How to use the Viking Dane Axe: A methodology for research 

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You've got it all wrong Matt, these aren't even 2 handed weapons. They were dual wielded by the 8 foot tall berserkers

I am a history teacher and you really hit on a lot of the complexity behind making any sort of informed statement about any aspect of history. It is one of those situations where the more you know, the more you know that you know very little.

We all have the same numbers of limbs, and the same vulnerabilities and targets on our bodies. Yet, despite that, unarmed (and unarmored) combat varies considerably across time and geographic locations. I don't see why anyone should be surprised that the exact same weapon could be used so differently across cultures and times, if they gave it any thought at all.

For smaller axes (and I think the shafts on many of those replicas tend to be relatively overbuilt), we have some limited information from the use of axes in Ireland. In 1187, Gerald of Wales wrote about his travels in Ireland, visiting relatives there that fought in the Anglo-Norman invasion. He tells us that the Irish all carried axes as if they were walking sticks, and that they learned to use them from the Norwegians and Ostmen (Norse-Irish). He also says: "They strike with the axe with one hand and not both, with the thumb outstretched above the hand guiding the blow, from which neither a helmeted head struck directly on the crest, or the rest of the iron mail-clad body, protect from harming." This is strikingly similar in description to the use of the shillelagh in bataireacht, and we do know that the Irish kept using axes in warfare until the late 17th century. We can't know for sure of course, but there is a possibility that bataireacht was either a parent art or even training for axe use, and may very well be an interesting ethnographic source to understand axe use in the medieval era. This is mirrored in other cultures, for example, the Zulus who use axes instead of knobkerries in full out war. I wrote a bit of an article here about this if anyone is interested: irishstick.wordpress.com/2021/05/28/getting-medieval-just-how-old-is-bataireacht/

Matt is seriously my favorite historian. He's got such a passion for weapons and manuscripts!

They are in fact Dane-gerous to use.

“We got a general idea of how to hold the shaft of this weapon... Sliding the hands up and down for different purposes.” 🤣 How he manages to work these into every video while not even cracking a smile is genius.

"I could get 10 rapier masters in this channel..." DO IT

I feel that this video is closer to a process of historical investigation than anything specific to the Dane axe. I would really love a specific follow up video on your personal interpretation of how the Dane axe was possibly used.

How to handle disagreement like a rational and emotionally mature adult and not be a pedantic dork.

On the problem of Dane-Axe use, if there are any surviving treatises or traditions on the use of the Irish Sparth-Axe or the Scottish Lochaber-Axe, from what I know of the history of those weapons, they may be invaluable. This stems from the direct ancestry of the Sparth-axe for sure and the possible ancestry of the Lochaber-axe from the Dane-axe due to contact and conflict between the Irish and Scots with the Scandinavians. This couples with the fact that at least the Sparth-axe for sure but also possibly that the Lochaber-axe were used in very similar contexts to the Dane-axe: against shield walls in the hands of maille haubergeon armored iron/steel helmeted professional warriors (English Huscarls/Irish Gallowglasses).

Matt, this is your best video yet in my opinion, you have answered in detail many of my own questions and am pleased to hear that you value pictoral evidence, the Bayeoux tapestry etc. Without going into unnecessary detail, this was a classy and professional way of explaining your thoughts on what is HEMA and what could be HEMA. With regards the Dane Axe, I feel that it was probably used out of formation, shock and awe, force of arms style. Also it would make sense to be as heavily armoured as the period allowed, you as a Dane Axe user are going to draw a lot of attention. I think it takes the axe warfare style into another level, ramping up the aggressive style even further, it's attack, attack, attack. Great video, thank you.

Very nice as always! But... now I feel the need of a video on the differences in rapier systems...

When you came to THE part about THE Diffrent Reipier styles, is it Possable there was Diffrent Axe styles between Dane, Norman or Rus?

