje]; French for 'one wearing a cuirass') was a cavalryman equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their lances and adopting pistols as their primary weapon. In the later part of the 17th century, the cuirassier lost his limb armour and subsequently wore only the cuirass (breastplate and backplate), and sometimes a helmet. By this time, the sword or sabre had become his primary weapon, with pistols relegated to a secondary function.

Cuirassiers achieved increased prominence during the Napoleonic Wars and were last fielded in the opening stages of World War I (1914–1918). A number of countries continue to use cuirassiers as ceremonial troops.

A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as 700 BC and subsequently by India, Egypt, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by heavy cavalry, but fell out of general use by the late 16th century, before its revival by light cavalry in the early 19th century. Lance cavalry remained in an active role into the early 20th century and World War I. In modern times, many militaries retain units designated as lancers. However, the lance itself has been relegated to a ceremonial role.

The clarion (also rest or sufflue) is a rare charge in heraldry of uncertain meaning and purpose. It originates from England and is still largely exclusive to that country, though latterly it has been imported to other Anglophone nations. In Canadian heraldry, it is the cadency mark of a ninth daughter.

It is generally said to represent a kind of wind instrument such as a panpipe or recorder, but does not resemble the trumpet-like clarion known to modern musicians. It may also be intended as an overhead view of a keyboard instrument such as a spinet. Alternatively it has been said to represent a 'rest', a device used by mediaeval knights to support a lance during jousting. In his Display of Heraldry John Guillim suggests that it may be a rudder. 'Clarion' is also the name given to a stop on an organ which imitates the sound of a trumpet.