In the 10th–11th C. the Dane Axe gained popularity in areas outside Scandinavia where Viking influence was strong, such as England, Ireland and Normandy, Byzantine, Russia. Historical accounts depict the Dane axe as the weapon of the warrior elite in this period, such as the Huscarls of Anglo-Saxon England.
After the Battle of Stiklestad, the Dane Axe also became the symbol of St. Olaf and can still be seen on the Coat of Arms of Norway.
King Stephen of England famously used a Danish axe at the Battle of Lincoln 1141.