 According to the 16th to 18th century writings of Silver, Swetnam and Wylde, the quarterstaff is held with the back hand at the butt end of the staff and the other hand about a foot to a foot and a half (30 to 45 cm) above it.According to the 14th and 16th century writings of Johannes Liechtenauer and Paulus Hector Mair, the quarterstaff is held with the back hand a hand’s breadth from the butt end of the staff, and the other hand up to the middle of the staff.This is likely because of the transition of techniques from quarterstaves to polearms in Mair’s compendium.