Viking halberd "spear". The "kesja" was another halberd-type weapon. The name is thought to come from Celtic-Latin "gæsum". The Cleasby and Vigfússon dictionary notes that ""kesja", "atgeir" and "höggspjót" appear to be the same thing". It's interesting to note that "Egils saga" shows the "kesja" being thrown like a javelin or spear, and describes it in detail, calling it also a "mail-piercer" ("brynþvarar"): The "kesja" would thus have a blade around 90 cm in length with a diamond cross-section at the end, and an additional spike attached to the socket, whose placement and purpose is not explained. The length of the weapons'
Altarpiece of the Halberd to the Papal States. The resistance had been brutally suppressed, many of the rebels having been beheaded by order of the papal legate. The upside-down halberd has been thus interpreted as a symbol of peace. The monumental composition is taken directly from the tradition of Holy Conversations in the Venetian School, inaugurated by Antonello da Messina's San Cassiano Altarpiece. It shows the Madonna and Child on a high throne, with two angels holding the crown (a 15th-century Flemish painting element also in use in Italy). In the lower part are four saints: Stephen, John the Evangelist, Simon the Zealot and