Doloire

The doloire or wagoner's axe was a tool and weapon used during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The axe had a wooden shaft measuring approximately 1.5 metres (5 feet) in length and a head that was pointed at the top and rounded at the bottom, resembling either a teardrop or an isosceles triangle. The top of the shaft was fitted with a metal eye or socket that was welded to the head of the axe near the base of the blade. The upper part of the blade extended above the eye, while the opposite side of the socket featured a small blunt hammer head. The head of the axe itself measured approximately 44 cm. (17 inches) in length, was sharpened on the back and flattened bottom edges, and was uniformly decorated with punched and incised abstract floral patterns.

The term doloire is derived from the Latin dolabra, a tool axe used by Roman legionaries. Its alternative name wagoner's axe originates from the fact that it was found most often in the hands of a wagoner, the man in charge of the supply trains accompanying troops on the march. The wagoner used the axe not only as a tool for working and shaping wood and repairing or building carts and wooden structures but also as a weapon for self defense.

While the hammer portion of the doloire could also be used offensively, its primary function was utilitarian. However, on display in the castle of Spiez in Switzerland, among other arms and armour, is a doloire with an opposing fluke or spike in place of a hammer, designed to penetrate body armour and indicating its primary purpose as a weapon.

There are also smaller, one-handed forms of the doloire, closer in size to a hatchet, and one of these is depicted in a woodcut by Albrecht Altdorfer from the Triumphal Procession of the Emperor Maximilian series of 1517. It is shown being carried, along with a boar spear, by a carpenter or wagoner accompanying a supply train.

References

• Waldman, John. Hafted Weapons in Medieval and Renaissance Europe: The Evolution of European Staff Weapons Between 1200 and 1650. Brill, 2005. (ISBN 90-04-14409-9)

This article related to weaponry is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Axes Medieval pole weapons Weapon stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Four-vertex theorem VESA Plug and Display Look at other dictionaries: doloire — [ dɔlwar ] n. f. • XIVe; lat. pop. °dolatoria, de dolare → doler ♦ Techn. Doloire de tonnelier : hache qui sert à doler le bois des douves, des cerceaux de tonneaux. Doloire de maçon : pelle en fer pour gâcher le sable et la chaux. ● doloire nom… …   Encyclopédie Universelle Doloire — Angaben Waffenart: Axt Bezeichnungen …   Deutsch Wikipedia doloire — DOLOIRE. subs. f. Instrument de Tonnelier, qui sert à unir le bois. Égaler le bois avec une doloire. C est aussi Une pièce du Blason …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798 Doloire — Le nom est surtout porté dans le Loir et Cher. On le rencontre aussi en Guadeloupe et en Martinique (variante : Doloir). La doloire était au Moyen Âge une hache (latin tardif dolatoria), en particulier une hache de charpentier ou de tonnelier (ce …   Noms de famille Doloire — La doloire est un ancien instrument tranchant. Doloire de droite. Sommaire 1 Étymologie 2 …   Wikipédia en Français doloire — (do loi r ) s. f. 1°   Hache de tonnelier, qui sert pour aplanir le bois et tailler les cerceaux. •   Armé d une doloire, et ceint d un tablier de peau, J. J. ROUSS. Ém. III. 2°   Instrument de macon pour corroyer la chaux et le sable. 3°   Terme …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré doloire — Une doloire, Dolabra. Une petite doloire, Dolabella. Couper d une doloire ou autre chose, Dedolare …   Thresor de la langue françoyse DOLOIRE — s. f. Instrument de tonnelier à lame très large, qui sert à unir le bois ou à le réduire à l épaisseur convenable. Aplanir le bois avec une doloire. Tailler des douves avec la doloire …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835) DOLOIRE — n. f. T. d’Arts Outil de tonnelier à lame très large, qui sert à doler le bois. Aplanir le bois avec une doloire. Tailler des douves avec la doloire …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 8eme edition (1935) doloire — noun A medieval war and utility axe with a long wooden haft of 1.5 metres in length set with a blade shaped as a tear drop. Syn: wagoners axe …   Wiktionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”