Medieval Axes
What is a battle axe?
A battle axe is a military weapon developed from the common axe for cutting and carving. Unlike the civilian axe, the military version is lighter and more streamlined, sometimes with a sharper blade.
What are the parts of a Battle Axe?
Despite its simple appearance, a battle axe has several parts, the head and handle being the main ones.
The head of an axe is further divided into:
- Blade: the thinner and sharper part, which does the cutting.
- Point: the pointed part of the blade.
- Heel: the lower side of the head.
- Lugs: the lower part of the head, which forms the eye socket.
- Eye: the upper part of the head, which forms the eye socket.
- Butt: the blunt end of the head.
- Cheek: the widest side of the head.
The handle of battle axes is also subdivided into several parts:
· Shoulder: the protruding part of the handle, which serves to ensure better support for the head.
· Throat: the outer part of the handle.
· Grip: the lower part of the handle.
· Haft: the part used to hold the axe.
· Belly: the inner part of the handle.
Where does the battle axe come from?
Battle axes began to be made in the Paleolithic, using wood and stone for their design. In the Bronze Age, axes also began to be manufactured as weapons.
What types of battle axes exist?
Throughout history, new types of battle axes appeared.
In the Bronze Age, the following can be highlighted:
· Flat axe from the early Bronze Age (3500-1600 BC): These are solid axes, with a rectangular to trapezoidal profile, a flattened cross-section, and a blade at one end. They are usually gripped with elements external to the shaft.
· Double flat axe (before 1600 BC): It was used in technologically advanced cultures such as the Minoan or Ancient Egypt.
· Flanged axe (3000-1100 BC): These are more elaborate axes made from a mold, which began to feature wider and rounded blades.
· Socketed or stop axe with 1 or 2 rings, with or without a hammer poll (1100-700 BC): These are elongated axes with a ring(s) in the center or in the last third from their edge. These axes resemble later military hammers.
· Socketed axe (1100-700 BC): These are axes with a hollow head into which the L-shaped shaft was inserted.
· Axe with appendages or cheek pieces (1100-700 BC).
During the Middle Ages, the shape and manufacturing process of axes continued to develop to achieve greater efficiency and comfort in their use.
The following types of medieval axes can be highlighted:
· Francisca: A traditional weapon of the Western Germans, popularized by the Frankish people. A light, one-handed throwing axe.
· Doladera: A typical axe of the Nordic and Germanic tribes. It is wide, small, and secondary in the panoply of these warriors.
· Bipenis: A double-bladed axe, which according to classical literature was a typical weapon of the legendary Amazons. The name of the weapon comes from Latin.
· Bulkeman: Crude and heavy Germanic medieval axes.
· Danish or Viking axe: A long-hafted axe used by the famous Viking people and known for its forging with a special kind of iron said to be of meteoric origin.
· Norman axe: This is the typical axe depicted in early medieval art. It is a shorter version, similar to those of the Franks. Without cheek pieces and with a well-developed blade and a long one-handed haft.
· Battle axe: A specialized form with "cheek pieces" of the traditional one-handed war axe. It was forged from a single piece of metal.
· Raven's Beak: This weapon is a cross between an axe and a military pick, characterized by combining the "mass" of axes with the piercing capability of picks.
· Axe with cheek pieces: Highly specialized long medieval axes for infantry.
· Long hafted axes ("blades"): A more specialized version of hafted weapons, with or without "weapon heads," with axe or breaching blades.
By the end of the Western Middle Ages, medieval axes ceased to be a popular infantry weapon in favor of other more effective long polearms, such as cannons, and other single-person weapons, such as arquebuses and muskets.