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'
Vatican City are equipped with small arms and the traditional halberd (also called the Swiss voulge), and trained in bodyguarding tactics. The Palatine Guard and the Noble Guard, the last armed forces of the Vatican City State, were disbanded by Pope Paul VI in 1970. As Vatican City has listed every building in its territory on the International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection, the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict theoretically renders it immune to armed attack. Civil defence is the responsibility of the Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State,