Hache or Bec de Faucon –by Eol, you are free to share the knowledge and comment back!

- Hache or Bec de Faucon -

- What can be found in Jean Le Fèvre -

(Lord of Saint-Remy, Herald of Duke Phillipe le Bon of Burgundy, c.a. 1394 – 1468)
Context :
The Lord of Charny, Burgundian knight, and Jehan de Merlo, Castilian knight (a stranger here)
will be fighting together (friendly arms, from jousting to foot duel), judged by the Duke of
Bourbon.
After the joust they both present themselves with their retinues carrying their “bastons”
(literally their “staves” in modern language, but in this context it is any weapon).
A.p544L
“[…] At seven in the morning, Charny entered the field from the right, riding his horse, richly
adorned of his heraldry, and noticeably accompanied : the count of Suffort was carrying his
sword, the count of Saint-Pol the targe, the count of Ligny the spear and the count of Estampes
the axe (“hache”).”
Next, de Merlo enters : his weapons are not mentioned.
A.p544R
“Soon after came de Merlo on foot, accompanied by those who had already accompanied him the
previous day, carrying his weapons (“bastons”). He was armed in full harness, bascinet on the
head and visor raised. A fine lambrequin to his visor, which he had around his arm the previous
day. He was dressed in his cotte (“cotte d’armes” could be translated “arming cotte”, but it for
sure bears the arms of the wearer); and so, he entered his pavilion.”
Argument :
After this presentation, the retinue of Charny will complain to the duke about de Merlo’s gear,
and specifically about what is interesting us here: his axe.
A.p544R
“[…] The lords accompanying Charny came to the duke, and especially the lord of Santes said in
this manner: “My very high lord, you have ordered to the retinue of the lord of Charny and have
seen the letters mentioning why they are here fighting. We have noticed that the knight here (de
Merlo) has brought a becq de faucon (falcon’s beak) instead of an axe. You know that they must
fight with axes, and it seems to us that there is a great difference, if you agree to say so. The lord
of Charny is ready to do as you please.”
To which the duke answers that to his knowledge, both fighters are agreed on the weapons
anyway, and that Charny’s retinue should ask directly to him, and to bring the dialogue to de
Merlo as well. They debate (“there were many words”) and they come back to the duke :
“My very high lord, Mylord of Charny is agreed, for your honour and nobleness, and for his honor
– and not for his right – that his opponent fight with his bec de faucon, a thing we haven’t seen in
the kingdom of France ; for bec de faucon is no axe, but they are two [different] things.”

1
Hache or Bec de Faucon –by Eol, you are free to share the knowledge and comment back!

Thesis :
Out of these passages, it is tempting to say that a bec de faucon is not an axe as far as period
terminology is concerned. We will see that it is not what matters here, with the help of what is
directly following, some context, and extra sources of the same period; then offer an explanation
to the distinction made so dramatic-looking by the lord of Santes.
The duel :
The duel starts immediately after. They throw the spears at each other and after a first contact
they switch weapons :
A.p545L
“De Merlo took his becq de faucon in both hands and boldly came at Charny ; and there they
engaged well and bravely. After they had fought here for a little while with their axes
(“combattus de leurs haches”) and made each other turn and back up, and showed the techniques
they knew, as bold and brave knights, the duke dropped his arrow […]”
And there the duel is stopped. What follows is each lord complaining it was so quick and
especially de Merlo, who says he expected to be able to show more since he came from so far
away.
The author’s opinion :
It is interesting to notice how the author mentions said falcon’s beak multiple times separately
(mostly as the characters talk), but ultimately refers to both weapons as “axes”, which definitely
indicates that both weapons, even if they surely have a clear shape distinction somewhere (so as
to justify Santes’ complains), are close enough together in usage and features.

- What can be found in Olivier de la Marche -

(Burgundian historian, c.a.1426 – 1502)
Goal :
I have found in the chronicles of la Marche mentions I will use to back up my opinion about de
Merlo’s mysterious axe. These chronicles show a number of duels of the same genre, which
allows for a direct comparison. To save time here I will only give the translations.
B.p427L
“Sir Jaques presented a long axe with point on top, and on one side a beak we call “de faucon” and
on the other a round mail (same roots as “mallet”, that is to say, a hammer) with three diamond
points ; and underneath the axe a good and strong dagger.”
We have here the perfect description of one possible kind of axe assembly1 : shaft with a cross
composed of a beak (here a falcon’s beak), and opposed to it a “round” (disc-section?) hammer
with three pyramidal points and a dagger on top. The queue of the axe is fitted with a buttspike.
It goes on :
“And the axe of the English was a strong axe, pointed at the top, with a large cutting-edge (“un
grand taillant”, “tailler” means “hack”, a “taillant” in middle french is an edge : “espee a deux
taillans” : “two-edged sword”) on one side and a long mail on the other : below was a rondel to
protect the hand ; and at the other end the axe was pointed with a short dagger.”

2
Hache or Bec de Faucon –by Eol, you are free to share the knowledge and comment back!

Here is another configuration, with an actual “axehead” as we understand it nowadays2.