In the vein of re-enactment and giving a source, I do LARP (European style). I don't use a Dane axe, but a friend of mine does, and I can describe what it's like to fight him. For context, I use a longsword, but I don't see how the situation would change much if I used a short sword and shield, mostly because several of my other friends fight like that and they get the same type of results against him. We can't use spears, so I don't know how that would affect things, but I suspect the extra reach would be a godsend. Boiled down, fighting with a Dane axe means believing the best defence is a good offence. You can't really parry and you can barely block, but you can make your opponent fear for their life when they get close and use that to force them to keep their distance. I'll run down what it's like to fight against a Dane axe: You get close enough to hit them, which means there is already an axe-head barrelling towards you. Do you a) Block or parry? The momentum of the axe head smashes through your defence. You're dead. b) Hit them before they hit you? The momentum of the axe carries it into your body as you stab or swing at the axe wielder. If you're lucky and you got a good hit in (avoiding armour, etc.) you're _both_ dead. If not... you're dead. c) Dodge to the side? Chances are the axe was being swung at an angle anyway and slightly redirecting it isn't too difficult. You're probably dead. d) Dodge backwards? You have several option here. 1. Dodge slightly? It's not enough, you're dead. 2. Dodge moderately? Hope to high heavens you didn't underestimate their reach. 50/50 chance you're dead. But if you survived, you can attack back before they can. 3. Dodge far? Well done, you successfully evaded the attack. Now you can try and attack back, but since you moved back far they had the time to use the axe's momentum and they swing at you again. Start from the top. Let's just say, I can understand how a single Norseman wielding a Dane axe held a bridge by himself for so long.

A perfect lesson about responding to criticism indirectly. That was a thoroughly and well explained position, which rebutted certain others’ points with panache. What a gentlemanly way to engage.

I love how you carefully explain things so those who don't grok what words like historical mean can maybe glean something without naming any nerds who should not be named. Very well done.

Frederico Malagutti recently put up a video with regards to the Shad/Matt debate over HEMA where he talks at length about how systems of combat with a weapon are SPECIFIC solutions to the problem space of accomplishing the goals of combat with given tools in certain contexts (the goals, tools, and context define the problem space). A fighting system is a SOLUTION to that problem, but it is not a UNIQUE solution. In fact, you could say that every combatant comes up with their own solution, because fencing systems themselves have to be a bit generalized in order to accommodate differences between individuals. Meyer talks about this in his 1570 treatise (I think it's in the forward, but he might expand on it more in his discussion about the sword). So when we're trying to recreate the way that people fought in the past, we have to realize that we might come up with a completely legitimate solution to the problem that is combat, but if we cannot back it up with evidence from the sources, it's very hard to say that we're doing it the way they were doing it in the past. Here's a link to Frederico's video. He's a very cool guy: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JmCsZXvEf84.html

Being Canadian, my mind immediately went to hockey when you talked about people holding the axe left hand forward.More people hold their stick with the left hand forward than right. Part of the reason is that you generate power on a slap shot by pulling with the back hand. I wonder if it is at all similar

Context and Triangulation!!! Not mocking, fully with those concepts. Use them in everyday life all the time too. Always learn something new or a new angle to look at something from your videos Matt, keep up the excellent work!

Thank you for presenting the full approach historical martial art practitioners should take to reconstruct more obscure techniques. I would just ad that studying of the weapon itself is not enough, it also would help a lot to study how the opposing forces attempted to defend against it, which parts of the body they armored most and which were left relatively exposed. Great video after all!

In my experience, it’s like the drawn out or large gang fights I’ve been in with impact weapons and observed in training video. When the shit hits the fan and you’re fast and furious, everyone resorts to basic chopping. It’s effective, and defensive especially when you’re getting tired or winded.

I love listening to you talk, between you, Todd’s workshop and Metatron I’m set.

Your adoption of the term "frog DNA" for patching historical holes is wonderful. I'm totally re-stealing it! :)

Very interesting ! I think there is a video on line with a Swedish guy using a Dane axe. I thought his style was very plausible, how they would use the axe to hook the enimy sheald away from the body. We know from battlefield injuries that the legs were a big target.

