Seax

Seax
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This article's completion rating is 2 out of 5. Article structure and content is subject to change as data is still being collected.

Viking Age Compendium articles on Knives and Axes:

Wargear

Seaxes

Langseaxes

Norse Style Knives

Axes Overview

Axes found in Britain

Viking Age Compendium articles on Knives and Axes:

Wargear

Seaxes

Langseaxes

Norse Style Knives

Axes Overview

Axes found in Britain

A large knife with a blade length of 18cm (7") or longer possibly used in combat.
For longer Seaxes over 30cm (12") see Langseax and for Scandinavian combat knives see Norse Style Knives.

Harke defined knives and short seaxes by size with knives being under 175mm and short seaxes being over 180mm. . Like Esther Cameron we have also used this as our definition. Blades of over 12" in length are more usually defined as Langseaxes.
The short seax is also known as a Scramasax, a Hadseax or just a Sax. The term Scramasax comes from Gregory of Tours writing in 575AD, who speaks of "boys with strong knives (cultris validis), which they commonly call scramasaxes (scramasaxos)." in his History of the Franks (IV, 52). It is not known if this name continued in use into the Viking Age.
It is not uncommon for burials in the Viking age to contain more than one knife. Wheeler gives his opinion that small heavy seaxes were in use up until the end of the C10th but that as a weapon it really belongs to the pre-Viking period.
Seaxs from the Viking Age never have metal fittings unlike the pagan Anglo-Saxon examples.

Images of Seaxes (C8th to C11th)

• 775-800AD St. Andrew Sarcophagus
• C8th England, Derbyshire, Repton. Stone carving,
• 850-900AD Brussels, Bibliotheque Royale, Lat. 9987. Psychomachia
• C9th Paris, BNF, Lat. 8085 fol.57r. Virtue, armed with a sword and seax, combating a Vice. [BNF]
• C10th Brussels, Bibliotheque Royale, ms. 10066-77 Psychomachia f.112r-139r
• England, Dorset, Cranborne. Silver strap-end
• Middleton Warrior
• 975-1000AD Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS23, f.23r.
• 1025-1050AD Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS lat 8824 - seax.jpg
• 1076AD Bayeux Tapestry

• 

  St. Andrew Sarcophagus

• 

  Repton Stone

• 

  Paris, BNF, Lat. 8085

• 

  Middleton Warrior

• 

  Brussels Bib. ms. 10066-77

• 

  Cranbourne Strap End

• 

  Paris, BNF, Lat. 8824

• 

  Bayeux Tapestry

Literature (C9th to C11th)

• Beowulf c.1000AD
  • "Grendel's mother; the hard man of conflict then heaved, now that he was enraged, the deadly foe, so that she fell to the floor; she again him quickly gave hand-reward with wrathful grips and clutched him against herself; hen, weary in spirit, he stumbled, the strongest man, warrior on foot, so that he was in a fall; then she bestrode the guest in her hall, and drew her seax, broad and bright-edged; she wished to avenge her son, only offspring;" lines 1538-1547 heorot.dk
    
  • "Then again the king himself gathered his wits, drew a slaughter-seax bitter and battle-sharp, that he wore on his byrnie;" lines 2702-2704 heorot.dk
    
  • "beside him lies his life-contender sick with seax-wounds" line 2903-2904 heorot.dk
    

English Seax Blades (C9th to C11th)

Seax Blades

Out of 128 knives found from Coppergate York, only 1 can be classed as a seax.

England, Cambridge, River Cam at Dimmock's Cote

Current Location- University of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge Type- ? 800AD Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- 'large scramasax with a groove along the back of the blade' . Bibliography- Bjorn, Anathon, and Shetelig, Haakon (1940) Viking Antiquities in England. Edited by Haakon Shetelig. (Available Online) Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland: Part 4 p.69

• Seax Dimmock Cote.jpg

England, Cumwhitton, Plough Soil

Current Location- Tullie House Museum Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: 30mm; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: 220mm Comments- 'Patern-welded blade with remains of possible leather sheath still attached' . Bibliography- Paterson, Caroline; Parsons, Adam J.; Newman, Rachel M.; Johnson, Nick and Howard Davis, Christine (2014) Shadows in the Sand. Excavation of a Viking-Age Cemetery at Cumwhitton, Cumbria. p.50,51 & Cat.634

• Seax Cumwhitton 634.jpg

England, Cumwhitton, Grave 5

Current Location- Tullie House Museum Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: 182mm; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: 270mm Comments- 'Part pattern welded. Has a horn handle with inlaid silver wire.' . Bibliography- Paterson, Caroline; Parsons, Adam J.; Newman, Rachel M.; Johnson, Nick and Howard Davis, Christine (2014) Shadows in the Sand. Excavation of a Viking-Age Cemetery at Cumwhitton, Cumbria. p.110 & Cat.885 Seax Cumwhitton 885.jpg

England, Brackley, Northamptonshire

Current Location- Ashmolean Museum AN1941.82 Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- ? Comments- Bibliography-

England, Norwich?

