Product description
A beautiful Viking axe from Windlass Steelcraft, featuring an engraving of a dragon from the Viking sagas. Vikings fought with swords, saxes, axes, spears, and round shields. The weapons of wealthy Vikings with high status were richly decorated, often with motifs from Viking mythology. Dragons, for example, appear in the Prose Edda by the Icelandic author Snorri Sturluson. A well-known Viking dragon is Nidhoggr, which gnaws at the roots of the tree Yggdrasil, with its roots stretching over Niflheim. The dragon on this axe is engraved in beautiful Viking knotwork, making it a stunning decorative piece for the wall, Viking reenactment battles, or Viking cosplay.
Dragons were the mythical counterpart of serpents and were included in the earliest myths of modern humans. As humans migrated, dragon mythology spread worldwide. Among many Indo-European peoples, dragons play a prominent role in mythology. In Germanic and later Viking mythology, dragons are seen as all-destroying monsters. At the same time, they symbolize the evil creature that must be defeated by a hero. These two archetypes – the destroyer and the hero’s opponent – reinforce each other.
This type of axe blade is classified as Petersen Type C. The blade has an extremely pronounced beard, with a broad, extended section behind the eye, making it one of the most striking forms of bearded axes. This type represents a further development of bearded axes that were already used from the Late Roman period. Most examples have been found in Sweden, some in Norway, but none have been found in the United Kingdom.
This type of axe was likely used as a battle axe, as the connection to the haft is relatively thin compared to a felling axe. Axes of this type were possibly originally developed by Slavic peoples from the Baltic region. The “beard” — the downward-extending part of the blade — provides a larger cutting surface without adding extra weight. This design allowed the user to hold the haft just behind the head for woodworking or shaping wood. In combat, the beard also had advantages, such as being able to hook or strike an opponent’s shield or weapon.