I was just thinking about the Dane axe. Great video. It is amazing that the Dane axe has such a cultural imprint despite being largely limited in use and not having much material written about it

As someone who has gotten a good chuckle seeing how stock images portray violin playing, I wonder how useful the artistic sources truly are.

Summary of this whole video is: we don't know

Scolargladiatoria: let us consider the sources and archeological data, but we wont know for sure Tods Workshop: after looking at the document we discovered something interesting in the re-forging that wasn't mentioned Skallgrim: when attempting to recreate the text it is possible that they actually did it in this way Metatron: When we consider the linguistic use we can see that they likely meant this. Shad: I stood in a field for 30 minutes and swung this in my own made up HEMA technique, let me tell you what happened at Stanford bridge.

Great video Matt. Academic rigour, methodology and intent. You’d think people who love castles would have more respect for the importance of gatekeepers.

My own theory on the Dane Axe, is that it was used by the equivalent of a squad level sergeant. He who would hang back behind the shield and spear users for most of the fighting. If the enemy rushed past the spear's effective range the Dane Axe would be there to make the attacker "reconsider" pressing the charge home. This would keep the Dane Axe user safe during the initial closing of distance where projectiles would be most in play and give probably the most experienced fighter a place to direct his groups actions while not being seen as cowardly for not standing in the front row. Also having a big guy with a big axe behind the rank and file infantry might encourage them to not break and run when the fighting got tough.

Nice procedural breakdown. The most rewarding part of exploring a historical discipline or weapon is to get as close as possible to walking in that warrior's footsteps ... an ideal which requires no stone be left unturned.

Fantastic explanation of the HEMA methodology. Some people seem to think all methods are equal and that's just not true. Textual sources are the best, followed by oral tradition, followed by pictures, followed by archeological evidence (including bone fractures, etc.), followed lastly by personal experience (experimental archeology). All can be used to reconstruct the past but with varying levels of certainty.

Recently someone pointed out that baseball players are taught to swing the bat so that the momentum from your body naturally transfers into the bat much like the end of a whip. Or, like the end of a flail, or a trebuchet. A trebuchet is probably the best way to explain it. So, I started test swinging my one handed viking axe which is a bearded heavier hybrid tool axe. It really is just like imparting a little momentum and the thing rotates on its own - you'd actually have to fight the rotation of it with your wrists not to swing it as you do this. Its like you think of a point of rotation between you and your hips that is the trebuchet arm, and then think of your forearm and axe as the rope, and the axehead as the load. The speed, agility and power with which I was able to swing is ridiculous compared to what it was before. I also noticed that you could swing it rapidly in a way where you actually completely change the direction of the axe head 180 degrees for a follow up swing - this is achieved by finishing the swing in a way that sets you up to whip it back in another direction. This also seemed to grant advantages of unpredictability and flexibility, more like I was wielding a sword. Now I really want to test this out with a Dane Axe. It seems as though with a Dane Axe that you'd be able to take this effect to the extreme. Holding the base of the haft in the right hand actually is exactly how you'd want to hold it for this technique. Horizontal strikes with this are incredibly powerful, to the point at which they are more reliably fast and powerful than overhead strikes, with a little bit of hip/body rotation to impart the momentum, turning that slow rotation of your body into a lightning fast whip of the axe head. I kind of suspect that Dane Axes might have been used in this way, because an axe head using the trebuchet effect is going to end the argument if it makes contact. And, if this blow was actually comparatively economical in terms of energy and tempo? That's completely and utterly devastating.

Were you really an archeologist? I don't remember seeing you on Time Team. Isn't being on Time Team a prerequisite to being an archeologist in the UK?

How to use dane axe. 1.) Hold axe 2.) Swing axe so sharp metal bit hit enemy 3.) Repeat step 2 until opponent dies

Well, the dane axe was a answer to the problem the shieldwall created at the time. The dane axe could be used at a distance to hit over the shieldwall and also to break spear ranks. Men armed with dane axes would walk behind the shieldwall, and then come and strike through the enemy shieldwall breaking it open. The answer is not just in the technology, but especially in the tactics of the time and era.

