Seax

Some Merovingian seaxes

A seax (Old English pronunciation: [ˈsæɑks]; also sax, sæx, sex; invariant in plural, latinized sachsum) is a small sword, fighting knife or dagger typical of the Germanic peoples of the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages, especially the Saxons. The name comes from an Old English word for "knife".[1]

In heraldry, the seax is a charge consisting of a curved sword with a notched blade, appearing, for example, in the coats of arms of Essex and the former Middlesex.[2]

  1. ^ Bosworth, Joseph, D.D., F.R.S. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
  2. ^ "Heraldry (S)". Probertencyclopaedia.com. 2006-11-01. Retrieved 2010-09-16.