This page was created by Amanda Sopchockchai. The last update was by Amanda Luyster.
Where was this pollaxe produced?
Amanda Sopchockchai, Class of 2027, College of the Holy Cross
This pollaxe was made somewhere in Northern Europe, possibly near Brussels. It would have been made for use in the tournaments of Northern Europe, at which princes participated, and in which the fighting included poleaxe duels on foot. In the Holy Roman Empire, only noblemen could participate in tournaments, while the common folk were excluded. However, some nobles held their own “bachelor jousts,” open to the public. The first one of these was held in 1446, angering the aristocracy. This pollaxe would have been used in fighting in front of a diverse crowd, where outsiders from neighboring lands or even from overseas could join in the fierce tradition of tourneying.