Excellent video, as always, and a much better use of your time than other endeavors. Cheers!

I think the dane axe was used in shield walls to hook and pull at shields, opening the holders up for other attacks from your friends. This could be done while staying back in safety since the shaft was so long. Then ofc it could be used on unarmed people very effectively as well

If Shad makes a ridiculous response video to this I'm gonna be pissed. Lol

Given the dominance of shieldwalls in battles at this time the Dane axe does seem like a linebreaker weapon. The Romans encounter problems with the Dacian Falx being used below the shields. I can imagine Dane axe wielders used in a similar way to disrupt an opposing shieldwall, attempting to create a weakness or gap before being reabsorbed into the protective wall of their comrades as the two walls crash into each other.

Dane Axe is perfectly accurate & fine to use to describe it!. A devastating weapon in the right hands go check The Battle of Stamford Bridge. The fact Huscarls & the like used these weapons sort of proves how highly they were thought of & the standard of warrior who used it.

To be honest I'd love to try doing some dane axe SEMA (Speculative European Martial Arts)

Thank you for the entertaining and informative explanation! What a great way to talk about all the ways historians and archaeologists try to get as close as possible to understanding the past 😊

Ah, so there IS a manual: The Con Text. :D

YES to getting 10 Rapier experts showing their differences!!

Very interesting. It would be a marvel to watch experts practicing with various axes.

Zoned out for a few seconds and mat was right up to the camera shouting about raid shadow legends 😵

How were great axes used? Choppy end goes on the other man.

thank you for putting the raid advert which are basically mandatory 2 min+ in an appropriately lengthed video. too many youtubers put them in videos that arent even 10 mins. idc much about sponsors but when the ad-read is almost identical on multiple channels and put in shorter and shorter videos... its refreshing to see it in a more traditional 30 min tv runtime commercial style. on topic, i didnt even think about there being a danish way to use a dane axe.

A nice way to give a reply to Shad 😉

Coming from Norse descent there is a way that you use the axe. You charge in swinging the axe as wildly as you can, there is no skill or plan. The rage is not a myth, my family comes from Bardufoss in Norway, and some of us when we get angry get banished from the house. None of the men in our family are under 190cm in height and the women in the family tend to be around 180cm tall. We have been gene tested and most of us don't feel pain which is both good and bad depending on what you are doing. And our blood has a prothrombin gene mutation factor five v-leiden so our blood clots amazingly quickly. We have tried in the past to find people to fight in the UK but no-one seems to want to do full contact fighting with us as we don't wear full armour and apparently they are afraid we will get hurt. When we do our traditional fighting there are lots of cuts afterwards but no bruising.

I don't know, Matt, maybe the Dane Axe should be MORE famous. 12th-14th century art seems to show a healthy number of Western European knights (not just Englishmen or Norsemen) wielding them. Searching "axe" on Manuscript Miniatures turns up a lot of examples. Perhaps a follow-up discussion about the weapon's spread and popularity over time is in order. This might also lead into a treatment of the birth of the poleaxe, as one can find images of great axes with top spikes fairly early. They probably evolved into the poleaxe of the later treatises. At any rate, it'd be interesting to shed some light onto lesser-known aspects of European polearm usage. Just some thoughts, can't wait to hear from Matt and anyone else who has researched this! 🪓 🪓

I a big fan of your intellectual honesty and academic thoroughness, it is very inspiring to everyone that appreciate science and learning

weird question, since you mentioned the pollaxe's similarity to the dane axe/greataxe: Would you consider a pollaxe more similar to a halberd or to a greataxe? My instinct is to say halberd, but in how they were used they might have been more similar to greataxes if I'm understanding it correctly, no?

"sliding their hands up and down for different purposes" some things never change.

