Burgundian Poleaxe: The Noble Art of Chivalric Axe Combat

The pollaxe is a fearsome weapon, the armour-breeching chivalric weapon par excellence of the late Middle Ages wielded on foot in friendly tournaments, lethal duels, and on the battlefield. Instruction on its use is found throughout surviving medieval martial arts manuscripts from Germany and Italy, but Le Jeu de la Hache ("Axe-Play")-written in the mid-15th century for the Burgundian court, the most extravagant of its time in medieval Europe-is both the most complete study of this deadly w...