Battle Axes in the Middle Ages
Humans have used axes since the stone age. Historians believe that Germanic and Scandinavian tribes were the only Europeans who regularly used axes in war during the early Middle Ages. However, after the Vikings demonstrated the axe's deadly efficiency during their invasions, the axe became widely accepted in European armies.
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Viking Axes
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A section of the Bayeux Tapestry shows Anglo-Saxon "huscarls" fighting with Dane-axes. When the Vikings began their raids in the eighth century, the sword was a luxury item wielded by kings and wealthy warriors. The average Viking went to war with a much less expensive axe. Some warriors carried two-handed Dane-axes for quick hit-and-run-style attacks. The Bayeux Tapestry depicts Anglo-Saxons using a similar axe during the Norman Conquest in 1066. Other Vikings carried smaller utility axes also used at home for day-to-day jobs. These smaller axes freed one arm for a shield. Many Viking axes featured a dull, beard-like protrusion that helped a warrior hook his enemy's shield and yank it away.
Knightly Battle Axes
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King Richard I had an axe said to weigh 20 lbs. In the popular imagination, knights are best known for fighting with lances and swords. However, knights as varied as England's King Richard I and Scottish hero Robert the Bruce are known for their proficiency with the axe. King Richard's axe may have weighed about 20 lbs. Knights used a wide range of axes. Some used two-handed axes similar to those wielded by the Vikings. Others found one-handed axes easier to wield on horseback. Knights' axes often featured beak-like spikes opposite the blade for piercing armor, along with metal reinforcements along the shaft that prevented enemy soldiers from cutting off the axe head.
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Pollaxe
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The pollaxe was about as tall as the warrior who wielded it. It featured a small axe blade on one side, a hammer head on the other and spike on top. The knights used the pollaxe when fighting on foot in both war and sporting contests at tournaments called foot combats. According to historian Christopher Gravett, combatants typically used the axe blade for striking at an opponent's head, while the hammer head could give an armored man a concussion.
Halberd
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The Swiss may developed the halberd in the 14th century. The earliest halberds consisted of a large axe blade that came to a point for stabbing attached to a handle about 6 to 8 feet long. In the 15th century, weapon makers added a spear point to the top and and a curved spike opposite the axe blade. Infantrymen used halberds against charging cavalry. They pulled knights from their horses with the hooked spike and cut through their armor with the axe.
Throwing Axes
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Although popular in Africa and parts of North America, throwing axes were relatively rare in Medieval Europe. Fifth-century Germanic warriors such as the Franks used a heavy, short-handled axe with a curved blade called a "francisca." According to the living history organization Regia Anglorum, warriors threw "franciscas" en masse to create chaos before a battle. In the 14th century, German warriors began using a cross-shaped throwing axe called a "Wurfbeil." One arm of the cross was an axe blade, and the others featured sharpened points; multiple blades increased the odds of damaging the target.
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References
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