*goes back in time* so Mr Svenngardasson....how do you use a dane axe? What do you mean? you hold it at one end and hit someone with the other

I always though that the dane axe would be used as a shock weapon, elite housecarls moving to a weak point in the shield wall to create a gap or force a rout, but the example of the dane protecting Stamford Bridge has me reexamining my original premise, this was definitely an elite weapon for an incredible well skilled warrior

I Hope this ends the stupid "debate" on what is (or not) historical. Great vídeo

To what extent can we assume pictorial evidence to be accurate? An illustrator documenting the battle of So and Such (upon Thyme) in England, 1334, might describe some rather fantastical arms and armour for whatever reasons. Then again, he might know full well and describe perfectly how certain things looked and were used. And everything in between.

That's an interesting topic!

Maybe i can add a few things may be of interest regarding the dane axe: Much later in War of the Religions 1531 in Switzerland where Officers leading a troop of Zürich Soldiers requested 50-60 long handled Axes so called Hundtbiehl(Dog axes) to have a chance against the Central Swiss Troops that were armed with Schlachtschwerter aka Great Swords. Seems like those long handled axes were supposed to have the same role as the great swords. And that could link to some of dane axe wielders in the bayeux tapestry which seem to have similiar positions in the formation much like the swiss and german mercenaries with great swords depicted in the 15-16th century. Giulio Caesare Brancaccio writes about the Landsknechts that their halberds and two handed swords at the front were supposed to stop charges that break the first line of pikes. Which also reminds me of the dane axe wielders being depicted as close to the first line or attacking calvary and others. George Silver also mentions the Battle Axe and Compares it with the two handed swords(being used among the midst of many men and calvary) and describes similiar situations so at least their usage or tactical deployment seemed to be similiar. However all of those bits are much later than the actual time period but maybe theyre at least bit helpful for some people interested in the dane axe.

Matt hinting at a possible rapier series? Would be awesome!

All of that makes perfect sense to me ... not quite sure what other folk seem to think this is a response to/aimed at, it just seems rational, sensible and logical imho.

"If the Japanese had an analogue for the Dane Axe..." Now I'm wondering how the Ono/Masakari axes compare to the Dane Axe...

Dane axe crash course: swing the iron part really hard toward the enemy and hope. You can't say that in history this never happened, therefore what I propose is hema. I should start some seminars now that I think about it...

Case in point when it comes to the importance of skeletons in this kind of research: we learned more about the use of the Aztec sword (macuahuitl) from the injuries on skeletons than from just about anywhere else. And that information, in turn, ended up radically altering our ideas about how well defended the Spaniards were against said weapon. Good to see someone acknowledging the importance of that type of archaeology here.

How to use the Viking Dane Axe?............damn near every way you can imagine. They are useful in so many various ways. Edit: The thrusting power is woefully under utilized. (depending on the shape obviously)

Damnit, you're trying to say I can't swing it around in my garden a bit and call myself an archeologist HEMA practitioner?

Nobody talks about medieval Mongol swords. An idea for a video?

Great video! Hopefully clear enough even for those down under

Didn't Albrecht Dürer paint some Gallowglass mercenaries who still used the sparth axe in the early 16th century? If I remember correctly their equiptment wasn't much different from what you see on the Bayeux tapestry (little armor besides a helmet and maybe a long mail shirt over a long tunic).

Interesting, I've wondered myself at something similar, the use of the Galloglass axe. I've seen claims a while back that it was used like a pole axe and I just can't buy into that theory. It's not like a pole axe at all, it isn't designed like one and doesn't handle like one either. Looking at the scant sources I have for these weapons, I genuinely think they were simply used with a massive over head swing and at some poor unfortunate soul. But like the Dane axe, we'll never know for sure.

This is a very clever way to reply to Shad. Well done Matt =).

A video comparing different schools of rapier (or any other weapon at that) would be SO AWESOME!

