Battle axe
A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an
Axes designed for
Overview
Through the course of human history, commonplace objects have been pressed into service as
Battle axes generally weigh far less than modern splitting axes, especially mauls, because they were designed to cut legs and arms rather than wood; consequently, slightly narrow slicing blades are the norm. This facilitates deep, devastating wounds. Moreover, a lighter weapon is much quicker to bring to bear in combat and manipulate for repeated strikes against an adversary.[original research?]
The crescent-shaped heads of European battle axes of the Roman and post-Roman periods were usually made of wrought iron with a carbon steel edge or, as time elapsed across the many centuries of the medieval era, steel. The hardwood handles of military axes came to be reinforced with metal bands called langets, so that an enemy warrior could not cut the shaft. Some later specimens had all-metal handles.[citation needed]
Battle axes are particularly associated in Western popular imagination with the
History
Europe
Prehistory and the Ancient Mediterranean
Stone
Narrow axe heads made of cast metals were subsequently manufactured by artisans in the
More specifically, bronze battle-axe heads are attested in the archaeological record from ancient China and the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Some of them were suited for practical use as infantry weapons while others were clearly intended to be brandished as symbols of status and authority, judging by the quality of their decoration.
The epsilon axe was widely used during the Bronze Age by irregular infantry unable to afford better weapons. Its use was limited to Europe and the Middle East.
In the eastern Mediterranean Basin during the Iron Age, the double-bladed labrys axe was prevalent, and a hafted, single-bitted axe made of bronze or later iron was sometimes used as a weapon of war by the heavy infantry of ancient Greece, especially when confronted with thickly-armored opponents[citation needed]. The sagaris—described as either single bitted or double bitted—became associated by the Greeks with the mythological Amazons, though these were generally ceremonial axes rather than practical implements.[citation needed]
The Barbarian tribes that the Romans encountered north of the Alps did include iron war axes in their armories, alongside swords and spears. The Cantabri from the Iberian peninsula also used battle axes.
The Middle Ages
Battle axes were very common in Europe in the
King
Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, used an axe to defeat Henry de Bohun in single combat at the start of the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Given that Bruce was wielding the axe on horseback, it is likely that it was a one handed horseman's axe. They enjoyed a sustained revival among heavily armored equestrian combatants in the 15th century.[citation needed]
In the 14th century, the use of axes is increasingly noted by
Most medieval European battle axes had a socketed head (meaning that the thicker, butt-end of the blade contained an opening into which a wooden haft was inserted), and some included langets—long strips of metal affixed to the faces of the haft to prevent it from being damaged during combat. Occasionally the cheeks of the axehead bore engraved, etched, punched, or inlaid decorative patterns. Late-period battle axes tended to be of all-metal construction.[citation needed]
Such medieval
Steel plate-armor covering almost all of a knight's body, and incorporating features specifically designed to defeat axe and sword blades, become more common in the late 14th and early 15th century. Its development led to a generation of hafted weapons with points that concentrated impact, either to penetrate steel plate or to damage the joints of articulated plate. Increasingly daggers called misericords were carried which enabled a sharp point to be thrust though gaps in armour if an opponent was disabled or being grappled with. Swords styles became more diverse – from the two-handed zweihänders to more narrow thrusting instruments with sharply pointed tips, capable of penetrating any "chinks in the armour" of a fully encased opponent: for example, the estoc.[citation needed]
The newly invented flanged mace, for example, was no crude bludgeon like its predecessors. The vertical flanges projecting at regular intervals from its head could fracture plate armor and smash into underlying body tissue—yet it was a much cheaper weapon to make than a sword, whose blade was inclined in any case to glance harmlessly off the smooth, curved plates of a well-designed suit of armor if used in a chopping manner.[citation needed]
A sharp, sometimes curved pick was often fitted to the rear of the battle axe's blade to provide the user with a secondary weapon of penetration. A stabbing spike could be added, too, as a finial. Similarly, the war hammer evolved in late-medieval times with fluted or spiked heads, which would help a strike to "bite" into the armour and deliver its energy through to the wearer, rather than glance off the armor's surface. Strikes from these armour penetrating picks were not always fatal. There are many accounts of plate armored knights being struck with said weapons and while the armour was damaged, the individual underneath survived and in some cases completely unharmed.[11]
It eventually became common for these various kinds of impact weapons to be made entirely from metal, thus doing away with reinforced wooden shafts.
