Posts: 1,084 Location: Finland
Sat 05 May, 2007 8:26 pm
Tell me of Dalcassian axes
| Quote: |
... An ax hung from his right wrist, and it was to this feature that the fisherman's eyes wandered. The weapon with its three-foot handle and graceful lines looked slim and light when the fisherman mentally compared it to the great axes carried by the Norsemen. Yet scarcely three years had passed, as the fisherman knew, since such axes as these had shattered the northern hosts into red defeat and broken the pagan power forever.
There was individuality about the ax as about its owner. It was not like any other the fisherman had ever seen. Single-edged it was, with a short three-edged spike on the back and another on the top of the head. Like the wielder, it was heavier than it looked. With its slightly curved shaft and the graceful artistry of the blade, it looked like the weapon of an expert -- swift, lethal, deadly, cobra-like. The head was of finest Irish workmanship, which meant, at that day, the finest in the world. The handle, cut from the head of a century-old oak, specially fire-hardened and braced with steel, was as unbreakable as an iron bar.
(Robert E. Howard, "The Dark Man") |
For the longest time, I've been trying to find information on these weapons, both online and off, but with little luck. The best I've been able to come across online are brief mentions and references with little or no actual description; in print, less than that. The best verbal description I know is the above-cited passage from REH, taking place in the very early 11th Century (Turlogh Dubh O'Brien, the owner and maker of that ax, takes part in the battle of Clontarf in 1014 in another semi-historical story, "The Grey God Passes"), and I don't know how historically accurate it is. Pictures I've found none.
I would be very grateful if someone could point me towards any possible modern reproductions or historical information considering these axes; visual references would be especially welcome.
Posts: 443 Location: Granby (QC) canada
Sun 06 May, 2007 1:20 pm
Dalcassian Axe: This is a larger two-handed version of the boarding axe . Again this type of axe could be used to board ships. It is an Irish weapon and gets its name from Dalcassian warriors who carried it.
If it can help.
Posts: 1,084 Location: Finland
Tue 08 May, 2007 7:28 am
Yeah, that's one of the few references I've found online. (From the Glasgow Vikings re-enactment site, right?) Of course, Howard always talks of these axes being used one-handed... And I don't really know which to trust more.
BTW, ironically enough - and rather illustrative of the shortage of online references - this very thread is now the best match on Alltheweb, and the second best on Google, bested only by the afore-mentioned story at Project Gutenberg. :D
Posts: 395
Tue 08 May, 2007 10:06 am
I personally have never seen any historical proof of a "Dalcassian Axe". The time period that REH is discussing this weapon is after the battle of Clontarf. So during the mid 1000's AD. If I were to guess at it's origin and form, I'd have to say an axe inspired by those types of Danish or Norse axes used in war. IIRC, somewhere it was said that the Irish adopted the Norse axes but deleted the presence of the thickened edge. Over time these axes developed their own characteristic blade profile(less crescent shaped) as can be seen by some excavated examples from the Hebrides and parts of Ireland proper. Perhaps this is what REH meant. Perhaps not. Certainly there's never been found an axe from that era with a backspike.
Posts: 5,981 Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Tue 08 May, 2007 10:20 am
I compiled this site's Irish threads last year. You might find some information among them.
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...ight=irish
This one, in particular, will help you answer your questions, though you'll have to do some digging and make some interlibrary loan requests:
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...ight=irish
Posts: 1,084 Location: Finland
Tue 08 May, 2007 3:21 pm
| B. Stark wrote: |
| I personally have never seen any historical proof of a "Dalcassian Axe". The time period that REH is discussing this weapon is after the battle of Clontarf. So during the mid 1000's AD. |
I think it's safe to assume "The Dark Man" takes place in the Spring of 1017, to be exact - "scarcely three years had passed... since such axes as these had shattered the northern hosts into red defeat and broken the pagan power forever" sounds like a fairly obvious reference to the battle of Clontarf, or at least Howard's rendition of it.
And I would think the term "Dalcassian ax" refers more to a characteristic regional style than a specific type of weapon, at that. Kinda like how Scottish baskethilts are quite distinct from English ones, even if they are functionally the same.
FWIW, the one even slightly useful online reference besides the Glasgow Vikings that I could find simply mentioned a "small-headed axe (a Dalcassian axe, if anyone's interested)", a modern reproduction, used as an improvised cane by the writer...
| Quote: |
| If I were to guess at it's origin and form, I'd have to say an axe inspired by those types of Danish or Norse axes used in war. IIRC, somewhere it was said that the Irish adopted the Norse axes but deleted the presence of the thickened edge. Over time these axes developed their own characteristic blade profile(less crescent shaped) as can be seen by some excavated examples from the Hebrides and parts of Ireland proper. Perhaps this is what REH meant. Perhaps not. Certainly there's never been found an axe from that era with a backspike. |
Perhaps.
The spikes are mainly what bothers me about the description, too. It's said in several places that Turlogh made the ax himself, and that it's as recognizable as its wielder, so they could perhaps be excused as an individual anomaly. On the other hand, Howard also equips a Saxon acquaintance of Turlogh's with a two-handed sword, so...
Forgetting the Dalcassian specification for the moment, what could you folks tell me about Irish axes (or where to find out about them) in general, preferably around AD 1000? Although, given Howard's self-admitted tendency to inadvertently mix in some blatantly anachronistic details, information from other eras would likely be helpful, too. Again, pictures would be most welcome. :)
Last edited by Mikko Kuusirati on Tue 08 May, 2007 3:27 pm; edited 1 time in total
Posts: 1,084 Location: Finland
Tue 08 May, 2007 3:24 pm
Thank you! I appreciate that.
And I'll likely appreciate it even more if I ever manage to get my hands on some of those books... :D
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