Francisca

The francisca, also spelled francesca, was a throwing axe used as a weapon in the Early Middle Ages by the Franks, for whom it was a characteristic national weapon during the Merovingian period, roughly 500 to 750 AD, and it remained in use through the reign of Charlemagne from 768 to 814. Although most closely associated with the Franks, it was also used by other Germanic peoples of the period, including the Anglo-Saxons, and examples have been found in England. The weapon had a distinctive arched head that widened toward its cutting edge, a head roughly 14 to 15 centimeters long mounted on a wooden shaft about 40 to 45 centimeters long, and it weighed around 600 grams, making it suited to throwing at an effective range of about 12 meters.