francisca

Information about francisca

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Different types of the Francisca
The francisca or francesca is a throwing axe that was used as a weapon by the early Franks, among whom it was a characteristic national weapon until around the middle of the 8th century.[1] Although generally associated with the Franks, it was also used by other Germanic tribes of the period and several examples have been found in England.[2]

Etymology

The term francisca first appeared in the book Ethymologiarum sive originum, libri XVIII by Isidore of Seville (c.570 - 636) as a name used among the Spanish to refer to these weapons "because of their use by the Franks".

The historian Gregory of Tours (c.538 - 594) in his History of the Franks uses two Latin terms for the Frankish axe - securis and bipennis.

The régime of Vichy France used the image of a stylised double-headed francisque as part of its iconography (compare fasces).

Description

The francisca is characterized by its distinctly arch-shaped head, widening toward the cutting edge and terminating in a prominent point at both the upper and lower corners. The top of the head is usually either S-shaped or convex with the lower portion curving inward and forming an elbow with the short wooden haft. Sometimes the head is more upswept forming a wider angle with the haft. Most franciscas have a rounded or teardrop-shaped eye designed to fit the tapered haft, similar to Viking axes. Based on the measurements of modern replicas the francisca weighed an average of 2 lbs. (900g) with a haft length of around 16 - 18 inches (40 - 45 cm) and a 4 inch cutting edge (or 10 cm). Based on surviving heads of franciscas recovered at Burgh Castle and Morning Thorpe in county Norfolk, England,[2] the length of the head itself measured 5 or 6 inches (14 - 15 cm) from the edge of the blade to the back of the socket.

Use

The Roman historian Procopius (c.500 - 565) described the Franks and their use of throwing axes:

...each man carried a sword and shield and an axe. Now the iron head of this weapon was thick and exceedingly sharp on both sides while the wooden handle was very short. And they are accustomed always to throw these axes at one signal in the first charge and thus shatter the shields of the enemy and kill the men.[2]


Procopius makes it clear that the Franks threw their axes immediately before hand to hand combat with the purpose of breaking shields and disrupting the enemy line while possibly wounding or killing an enemy warrior. The weight of the head and length of the haft would allow the axe to be thrown with considerable momentum to an effective range of about 12 metres or 40 feet. Even if the edge of the blade were not to strike the target the weight of the iron head could cause injury in any event.[2]

Another feature of the francisca was the tendency to bounce unpredictably upon hitting the ground [1] due to its weight, unique shape, lack of balance and slight curvature of the haft, making it difficult for defenders to block. It could rebound up at the legs of opponents or against shields and through the ranks. The Franks capitalized on this by throwing the franciscas in a volley in order to confuse, intimidate and disorganize the enemy lines either before or during a charge to initiate close combat.

Today, the francisca remains in popular use as a throwing axe in competitions or as a weapon for reenactors of medieval warfare.

See also

References

1. ^ The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons, ed. Claude Blair and Leonid Tarassuk (Simon and Schuster, 1982) ISBN 0-671-42257-X
2. ^ Anglo-Saxon Weapons and Warfare, Richard Underwood (Tempus Publishing, 1999) ISBN 07524-1412-7

Further reading

  • Axes of War and Power, James Douglas Gamble (Tanro Company, 2002) ISBN 0-9617220-1-5

External links

A throwing axe is an axe that is used primarily as a missile weapon. Usually, they are thrown in an overhand motion (much like throwing a baseball) in a manner that causes the axe to rotate as it travels through the air.
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Franks or Frankish people (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an ethnic group living north and east of the Lower Rhine.
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The 8th century is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era.

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During this century the Middle East, the coast of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula comes rapidly under Islamic Arab domination.
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Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European-speaking peoples, originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic languages which diversified out of Common Germanic in the course of the Pre-Roman Iron Age.
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Motto
Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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Etymologiae (or Origines, standard abbrev. Orig.) is an encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville (died 636) towards the end of his life, at the urging of his friend Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa, to whom Isidore, at the end of his life, sent his
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Saint Isidore of Seville (Spanish: San Isidro or San Isidoro de Sevilla), Latin: Isidorus Hispalensis (c.
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Spanish people or more properly Spaniards are a nation native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. The Spanish people have varied origins, due to Spaniards long history of invasions and migrations.
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Saint Gregory of Tours (November 30, c. 538 – November 17, 594) was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius Gregorius.
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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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For other uses, see Vichy (disambiguation).
Vichy France, or the Vichy regime, was the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944. It succeeded the Third Republic.
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Fasces (IPA: /ˈfæsiːz/, a plurale tantum, from the Latin word fascis, meaning "bundle"[1]) symbolise summary power and jurisdiction, and/or "strength through unity.
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The word convex means curving out or bulging outward.

Convex or convexity may refer to:

Mathematics:
  • Convex set, a set of points containing all line segments between each pair of its points

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A handle is a part of, or attachment to, an object that can be moved or used by hand. The design of each type of handle involves substantial ergonomic issues, even where these are dealt with intuitively or by following tradition.
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Viking, also called Norseman or Northman, refers to a member of the Scandinavian seafaring traders, warriors and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the 8th to the 11th century[1]
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replica is a copy that is relatively indistinguishable from the original. Replicas are often used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference Engine No.
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Burgh Castle is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the east bank of the River Waveney, near Great Yarmouth, some 6 km west of Great Yarmouth and within the Broads National Park.
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Morning Thorpe or Morningthorpe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some 20 km south of the city of Norwich. Besides the village of Morningthorpe itself, the parish also includes the village of Fritton.
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Norfolk (pronounced IPA: /ˈnɔːfək/) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England.
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The Roman Empire is the name given to both the imperial domain developed by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. This article however is about the latter.
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Procopius of Caesarea (Greek: Προκόπιος ο Καισαρεύς, c. 500 - c. 565) was a prominent Eastern Roman scholar of the family Procopius.
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Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a generic term for close quarters fighting, particularly when the outcome is likely to be fatal, as in mêlée military combat or a duel. This distinguishes it from combat sport.
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shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks. The term often refers to a device that is held in the hand, as opposed to armour or a bullet proof vest.

Prehistoric and Antiquity


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warrior is a person habitually engaged in warfare. In tribal societies engaging in endemic warfare, warriors often form a caste or class of their own. In feudalism, the vassals essentially form a military or warrior class, even if in actual warfare, peasants may be called to fight
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