Viking Weapons and Warfare

Viking Weapons and Warfare taken from writings by Barry Ager http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/weapons_01.shtml

The Vikings are known as great warriors. • This reputation is based on what we know about their weapons and battle tactics Viking longship excavated at Gokstad, Norway, in 1880

Who were the Vikings? • The Vikings those people who lived in Scandinavia and the North Atlantic settlements in the Viking age, between 793 and 1066 • It was then that they had the largest impact on other Europeans, through trade, and through their Viking raids. • But they did not call themselves Vikings – the old Norse word víkingr means pirate or raider, and only a few of these Northern people participated in raiding • Few Vikings were professional soldiers, although like all men in this era, they were familiar with the use of weapons. Most of them were primarily farmers or businessmen – they used raid as a source of money that could be invested in a ship, in a farm, or in a business. Raiding was thought of as a young man’s occupation, but a more mature man was expected to settle down on the farm and raise a family.

These were the viking lands

The last major Viking Raid Who were they fighting there? Stamford Bridge

But to other non-Norsemen, the raiders were all they knew about and recorded. So when they stopped raiding and settled down in Scandinavia and Iceland and Greenland, the rest of the world stop talking about them. • Over time, as they took on Christianity, which was probably part of the reason that raiding was discouraged, these people became know as Norwegians and Swedes and Danes • However there were other reasons, raiding was simple where the places they visited were not well organised or defended. But as control became more centralised and defence more effective, they kept away. As the new organisation spread there were fewer and fewer places where they could be sure of a good haul. • The historical records of Europe (written for the most part by the educated clergy who often were the victims of these raids) called the raiders "a most vile people".

But the raiders themselves certainly didn't hold that opinion. To them, the raids were a normal and desirable consequence of the pressures on a growing society and of the religious beliefs of the time. They lived on narrow strips of coastal land in cool places with a short growing season. But they were a growing community that was running out of space and resources. But it worth noting that they were not the only ones to be caring out raids at the time – it was more that they were much, much better at it! • In the mind of the Norse people, raiding was very distinct from theft. Theft was abhorrent. According to the Norse mythology, theft was one of the few acts that would condemn a man to a place of torment after his death. On the other hand, raiding was an honourable challenge to a fight, with the victor retaining all of the spoils.

Viking Ships • The Vikings were brilliant ship builders. • Their ships were strong, lightweight and beautifully shaped to skim quickly through the water. • Warships and raiding ships were designed to come right up on the beach so that men could jump out and start fighting straight away.

Viking Ships • The ships were built of wood and made waterproof with tar from pine trees. • The square sails were made of woven wool and were often brightly coloured. • When the wind was wrong for sailing, teams of oarsmen rowed them. • Many ships were decorated with carvings on their curved ends

Ships • The shallow draught allowed them to mount raids on the coastal monasteries and settlements of the British Isles, western Europe and beyond. • It also meant that they were able to reach far inland by river and stream, • Well preserved remains of Viking ships were found at • Oseberg and • Gokstad in Norway and • Skuldelev in Denmark. • They were clinker-built of overlapping planks • They measured between about 17.5m and 36m in length. • They were steered not by a rudder, but by a single oar mounted on the starboard side.

Ships • Raids in single ships were quite frequent and, before around 850, fleets rarely comprised more than 100 ships. • Much larger fleets of 200 and upwards were recorded later. • A few late examples are said to have had iron-clad bows and sterns. • An average speed of 10 to 11 knots could have been achieved, or perhaps rather more in short bursts. • Crews of 25 to 60 men would have seated on benches on open decks, although the largest ships could have carried as many as 100 or more. • Packhorses and provisions would also be included if needed.

Ships • Actual sea-battles were rare, and even then were fought close to shore. • Ships were roped together in lines to face an enemy fleet and showers of arrows and missiles would have been exchanged. • Each side then resorted to hand-to-hand fighting as they attempted to board their opponents' ships. • The warriors in the prow were specially selected for this task. • The aim was not to destroy enemy craft, but to capture them if possible, because they were valuable

Weapons were important • Weapons were very much a part of everyday life in the Viking age. Virtually every free man owned and carried a weapon and was familiar with its use. The right to carry and use weapons was one of the fundamental traditional rights of free men in Viking society. • Viking poems of advice warn that a man should be prepared to fight at any moment, day or night. Hávamál (verse 38) says you should never step more than one pace away from your weapon because you don't know for certain when you might need it. Verse 41 says that friends should exchange weapons as gifts. • Weapons were given names. Grettir carried the sax Kársnautr, Bolli carried the sword Fótbítr, and Gísli borrowed the sword Grásíða for a duel. Weapons were an integral part of the society.

Weapons • The spear was the commonest weapon with an iron blade on a wooden shaft, often of ash and 2 to 3m in length. • It was used for both thrusting and throwing. • The blades varied in shape from broad leaf shapes to long spikes. • Skilled spearmen are said to have been able to throw two spears at once using both hands, or even to catch a spear in flight and hurl it back with deadly effect.

