besague

Noun

besague (plural besagues)

1. A kind of double-bladed axe.
   • These were clearly different from the besague (an axe with two edges) described in the Glossaries of Meyrick and Carpentier, in v. Besogium.1840, Roxburghe Club, Ashmolean Museum, Illustrations of Ancient State and Chivalry: From Manuscripts Preserved in the Ashmolean Museum; with an Appendix, page 6
2. A kind of martel or war-hammer, with its head(s) shaped like a pick, mattock, or beak.
   • Under Henry IV. appeared a large martel, or hammer, called the Besague, apparently intended more for throwing than combat. In the reign of Edward IV. are found garnished spears, having a head called a coronal, a vamplate, or ...1828, Richard Thomson, Illustrations of the History of Great Britain, page 186
3. A plate (as of armor) that protects an otherwise-exposed area, such as the armpit (alternative form of besagew), the elbow, or the hand
   • The points or laces for attaching the besagues are clearly shown. In brasses the attachment is generally shown as a diamond-headed nut, but the attachment by points or laces just as the elbow caps are seen attached in various effigies ...1907, The Archaeological Journal, page 22
   • ... to escape the inference that it was evolved solely to avoid the inevitable and unpalatable conclusion that the pouldrons on the Metropolitan armour, and incidentally either the besague or the entire Riggs shaffron, were forgeries.1932, The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors