Bearded Henry Ward, 44, who is a fan of a famous tenth century warrior poet called Egill Skallagrímsson, gave voice to a “Viking roar” while holding two axes behind the bar of his Lakeside Inn, near Aspatria.
But he only did it for a laugh, he told Carlisle Crown Court.
After hearing his account of the incident in August last year, a jury unanimously found him not guilty of affray.
Earlier in the trial, Mr Ward told how he was fascinated by Viking history and family ancestry.
The prosecution followed a complaint from two chefs who worked at the inn and accused him of being “aggressive” while holding the axes.
After his acquittal, Recorder Kevin Grice told Mr Ward, who has no criminal record: “The jury’s verdict acquits you completely.”
In court, Mr Ward admitted being behind the bar with an axe in each hand on the night of August 22.
Explaining why he had them, he said the group were discussing his passion for axe-throwing, family ancestry and Vikings. So he had decided to show them his axes.
They were part of a collection he had amassed for his hobby.
Describing his mood as “merry, jovial, happy”, Mr Ward said: “I just gave them a Viking roar.”
It was an attempt to light-heartedly mimic Egill Skallagrímsson – the Viking-Age poet warrior, said Mr Ward, of Brayton, near Aspatria.
He added: “I’ve done it before. I do it all the time just to make folk jump – just for a laugh.
“When I’ve had a few beers I regress back in time,” added Mr Ward, who said he then just put down the axes.
He insisted that he was not aggressive.
<hr>
Related articles:
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here