Happy New Year, Mr. Cornwell.
In a December 31st posting, Robert Douglas was asking about a guard unit that used double-headed battle axes. He is surely thinking of the Varangian Guard, the elite unit of the Byzantine Empire and personal guard of the emperor. They were all Danes, Norsemen and Saxons, and specialized in the big Danish Axe. They served until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Alan Kempner