I would enjoy seeing some of the experimental archaeology on the Dane axe. Given the weight distribution I know that felling axes (the lightest of the lumber axes) still have a turning moment very close to the head I wonder if there is a form of murder stroke whipping the handle around quickly like a cudgel after a strong stroke with the head.

He's so darned enthusiastic he forgot to answer the question!

Is that Great Triangulation article posted anywhere?

Getting ahold of a weapon and playing with it. --That which most of us do.

You are a huge pool of knowledge, fascinating to listen to and great to watch , you bring each subject to life with your enthusiasm and knowledge. Thank you sir .

Video suggestion: 10 reasons why you (the modern person) need a sword/axe/piece of armour!

Would an axe like this survive using the back to bash a metal helmet for example or is it likely the eye will cave in or maybe bend or crack the blade and edge?

Is this experimental archaeology? By someone actually qualified and experienced who actually reads actual books?! I cackled academically all the way through this, you absolutely nailed it. Love it :D

What a flawed approach. All you need is a historical object, like a NERF foam axe, and you can just recreate the art in your garden. It’s that easy.

Matt, I think one pitfall to avoid when using later period docs for an earlier weapon system is the illusion that (for instance) the Great Axe was developed out of the poleaxe, whereas obviously - if at all - the poleaxe was developed out of the Great Axe. So there would have been many techniques appropriate to the Great Axe that turned out to be useless for the poleaxe, and in fact new techniques might have been developed for the poleaxe that never existed for the Great Axe.

Great video as always :D. It is a shame that there aren’t many sources talk about the usage axes (one handed or two handed).

This is basically what I'm trying to do with learning about Gallowglass martial arts. From the 1250's up until 1618 they used axes with chainmail hauberks but as far as I know there is no treatises of how they specifically used. I have tones of records on what they were used for so I try to train against those form of situations. I do look at some treatises like George Silver and some poleaxe but usually use things that I feel are very effective.

Well I have one theory and I really want you to try it out, and that is the shape it seams to me that it will be perfect for trapping a shoulder whit to drag people out of a shieldwall.. the Vikings loved shield walls. And you know having so little armour you are not really safe standing in the front you'll get killed pretty quickly, so the guys whit Dane axes would stand behind the front row trying to pull guys out, shatter shields and ofcourse klieve skulls if there was an opening for that

Thank you so much for making a video explaining the kind of rigor that goes into experimental archeology!

My idea is when they were first used could it have been for breaking up shield walls?

Since the Gallowglass also used axes like the Dane Axe, are there references on how they used them. My Ancestors came back to Ireland from controlling part of the Argyle coast for the King of Norway, one branch were "Sweeney of the Battleaxe" and known for carrying large axes like the Dane Axe.

You have to. Look at it as a dynamic system, end grip for long rage strikes and hooks to get more levrage and middle grip for short swings in close range so you can put your back into it and twist with the boody. Not to be ignored is the shaft butt. End that csn be used to jabb, poke, blokk or counter as movement for the strikes to get ekstra momentum og create an opening so the wielder. Controlls tempo

Wow Matt you are extremely intelligent and passionate about understanding history!!! A real inspiration for us mere humans

I noticed that your channel is the only one I will suffer through a raid Shadow Legends ad

Once upon a time a Danish farmer was chopping wood when he was assualted by a bunch of marauders, and he picked up his axe and fought them off successfully, after that everyone wanted one.

would exist some bizantinium sources on the use of the greataxe as it was the weapon of the varenghian guard?

Great rebuttal video. ;)

I like the Jurassic park reference. xD Also I hope you know you have the best life. Professionally at least. My favorite quote from my anthro and experimental arch professor "Experimental archaeology tells us how things COULD have been used, not necessarily how they generally were. But if it's possible; someone probably did at least use something that way a few times." paraphrased.

One thing that's rarely mentioned with respect to large axes is that when swung with speed they hold a high degree of momentum that contains sufficient and more, power to be able to continue the strike through many a sword block. I'd say that would be one of the advantages that would enhance their preference over other weapons.