Seax

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A pair of scramsaxes

A scramseax (also scramsax, scramseaxe, scramaseax, scramasax, scramaseaxe and sometimes referred to as simply scram, seax or sax) was a type of Germanic single-edged knife.Docherty, Frank, [The Anglo Saxon Broken Back Seax]. Retrieved 27th November 2005. Scramseax seem to have been used for warfare and as a tool. Levick, Ben (1991) & Williamson, Roland (1999). [Regia Anglorum scramseax page]. Retrieved 27 Septrmber 2005. They occur in a size range from 7.5cm to 75cm. The larger ones (langseax) were probably weapons, the smaller ones (hadseax) tools, intermediate sized ones serving a dual purpose. Wearing a scramseax may have been indicative of freemanship. The scramseax was worn in a horizontal sheath at the front of the belt.Bagley, Michael S. (2004). [Re-enactment events Seax page]. Retrieved 27 September 2005. Scram refers to food and seax to a blade (so, "food knife").Burton, Mark (2002) [Milites deBec Equipment]. Retrieved 27 September 2005. There is some debate about the authenticity of the longer word scramseax. The Saxons may have derived their name from seax (the implement for which they were known) in much the same way that the Franks were named for their francisca. This claim is largely supported by the appearance of scramaseaxes in early Saxon heraldry.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

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