Hurlbat

Throwing axes is a fairly popular past-time (though less than archery). When people think of historical throwing axes, they think of colonial era tomahawks and franciscas of the Franks. In the 15th centuries, the hurlbat was the throwing axe of Medieval "Germany".

Linguistically, there are many names. The German name was "wurfbeil" which translates simply to "throwing axe". The name hurlbat (and sometimes "whirlbat") is found in England as early as 1327 as "hurlebatte", and the "bat" part comes from the word "baton" as early ones may have been closer to clubs.

These weapons take many forms, but two are distinctive. All have several spikes. Some are cruciform in shape, few have wood hafts, and most have an axe blade on one side. How they were used is up for debate. There are some accounts that refer to them as being thrown by cavalry against other cavalry. Other accounts say they were used by infantry. For example, there was a requirement for Bremen in 1390 to have a padded jack, an iron hat, a pair of gauntlets, a shield, throwing axe and a 4.5 m long pike.

Maximilian tournament book

Master of the Bamberg Altar, 1485

For more information on statistics and the like, see this essay by David Glier.