B.p429L
“And was the axe of the Chevalier à la Pélerine a common falcon’s beak (“un bec-de-faucon
commun”), with good and strong dagger on top and underneath. And the one presented by Sir
Bernard was an axe with common falcon’s beak (“une hache à bec-de-faucon commun”); but the
buttspike (“dague de dessous”) was long and fine, so that it could easily enter through the holes
of a bascinet’s visors (“ès trous de la visière” and not only the sights ? Interesting but we’re
diverting) and because of its length could cause great damages to the face of his opponent.”
So how is the cross exactly composed here, we don’t know. The adjective “common” associated
with the falcon’s beak implies there is a so-called “common configuration” with beak on one side,
and something on the other. A simple mail? Unfortunately the description of the fight does not
provide extra information3.
B.p435L
“And two axes were delivered to him that were long and strong. The mallets (“maillets”) and
heads of said axes were in falcon’s beaks (“à manière de becs de faucon”), with large and strong
dagger on top and underneath : and were fitted with a flat iron plate with three heads of wide
and short nails, shaped like diamonds […]”
Close configuration to page 427, but the language is slightly twisted : the beak is referred to as
the mail while the opposite head sounds to be a plaque rather than round. (rectangle instead of
disc?)
B.p668L
“[…] The champions’ batons were reviewed and the English squire’s axe discussed, since it was
not like the ones we were used to bring to duels, but instead one with a cutting-edge (“taillant”)
and hammer (“martel”) and with long and wide dagger at the front. And the edge of that axe was
long and sharp.”
How interesting is that English configuration again, similar to the one presented at page 427!

- What can be found in other various sources -

(Used the Middle French Dictionary’s “Hache” and “Bec de Faucon” entries as a base)
Mentions in bulk :
C
« Item quatre cens haches de guerre tant à becq de fauchon comme autres. »
“Item, four hundred war axes with falcon’s beaks or other.”
D
« Item, une hache d'armes à marteau et tranchant, garnie de dague. Item, troys autres haches à bec
de faucon. »
“Item, a war axe with hammer and edge, fitted with dagger. Item, three more axes with falcon’s
beak.”
E
« ... et prindrent leurs espées, haches, mailletz et becs de faulcons et autres bastons de guerre … »
“… and took their swords, axes, hammers and falcon’s beaks and other batons for war …”

3
Hache or Bec de Faucon –by Eol, you are free to share the knowledge and comment back!

What is says :
We find more mentions of “axes with beaks” but also mentions “falcon’s beaks” as separate
entities. So, author’s liberties or what?

- Proposal -

In my opinion, the term “axe” is not fully independent of the cutting edge feature : the tool-axe
has mentions from the same period and it is clear what the word refers to : our modern
understanding of a tool-axe.
However, when it comes to the war-axe, things get more complicated. Not only we see local
variations appear, but the term “axe” is no longer necessarily associated with the edge feature.
This is how we see things that most would nowadays call “pole hammers” appear, that are
definitely “axes” for the medieval man. These weapons are fitted with hammers and beaks, that
is to say slightly curved-down, square or triangular-section points.
Said beak, because it reminds of the shape of the beak of a falcon/hawk, is called “falcon’s beak”,
and seems to be, in some occasions, a separate entity, and not an axe.
However, this is not how it should be understood from my point of view. From the above
examples, we can clearly see that the beak is a defining feature, that is to say calling a weapon a
“falcon’s beak” makes it very clear for the medieval man what it is : an axe fitted with a beak.
Now here comes the interesting part : for at least certain items, in certain places and dates, the
presence of a beak seems to exclude the presence of a cutting-edge.
Since we know of axes with both a cutting-edge on one side of the cross, and a beak on the other
side4 ; I want to draw the following conclusion :
People who referred to a weapon as a “faulcon’s beak” were specifically mentioning an axe
without an edge, whereas “axe” could refer to edged or non-edged (and beaked or non-beaked)
axes depending on the obvious context. When both terms are used alongside and seem mutually
exclusive, (e.g. in example E) the word “axe” most likely refers to edged axes.
When only the beak is mentioned, and not the other side (e.g. the “common falcon’s beak” or
example D) I strongly believe that this is a beak with a sleek hammerhead in its direct
geometrical continuation, such as what we can see in Fiore de’i Liberi’s illustrations3’. Another
bonus hypothesis that is directly linked to both finds and depictions of such heads, is that the
“common falcon’s beak” is more likely to be on the very short end of the pollaxe’s length
spectrum.
Conclusion :
Falcon’s beaks are axes, but axes aren’t necessarily falcon’s beaks. Additionally, depending on
your era and local customs*, falcon’s beaks cannot have a cutting edge, which is why Charny’s
retinue was upset !
*Let’s remember that I specifically chose to restrict the entire “essay” to the 15th century.

- Sources, note on the translations and images -

4
Hache or Bec de Faucon –by Eol, you are free to share the knowledge and comment back!

Although I took some liberties with the grammatical arrangements and the phrasing to make it
look readable, I stayed extremely faithful to the original Middle French vocabulary, since this is
what the entire study is about, including the French terms where it mattered.
L means Left column, R means Right column

A : Choix de Chroniques et Mémoires sur l’Histoire de France, J.A.C. BUCHON

Subtext : Mémoires, LE FEBVRE DE SAINT-REMY
(https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6218947z/f11.item)
B : Choix de Chroniques et Mémoires sur l’Histoire de France, J.A.C. BUCHON
Subtext : Mémoires sur la Maison de Bourgogne, Olivier de la Marche
(https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k31507m/f5.item)

C : (CHR. PIZ., Fais armes cheval., 1410, 61 r°)

D : (Comptes roi René A., t.2, 1417, 241)
E : (MONSTRELET, Chron. D.-A., t.3, c.1425-1440, 108)
Absolutely non-exhaustive showcase of possible assemblies that more or less fit the
descriptions :
1: 2: 3:

3’ : 4: