1media/Poleaxe battling:usage_thumb.webp2024-02-28T19:25:32-08:00Amanda Sopchockchaic166c893d3f8e85f5083bab6661445b2a8c3894a444042Pollaxe combat depicted in the Fiore Furlan dei Liberi da Premariacco, circa 1410. After Price.plain2024-02-29T11:50:46-08:00Amanda Sopchockchaic166c893d3f8e85f5083bab6661445b2a8c3894a
Amanda Sopchockchai, Class of 2027, College of the Holy Cross
This pollaxe was made somewhere in northern Europe, possibly near Brussels. Its uses included tournaments, popular with the aristocracy of northern Europe, which often included pollaxe contests on foot. In the Holy Roman Empire, only men of aristocratic birth could participate in tournaments, although audiences included women and commoners, for whom the tournament was a popular spectator sport. This pollaxe could used in fighting in front of a diverse crowd, where outsiders from neighboring lands or even from overseas could join in the fierce and intense pastime.