Current Location- Norwich Castle Museum Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- ? Comments- Seen in Norwich Castle Museum. No other information known. Bibliography-

England, Kent, Sittingbourne

Current Location- British Museum 1881,0623.1 Type- Wheeler IV 900-925AD Find Date- 1881 Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- 'inlaid with copper, bronze, silver and niello.' . Bibliography- [British Museum Website]

• 

England, London

Current Location- Museum of London ALG84[588]381 Type- Wheeler III/II 1000-1100AD Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: 247mm Comments- Bibliography- [MUSEUM OF LONDON IMAGES] [Webpage link]

England, London, Honey Lane

Current Location- British Museum 1856,0701.1413 Type- Wheeler IV 978-1016AD Find Date- 1856 Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: 327mm Comments- Bibliography-

• 

England, London, Park Street

Current Location- British Museum 1933,0510.1 Type- 800-1000AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: 266mm Comments- Bibliography- [[1]]

• 

England, London, Princes Street

Current Location- London Museum 29.94,17 (Wheeler no.21) Type- 900-1000AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- Bibliography-

• Seax London Princes Street.jpg

England, London,Thames

Current Location- British Museum 1859,0122.12 Type- 800-1000AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: 232mm Comments- Bibliography- [[2]]

• Seax London 1859 Thames (Wilson 1965).jpg

England, London, Thames

Current Location- Museum of London A1781 (Wheeler no.25) Type- 900-1100AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: 247mm; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: 334mm Comments- Bibliography-

England, London, Thames at Blackfriars

Current Location- Museum of London A9313 (Wheeler no.8) Type- 800-1000AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- Bibliography-

• Seax London A9313.jpg

England, London, Thames at Brentford

Current Location- Museum of London A10721 (Wheeler no.11) Type- 700-900AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- Bibliography-

• Seax London A10721.jpg

England, London, Thames at Brentford

Current Location- Museum of London A13935 (Wheeler no.22) Type- 900-1100AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- Bibliography-

• Seax London A13935.jpg

England, London, Thames at Brentford

Current Location- Museum of London O2136 Type- 500-700AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: 181mm; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- Bibliography- [MUSEUM OF LONDON IMAGES]

• Seax London O2136.jpg

England, London, Thames at Fulham

Current Location- Museum of London A24399 (Wheeler no.18) Type- Wheeler IV 900-1000AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- Bibliography-

• Seax London A24399.jpg

England, London, Thames at Fulham

Current Location- Museum of London A24909 (Wheeler no.17) Type- Wheeler III/II 900-1100AD Find Date- Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- Bibliography-

• Seax London A24909.jpg

England, York, Goodramgate

Current Location- Yorkshire Museum Type- Find Date- Size- Blade Length: ?; Blade Width: ?; Blade Thickness: ?; Total Length: ? Comments- Bibliography- Waterman, Dudley M. (1959) Late Saxon, Viking, and Early Medieval Finds from York. pp.59-106. Archaeologia: Vol.97 p.73

• Seax York Goodramgate.jpg

• England, London. One find from cheapside could have had a blade of 25cm.

English style Seax Sheathes (C9th to C11th)

Seax Sheaths

Seax sheaths are made from substantial leather up to 3mm thick and closed by rivets about 4 to 5cm apart. In England there are 12 finds of Seax sheaths out of a total of 61

Germany, Aachen

Current Location- Aachen Cathedral Treasury Type- ? Find Date- before 1860 Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: 470mm ; Total Width: ? Comments- Contains a name in Old English Bibliography-

• Sheath Aachen.jpg

Norway, Trondheim, Sor-Trondelag

Current Location- Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: ? ; Total Width: ? Comments- Contains a name in Old English Bibliography-

• Sheath Trondheim T5919.jpg

Norway, Trondheim, Sor-Trondelag

Current Location- Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: ? ; Total Width: ? Comments- Contains a name in Old English Bibliography-

• Sheath Trondheim T5919.jpg

Ireland, Dublin, Christchurch Place

Current Location- Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: 367mm ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography-

• Sheath Dublin DLS4.jpg

Ireland, Dublin, Christchurch Place

Current Location-  E122:12660 Type- ? 1050-1075AD Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: 295mm ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography-

