Viking Weapons and Armor

By Alex Peng Viking Weapons and Armor

Weapons • The Viking used a variety of different weapons, such as the spear, sword, axe, sax, and bow and arrow.

Swords • Swords during the Viking age were rare and expensive. They were usually double edged and were used with one hand because the other hand was holding a shield. The blade was usually between 70-80 cm long and 4-5 cm wide.

Saxes • A sax is a short, one edged sword that was used during the early part of the Viking Age. It was typically around 30-60 cm long.

Spears Wings • Spears were the most commonly used weapon in the Viking Age. They were made usually of iron and varied in size and shape. for instance, some had “wings” such as the one in the photo

Axes • The Viking battle axe is usually the first thing somebody thinks of when they hear the word Viking Age weapons. It was a light , fast, and well-balanced weapon good for speedy deadly attacks

Bow and Arrow • The bow and arrow were not used for battle unless the you wanted to attack them for faraway

Armor • The Vikings wore armor like chain mail and helmets to protect themselves in battle

Shields • Shields were usually round and were made of wood. They were gripped from behind a large metal boss (large metal disc) in the centre

Mail 4-in-1 pattern • Mail is a protective garment that is made of several thousand interlocking metal rings. Viking mail was made in a 4-in-1 pattern, meaning that a ring passed through its four closest neighbors

Helmets • Viking helmets were very simple. It was a bowl shape with a nose guard. The helmet was made from a few pieces of metal riveted together. This was a very fast and cheap way of making the helmets.

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Viking Weapons and Armor