Lochaber axe

Polearms and mortuary swords in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle. The polearm on the right is a Lochaber axe; the other two are halberds.

Replica of a Lochaber Axe being demonstrated at a battle re-enactment near Inverlochy Castle

The Lochaber axe was a Scottish war axe that came into use around 1600. The name of the weapon derives from Lochaber, an area in the western Scottish Highlands, as the weapon was employed principally by the Scottish highlanders, who (generally without any cavalry of their own) required armament against cavalry.

The axe itself is similar to tools used with crops, such as the scythe, which is designed for reaping. The hook on the back bears a passing resemblance to a shepherd's crook, although within agriculture a smaller hook such as this may have been used in order to lift and carry tied bundles of a harvested crop. It is possible, then, that earlier Lochaber axes, like the billhook, served a dual purpose as both weapons and farming tools.

Specifics of the weapon

The Lochaber axe took many incarnations, although all of them had a few elements in common. It was a heavy weapon, used by foot soldiers for a defense against cavalry and as a pike against infantry. Like most other polearms of the time, it consisted of two parts: shaft and blade. The shaft was usually some five or six feet (1.5 or 1.8 m) long, and mounted with a blade of about 18 inches (45 cm) in length which usually resembled a bardiche or voulge in design. The blade might be attached in two places and often had a sharp point coming off the top. In addition a hook (or cleek) was attached to the back of the blade.

Use

In hand-to-hand combat, the axe, in common with other polearms such as the halberd, has a spike on the end, to be used on close combat in a thrusting motion. The axe on the side, coupled with the long pole, delivered a powerful blow to infantry or dismounted cavalry.

Finally, the hook on the back allowed infantry to hook the cavalry off their horses. To accomplish this, as the cavalry charged, the highlanders would suddenly change formation from a large body, into smaller bodies of men with clear channels between them. The horses would naturally go into these channels, and the foot soldiers would hook the cavalry off their horses, then using their axes on them with devastating effect. The hook supposedly could also be used for scaling walls.

In history

Circa 1570, during the Battle of Bun Garbhain between Clan Cameron and Clan MacKintosh, the Lochaber axe was used by the fierce Cameron men. Donald 'Taillear Dubh na Tuaighe' Cameron, son of the XIV Chief of Clan Cameron, became notable for the his fighting prowess with the axe and became a hero for felling MacKintosh of MacKintosh, the Chief of Clan MacKintosh, with it.

By around 1767, the Lochaber axe was used mainly as a ceremonial weapon by the town guard of Edinburgh, Scotland.

In Popular Culture

In David Eddings' books of the series, The Elenium and The Tamuli, the Cyrinic knight Bevier uses a Lochaber Axe but "sawed a couple of feet off the handle."