• Sheath Dublin DLS4.jpg

File:Sheath Dublin DLS11.jpg 130x150px	Ireland, Dublin, Fishamble Street Current Location- ? (Cameron 2007 cat.DLS 11) Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: 405mm ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography-
File:Sheath Gloucester sf.65.jpg 130x150px	England, Gloucester, 11-17 Southgate Street Current Location- Gloucester City Museum, GLRCM 85/1968 sf.65 (Cameron 2000 cat.349) (Okasha 1992 cat.3) Type- ? Find Date- 1968 Size- Blade Length: 170mm ; Total Length: 190mm ; Total Width: 68mm Comments- Bibliography-
File:Sheath Gloucester sf.7.jpg 130x150px	England, Gloucester, Berkeley Street Current Location- Gloucester City Museum, GLRCM 19/79 sf.7 (Cameron 2000 cat.350) (Okasha 1992 cat.4) Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: 200mm ; Total Length: 415mm ; Total Width: 70mm Comments- Bibliography-
File:Sheath Hexham.jpg 130x150px	England, Hexham Current Location- Hexham (Cameron 2000 cat.114) (Okasha 1992 cat.5) Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ? ; Total Length: 100mm ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography- York 115 York 214 York 215
File:Sheath York sf.754.jpg 130x150px	England, York, Parliament Street Current Location- ? sf.754 (Cameron 2000 cat.205) Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: ? ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography-
File:Sheath York Coppergate.jpg 130x150px	England, York, Coppergate Current Location- ? (Cameron 2000 cat.206) Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: ? ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography-
File:Sheath York sf.753.jpg 130x150px	England, York, Parliament Street Current Location- ? sf.753 (Cameron 2000 cat.207) Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: ? ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography-
File:Sheath York sf.4332.jpg 130x150px	England, York Current Location- ? sf.4332 (Cameron 2000 cat.347) Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: ? ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography-
File:Sheath London Trump Street.jpg 130x150px	England, London, Trump Street Current Location- Museum of London, MOL ? (Cameron 2000 cat.144) Type- ? Find Date- ? Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: ? ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography-
File:Sheath London Cheapside.jpg 130x150px	England, London, Cheapside Current Location- Museum of London, MOL 11674 (Cameron 2000 cat.145) (Okasha 1992 cat.6) Type- ? Find Date- 1927 Size- Blade Length: ?; Total Length: 390mm ; Total Width: ? Comments- Bibliography-

A few Seax Sheathes from the C8th

• Dover, Buckland, grave 145, leather sheath dated to 700-750AD
• London, River Thames nr. Westminster Bridge, metal fittings, late C8th

See Also

Langseax
Norse Style Knives

References

Bailey, Richard N. (1980) Viking Age Sculpture. *

Bersu, Gerhard and Wilson, David M. (1966) Three Viking Graves in the Isle of Man. The Society for Medieval Archaeology Monograph Servies: No 1 *

Bjorn, Anathon, and Shetelig, Haakon (1940) Viking Antiquities in England. Edited by Haakon Shetelig. (Available Online) Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland: Part 4 *

British Museum Website http://www.britishmuseum.org ^{[BRITISH MUSEUM WEBSITE]} *

Cameron, Esther A. (2000) Sheaths and Scabbards in England AD400-1100. British Archaeological Reports: BAR 301 *

Cameron, Esther A. (2007) Scabbards and Sheaths from Viking and Medieval Dublin.. Medieval Dublin Excavations 1962-81: Ser.B Vol.08 *

Hinton, David A. (2005) Gold and Gilt, Pots and Pins ~ Possessions and People in Medieval Britain. *

Museum of London Website http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/london-wall/ ^{[MUSEUM OF LONDON WEBSITE]} *

Ohlgren, Thomas H. (1992) Anglo-Saxon Textual Illustration. *

Okasha, Elisabeth (19920 'Anglo-Saxon Inscribed Sheaths from Aachen, Dublin and Trondheim'. (Available Online) Medieval Archaeology: Vol.36 *

Cambridge, Parker Library http://parkerweb.stanford.edu/parker/actions/page.do?forward=home *

Paterson, Caroline; Parsons, Adam J.; Newman, Rachel M.; Johnson, Nick and Howard Davis, Christine (2014) Shadows in the Sand. Excavation of a Viking-Age Cemetery at Cumwhitton, Cumbria. *

Vince, Alan (1991) Aspects of Saxo-Norman London: II Finds and Environmental Evidence. *

Wilson, David M. (1964) Anglo-Saxon Ornamental Metalwork 700-1100. The British Museum. *

Wilson, David M. (1965) Some neglected late Anglo-Saxon swords. Medieval Archaeology: Vol.9 *

Wilson, David M. (1985) The Bayeux Tapestry. *

Wheeler, R.E.M. (1927) London and the Vikings. London Museum Catalogues: No 1 *

Wheeler, R.E.M. (1935) London and the Saxons. London Museum Catalogues: No 6 *