Note 1003 — Chapter IX · THE REIGN OF EADWARD FROM THE RETURN OF GODWINE TO THE DEATH OF EADWARD THE ÆTHELING.[921] 1052–1057.
Reading edition
Vita Eadw. 406. “Viso Rege protinùs abjectis armis ejus advolvitur pedibus.” I conceive the weapon borne to have been the axe, as a sort of official weapon. It appears in the Bayeux Tapestry in the hands of the attendants upon Eadward; so also in the scene where the Crown is offered to Harold, both Harold himself and one of those who make the offer to him bear axes.