A bearded axe is actually an axe blade with a long heel that hangs down. Yeah, okay, the disguise thing isn't true either. Ironically, these axes gained fame during Charlamagne's reign, even though it was his sword (and that of Roland) that survives in our historical knowledge base. Great for your run-of-the-mill dismemberings, but even better when hurled. These axes were fairly thin, with a high arch leading to a slightly curved head. The next big development for axes in battle really didn't come until the 6th century or so, when the Merovingians perfected the Franciscan axe. The Romans used axes, but mostly as tools to cut down trees and such. And, really, steel was not cheap, so using it to clone your axe blade was not the best use of resources. Why not put a spike on the other side? That way you can punch through armor with one end, and crush mail or sever limbs with the other. So why would you want to carry a ridiculously heavy piece of steel that had *THE SAME WEAPON ON BOTH SIDES?* It's not like you're going to get bored of the side you are hitting with and switch. There really were no other double-bladed battle axes in history.ĭespite the prevalence of those types of axes in fantasy entertainment, they were incredibly rare in European history, and not very common outside of Europe, either. I know you didn't read it again, so I'll write it again. And enjoy that mental-axe-image, because there really were no other double-bladed battle axes in history. They had lovely double-bladed axes, mostly for ceremonial purposes. The labrys was the great double-bladed axe of the Minoan civilizations (The Minoans were from Crete and the Aegean Islands, in case that D you got in ninth grade history is coming back to bite you).
And that battle axe was not happy when I asked her to show me her labrys. I spent ten minutes looking for labrys in a book on female anatomy before I realized it was an ancient battle axe. The first axes in recorded history (that I am aware of) were labrys. Museums in Europe are overflowing with flint axeheads crafted by Neolithic warriors. Not flashy, but brutally efficient and reliable.Īxes may well have been humanity's first real weapons. They are the NFL offensive linemen of the weapons world. The point is not that swords are overly glorified (God, but do I love swords), but that axes are underly glorified. Never has metaphor and image come together so disturbingly. Want more from history? Durendal (Song of Roland), Joyeuse (Charlamagne), Tizona and Colada (El Cid). Excalibur (King Arthur), Stormbringer (Elric of Melniboné), Glamdring (Gandalf the Grey/White), Longclaw (John Snow), Andúril (Aragorn), Ice (Ned Stark), Sting (The Police. Yeah, if you have any historical or fantasy leanings at all, the list should come spilling out. Now, name three named swords, in history or fantasy. Name three axes in history or fantasy that had names. Name three in history or fantasy that had names. Just to belabor my point on the sword bias in history: But when it comes to raw, lethal power, there is nothing quite like an axe. When you think of a knight or a soldier of the middle ages, I bet you think of them with a sword. They're flashy, elegant, and loaded with symbolism. Swords get most of the glamor in the pre-modern world of warfare.
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