Battle-axe

Battle-axe was a weapon much used by the early northern nations, Celtic and Scandinavian, requiring great strength in its use. Some were held with one hand, some with two; the former kind could be wielded equally by horse and foot, but the latter was for foot-soldiers only. The battle-axe had a longer handle, and a broader, stronger, and sharper blade than the common axe. During the middle ages, and somewhat earlier, it was much used in sorties, and to prevent the escalating of a besieged fortress. The pole-axe differed but little from the battle-axe. The black bill and brown bill resembled a halbert, having the cutting part hooked like a woodman's bill, with a spike projecting from the back, and another from the head. Glaive, usually a sword, was sometimes applied to a kind of pole-axe or bill used by the Welsh. See HALBERT, LOCHABER AXE.