Posts: 2,160 Location: New Hampshire
Tue 16 Nov, 2004 11:00 am
Hi Sean
I posted this plate, awhile back, in a thread I did about the artwork of McIntyre North
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...t=mcintyre
, and it features a couple of polearms that are along the lines of the Kern !
Thought you might find it interesting, Mac
Plate 50
The axes known as the Lochaber axes had their Keltic representatives in the axes shown on plates 5 & 7, and a crushing retort was often delivered by the Mace (plate 9).
A monument, supposed to commemorate the murder of King Malcolm, shows two figures joining hands, and with axes in the other, very much like the Lochaber axes at Blair Castle (pp).
They were first mentioned being used by the Scots in 1388. froissart describes them as with a long shaft, with a blade larger than an axe, and shorter than a sword, with a hook behind it ; and, describing the battle of Neville's Cross, he says, "The Scottes had great axes, sharpe and hard, and gaue with them many great strokes" . The Highlanders attacked King Robert Bruce with Lochaber axes with great effect at Dalree.
The Lord of the Isles made an attack at the battle of Harlaw with men armed with swords, fitted to cut & thrust, poleaxes (afterwards called Lochaber axes), bows & arrows, short knives, and round bucklers, formed of wood and strong hides, with bosses of brass or iron.
An ancient statute of William, King of Scotland (1165), says : --"Concerning those presenting themselves to serve in war, and whoever has less than 40 shillings' worth of land, shall be armed with a gisarum, which is called a hand bill (habeat gysarum quod dicitur, hand bill), and bow and arrows" (qq).
The various shapes of the Highland and other battle axes are shown on plates 47 and 50 (rr), and can speak for themselves, as they have done before in many a hard-fought field.
* (pp) See also plate 5 .
* (qq) Meyick
* (rr) The weapons on plate 50 are drawn to half the size of the others, on account of their size. The axe in the centre is a "Jeddart" axe. Fig. C is modern, from a design by Logan for the C.T.H.
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