Post by Sir Cormac Riley on Apr 23, 2009 16:23:49 GMT -5
A battle axe is an axe specifically designed as a weapon. Such axes have been in use since at least the 3rd millennium BC, see Battle-axe people.
The battle axe was a weapon common in Northern Europe in the "Dark Ages" (9th and 10th C) and up to the 16 Century. It could cut, cleave skulls or even decapitate, if large and sharp enough. The weight of a full size axe was about 25 lbs (~10 - 13 kg). Users, due to the movements required to use it, could build up large shoulder muscles on the favoured side. The battle axe should not be confused with the hatchet.
Battle axe is a generic term for a fighting axe, especially a European fighting axe. Battle axes are essentially larger versions of simple axes. There were ones suitable for use single handedly and others so large that they were wielded two-handed. No historical examples of North European double headed axes exist (in the eastern Mediterrean the Labrys was known), though they are ubiquitous to fantasy and fiction writings and movies.
The term battle axe applies only to axes used in war. The increased weight and blade size of the battle axe made it even more effective for slashing, chopping, and crushing armor than the simple axe; however, greater skill and strength were required to use a battle axe effectively and thus it was not a common weapon. Most medieval European battle axes had broad, socketed heads (meaning the axe head and the haft fit together, rather than lashed together), and used reinforcement bands along the haft to prevent the haft from snapping during battle.
Among the more well known instances of the battle axe as weapon are the Danish and Viking armies of the Dark Ages, who introduced to the Anglo-Saxon England, were as the two handed form it became the standard weapon of the Huscarls.
In the Napoleonic times and later, Farriers in military service carried heavy long axes. Though these could be used for fighting, they were for removing the branded hooves of horses.
Picture link1: www.warriors-wizards.com/Images/battle_axe_weapon.jpg
The battle axe was a weapon common in Northern Europe in the "Dark Ages" (9th and 10th C) and up to the 16 Century. It could cut, cleave skulls or even decapitate, if large and sharp enough. The weight of a full size axe was about 25 lbs (~10 - 13 kg). Users, due to the movements required to use it, could build up large shoulder muscles on the favoured side. The battle axe should not be confused with the hatchet.
Battle axe is a generic term for a fighting axe, especially a European fighting axe. Battle axes are essentially larger versions of simple axes. There were ones suitable for use single handedly and others so large that they were wielded two-handed. No historical examples of North European double headed axes exist (in the eastern Mediterrean the Labrys was known), though they are ubiquitous to fantasy and fiction writings and movies.
The term battle axe applies only to axes used in war. The increased weight and blade size of the battle axe made it even more effective for slashing, chopping, and crushing armor than the simple axe; however, greater skill and strength were required to use a battle axe effectively and thus it was not a common weapon. Most medieval European battle axes had broad, socketed heads (meaning the axe head and the haft fit together, rather than lashed together), and used reinforcement bands along the haft to prevent the haft from snapping during battle.
Among the more well known instances of the battle axe as weapon are the Danish and Viking armies of the Dark Ages, who introduced to the Anglo-Saxon England, were as the two handed form it became the standard weapon of the Huscarls.
In the Napoleonic times and later, Farriers in military service carried heavy long axes. Though these could be used for fighting, they were for removing the branded hooves of horses.
Picture link1: www.warriors-wizards.com/Images/battle_axe_weapon.jpg