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A battle axe (also battle-axe, battle ax, or battle-ax) is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were designed differently to utility axes, with blades more akin to cleavers than to wood axes. Many were suitable for use in one hand, while others were larger and were deployed two-handed.
Axes designed for warfare ranged in weight from just over , and in length from just over to upwards of , as in the case of the Danish axe or the sparth axe. Cleaving weapons longer than would arguably fall into the category of .
Battle axes generally weigh far less than modern splitting axes, especially splitting maul, 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.
The crescent-shaped heads of European battle axes of the Ancient Rome 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.
Battle axes are particularly associated in Western popular imagination with the Vikings. Certainly, Scandinavian foot soldiers and maritime marauders employed them as a stock weapon during their heyday, which extended from the beginning of the 8th century to the end of the 11th century. They produced several varieties, including specialized throwing axes (see francisca) and "bearded" axes or "skeggox" (so named for their trailing lower blade edge which increased cleaving power and could be used to catch the edge of an opponent's shield and pull it down, leaving the shield-bearer vulnerable to a follow-up blow). Viking axes may have been wielded with one hand or two, depending on the length of the plain wooden haft. See Viking Age arms and armor.
Narrow axe heads made of cast metals were subsequently manufactured by artisans in the Middle East and then Europe during the Copper Age and the Bronze Age. The earliest specimens were socket-less.
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. 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.
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.
King Stephen of England famously used a 'Dane axe' at the Battle of Lincoln 1141. One account says that he used it after his sword broke. Another says he used his sword only after his axe broke.
Richard the Lionheart was often recorded in Victorian times wielding a large war axe, though references are sometimes wildly exaggerated as befitted a national hero: "Long and long after he was quiet in his grave, his terrible battle-axe, with twenty English pounds of English steel in its mighty head..." – A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens.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] Richard is, however, recorded as using a Danish Axe at the relief of Jaffa.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. Geoffrey of Lusignan is another famous crusader associated with the axe.
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.
In the 14th century, the use of axes is increasingly noted by Froissart in his Chronicle, which records the engagements between the kingdoms of France and England and the rise of professional and mercenary armies in the 14th century. King John II is recorded as using one at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 and Sir James Douglas at the Battle of Otterburn in 1388. Bretons were apparently noted axe users, with noted mercenaries Bertrand du Guesclin and Olivier de Clisson both wielding axes in battle.Richard Vernier (2025). 184383006X, Boydell Press. 184383006X In these instances the type of battle axe - whether a Danish axe, or the proto-pollaxe - is not recorded.
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.
Such medieval polearms as the halberd and the pollaxe were variants of the basic battle-axe form.
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.
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 was completely unharmed.Sydney Anglo (2000), The Martial Art of Renaissance Europe. New Haven and London. Yale University Press. p. 150
A useful visual guide to high-medieval battle axes, contemporary with their employment, are the scenes of warfare depicted in the Maciejowski Bible (Morgan Bible) of c. 1250.
Battle axes also came to figure as heraldic devices on the coats of arms of several English and mainland European families.
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.
During Napoleonic Wars, and later on in the 19th century, 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.
Chinese battleaxes can be divided in three subgroups: Fu (斧), Yue (钺) and Dagger-axe (戈). (2025). 9787807402206, 上海文化出版社. ISBN 9787807402206 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 Shang dynasty (–) the Fu began to be made from bronze, and began to be used as a weapon. However, the prominence of the Fu waned on the battlefield as the Zhou dynasty came to power. In the Warring States era iron axes started to appear. Up until the Han dynasty and Jin dynasty, after having lost its importance on the battle-field, the Fu once again appeared as the cavalry was used more often.
In the Sui dynasty and Tang dynasty dynasties there is evidence of the subdivision of the Fu. During the Song dynasty axes were popularized and many types of axes began to exist. The types include Phoenix Head Axes ( 凤头斧), Invincible Axe ( 无敌斧), Opening Mountain Axe ( 开山斧), Emei Axe ( 峨眉斧) and Chisel Head Axes ( 锉头斧). (2025). 9787807402206, 上海文化出版社. ISBN 9787807402206
A well known novel from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) knows as the Water Margin (or the Water Margin - Shui Hu Zhuan 水浒传) features a character known as Li Kui, the Black Whirlwind who wields two axes and fights Nudity.
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 each, with a length of .
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.
Among the various Cordilleran peoples of the northern Philippines, another type of traditional battle axe, the head axe, was favored for headhunting raids. It was specialized for beheading enemy combatants but was also used as an agricultural tool. They were banned, along with headhunting practices, during the American colonial period of the Philippines in the early 20th century.
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