Look at the underside of the blade. That downward hook is why this kind of axe has a name of its own — skeggøx, the bearded axe, from skegg, a beard — and it is doing two jobs at the same time. The first is arithmetic. Drawing the edge downwards gives a wide cutting surface while keeping the mass of the head low, which means a quick weapon in the hand and, just as much to the point for a man with a farm to run, less iron to pay for. The second is tactical. That hook will take hold of a shield rim or a weapon and drag it out of an opponent's grip, and a shield pulled down for even a moment is an opening. Bearded axes were in use by the sixth century and turn up right across medieval Europe, tool and weapon in the same object. This is not the crude bludgeon of popular imagination. It is a cheap, clever solution that happens to be terrifying.

W. Britain catch him mid-swing, cloak thrown out behind, shield slung across his back and a sword still at his hip — a man who has committed to the blow. The hook is worth aiming at something: put "Halvar" Viking Defending with Sword and Shield in front of him and the diorama has a mechanism, not just a pose. "Fritjof" Viking Attacking with Axe gives you a second axeman coming in beside him, and "Abrecan" Saxon Attacking with Axe shows the same weapon on the English side, because nobody had a monopoly on it. If you want to follow the axe forward in time, King & Country's The Axeman Cometh picks the story up two centuries later — and being 1/30 as well, the two stand together properly.

Model: 62137 / W. Britain / 1/30 scale / matte finish / 1 piece set