A useful visual guide to high-medieval battle axes, contemporary with their employment, are the scenes of warfare depicted in the
Battle axes also came to figure as heraldic devices on the
Post-medieval axes
Battle axes were eventually phased out at the end of the 16th century as military tactics began to revolve increasingly around the use of
In Scandinavia, however, the battle axe continued in use alongside the halberd, crossbow and pole-axe until the start of the 18th century. The nature of Norwegian terrain in particular made pike and shot tactics impracticable in many cases. A law instituted in 1604 required all farmers to own weaponry to serve in the militia. The Norwegian peasant militia battle axe, much more wieldy than the pike or halberd and yet effective against mounted enemies, was a popular choice. Many such weapons were ornately decorated, and yet their functionality shows in the way that the axe head was mounted tilting upwards slightly, with a significant forward curve in the shaft, with the intent of making them more effective against armoured opponents by concentrating force onto a narrower spot.[15]
During Napoleonic times, and later on in the 19th century, farriers in army service carried long and heavy axes as part of their kit. Although these could be used in an emergency for fighting, their primary use was logistical: the branded hooves of deceased military horses needed to be removed in order to prove that they had indeed died (and had not been stolen). Napoleon's Pioneer Corps also carried axes that were used for clearing vegetation—a practice employed by similar units in other armies.
Middle East
The
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ATehran's Grand Bazaar.
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A dervish with Tabar (axe)
Asia
China
Different types of battleaxes may be found in ancient China. In Chinese mythology,
Chinese battleaxes can be divided in three subgroups: Fu (斧), Yue (钺) and Ge (戈).[18] The distinction between a Yue and a Fu is that a Yue is, as a general rule, broader than a Fu. In the Shang dynasty the Yue was also a symbol of power, the bigger the Yue, the greater the power. There are a few rare examples of Yue with a round blade and a hole in the middle.
The Chinese Fu appeared in the Stone Age as a tool. In the
In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, axes retained their use in the army. In the Qing dynasty new types of axes emerge among the Eight Banners Army with straight edges. The Green Standard Army among the Eight Banners used double axes weighing 0.54 kg (1.2 lb) each, with a length of 50 cm (20 in).[19]
In modern Chinese wushu and Chinese opera there are many depictions of the axe. Many of these axes look thick and heavy, however, the axe heads are hollow.
Indian Subcontinent
The battle axe of ancient India was known as a
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Sindhi tabar battle axe, late 18th century or earlier, crescent shape 12 cm (5 in) long head with a square hammer opposite of the blade, 55 cm (22 in) long steel haft, the end of the haft unscrews to reveal a 12 cm (5 in) slim blade. Heavily patinated head and handle with traces of engraving.
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Indian tabar-zaghnal, a combination tabar axe and zaghnal war hammer / pick, all steel construction, 18th to 19th century.
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Indian (Deccan) tabar-shishpar, an extremely rare combination tabar axe and shishpar six flanged mace, steel with hollow shaft, 55 cm (22 in). 17th to 18th century.
Philippines
The panabas is the 19th-century battle axe as well as the chopping tool favored by the Moro tribes of Mindanao. It ranges in size from 60 to 120 cm (2 to 4 ft) and usually 85 cm (33 in) long and can be held with one or two hands. Hilts were often wrapped in rattan bindings or had metal collars.[20] Due to its clean cutting capabilities it was also sometimes used as an execution weapon. It is said that the Moro warriors wielding panabas would follow the main group of warriors up front and would immediately charge in on any American survivors of the first wave of attack during the Philippine–American War.
Sri Lanka
The keteriya was a type of battle axe that was used in ancient Sri Lanka. A keteriya consisted of a single edge and a short handle made of wood. This would allow the user to wield it with a single hand.
Vietnam
The battle axe is one of the most common type of weapons found in Vietnamese ancient cultures, particularly the Dong Son culture.
See also
References
- ISBN 0-7524-1910-2.
- ^ Iron Axe Head Inlaid With Silver, British Museum, retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-85109-526-1. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ISBN 1-85367-100-2.
- Roger de Hoveden, Translated Henry T. Riley(1853). The Annals of Roger de Hoveden: Comprising The History of England and of Other Countries of Europe from A.D. 732 to A.D. 1201, Vol 1. H. G. Bohn. pp. 243, 244.
- ^ Dickens is referencing Chaucer here, from the Tournament of Theseus of Athens in the Knights Tale, where a combatant "hath a sparth of twenty pound of weight"[1]
- ^ Old French Continuation of William of Tyre, in The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade: Sources in Translation, ed. Peter W. Edbury, p. 117.
- ISBN 0-333-76331-9.
- ^ Bourchier, John (1523). The Chronicles of Froissart. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
- ISBN 1-84383-006-X.
- ^ Sydney Anglo (2000), The Martial Art of Renaissance Europe. New Haven and London. Yale University Press. p. 150
- ^ "Manuscript". The Morgan Library & Museum. 16 March 2016.
- ^ Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England (Oxford 1807), vol 2, pt. 1, p. 59
- ^ Clarendon, History of the Rebellion, ii. pt. 1, p. 425
- ^ "Norwegian military small-arms & blades » The Norwegian Battle axe".
- ^ Crusader Warfare: Muslims, Mongols and the struggle against the Crusades by David Nicolle
- ^ Complete Persian culture (Dary dialect) by Gholam-reza Ensaf-pur
- ISBN 978-7-80740-220-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-7-80740-220-6.
- ^ "Panabas". Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
External links
Media related to Battle axes at Wikimedia Commons