The Norwegian battle axe, also called Norwegian peasant militia axe, Norwegian peasant axe or peasant battle axe (Norwegian: bondeøks or bondestridsøks), is a tool and weapon from Norway, which was an important part of the Norwegian national defense in the 1600s.
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Description
editThe axe has great symbolic worth in Scandinavia, and appears in the coat of arms of Norway and as a symbol of Saint Olav, the patron saint and eternal King of Norway. The peasant axe has a mostly straight shaft with a distinct curve towards the blade.[1] The blade is crescent-shaped blade and single-edged. It is assumed that the axe is a further development of the Viking axe, also known as the Danish axe. The shape of the shaft favors a cutting effect from the blade. Peasant axes were often highly decorated and had a high status in the Norwegian culture as a symbol of the free farmer.
Gallery
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The former coat of arms of Telemark county between 1970-2019 showing a rising peasant axe. -
Norwegian axe from Gudbrandsdalen, ca. 1654 -
See also
editReferences
editFurther reading
edit- George Cameron Stein, Donald J. LaRocca: En Ordliste med Bygging, Innredning og Bruk av Våpen og Rustninger: i Alle Land og til Alle Tider. Verlag Courier Dover Publications, 1999, ISBN 978-0-486-40726-5 (Opptrykk), side 80.
- Norheim, Per Terje, Fuglseth, Erik: Våpen i Norge, Damm forlag (2000) ISBN 8251205239 (Norwegian)
- Mathisen, Trygve: Fra bondeoppbud til legdshær, Gyldendal (1952) (Norwegian)
- Kong Christian den Fjerdes norske Lovbog af 1604 (Norwegian)