Bows and Arrows • Bows and arrows were widely used both in battle and for hunting. • Arrows were carried in cylindrical quivers, and archaeologists have found some of their remains. • Only the iron arrows heads have survived, because the shafts were made of wood, which rots easily. • The heads were usually leaf-shaped and had sharp spikes that were driven into the wooden shafts. • They varied in length from 10-15cm, which meant they were able to penetrate armour quite easily

Every free man had a weapon (or 2!) • While it is likely that every free man had at least one weapon, it's also likely that few men had more than one. In the Viking age, iron was difficult and time-consuming to create, and thus, iron was expensive. Anything requiring a lot of iron in its construction, such as a weapon, was an expensive item. Further, some weapons, such as swords, were so difficult to fabricate that only highly specialized smiths could make them, further adding to their value and prestige. • As a result, a typical man was armed with nothing more than a shield and an axe, or perhaps a shield and spear. A poor man might simply use the wood axe from the farm, if he had nothing else available.

A more wealthy man might own a sword, which in the Viking age, was worth a dozen or more milk cows. Since having just one more milk cow might mean the difference between starving to death and surviving over the winter in the Viking age, a sword was a valuable possession indeed. A man with more wealth, perhaps someone who returned from successful Viking raids, might replace his ordinary sword and shield with ornate, prestige weapons. Perhaps he might add a second weapon, such as a sax (short sword), to his set of arms. Only the extremely wealthy, those at the top of the social hierarchy could afford to own the full panoply of weapons and defenses shown here: axe, spear, mail, helmet, along with sword and shield. Such displays of wealth must have been rare in the Viking age. Every free man had a weapon (or 2!)

What do we know about the Vikings and how do we know it? • Much of what we know about the Vikings come from the Sagas. These were long stories invented at the time between about the 7th and 11th centuries but not written down until the 13th century or later. This means that they have been seen as great stories but containing more invention than fact, but they do tell what made the Vikings tick for example how important drengskapr (honour) was • Drengr was an honourable man who possessed bravery, nobility, magnanimity, a sense of fair play, respect for others, the strength to do what is right, and a sense of personal honor. Physical bravery was taken for granted. More important was self-control. A drengr showed equanimity in the face of danger, not because of insensitivity or stupidity, but because the danger and the possible risk to life and limb was unimportant compared to the need to maintain self-respect and the respect of the community. There was a practical side to such imperturbability, because not only was it unmanly to show concern or fear in the face of danger, but also useless. • This was partly because when you were born you were attended by the three Nornar (women of destiny)

What do we know about the Vikings and how do we know it? • This was partly because when you were born you were attended by the three Nornar (women of destiny) choose the moment of its death. The Norse people believed that while nothing else in life was predetermined, no man could live past the moment chosen for him by the Nornar. Nothing could change that time, regardless of whether a person stayed at home in bed, or went out on bold adventures. Since there was nothing to lose and everything to gain by being venturesome, Norse people tended to be bold and daring, seeking out ways to increase honour and enhance their good names.

What do we know about the Vikings and how do we know it? • But this did not make them reckless. • "Beware of going where overwhelming force opposes you. There is more honour in accumulating little by little than in overreaching and falling down flat." Ingimundr and Grímur took the advice to heart. They did not attack where it made no sense, and by the end of their first raiding season, they had accumulated five ships – so the story goes.

Runes • The Vikings are often portrayed as illiterate, uncultured barbarians who evinced more interest in plunder than in poetry. • In fact, the Vikings left behind a great number of documents in stone, wood and metal, all written in the enigmatic symbols known as runes. • They relied on these symbols not only for writing but also to tell fortunes, cast spells, and provide protection.

Much of what we know about them was handed down as stories which were long poems that were handed down for many generations before they were eventually written down. These poems were called Sagas. Some are just stories but some contain factual evidence that has since been found to be true One such is about Leif Erickson A Viking merchant vessel, or knarr More about Myths and Sagas

America We all know who discovered America don’t we? It was Christopher Columbus in 1492

WRONG! • We have no accurate dates for the birth and death of Leif "the Lucky" Ericsson (but we do know that around the year 1000 C.E. he made a historic journey to North America. • Born in Greenland, as a young man, Leif Ericsson visited Norway, where he converted to Christianity. • He was charged with returning to Greenland and converting others there, but instead he sailed further west and is believed to have landed somewhere in Nova Scotia. • It was once thought that he accidentally sailed off course, but Leif was more likely deliberately seeking the land that Bjarni Herjulfsson had spotted some years earlier. • He spent a year in North America before returning home to Greenland, where he served as governor and preached Christianity.

WRONG! (again) • For years scholars viewed the sagas, which are marvellous literary works, as less than historically accurate, and they dismissed the idea that Leif had actually landed near the American continent. • The discovery in 1960 of evidence supporting a Scandinavian settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, altered this view and sparked new interest in the possibility of Vikings in America. • While Leif's expedition is undoubtedly interesting and important as the first known encounter between Europeans and the Americas, nothing further came of this contact.

Two Maps as where he might have landed L’Anse aux Meadows

Homework • There is an article to read about how to write runes • At the end it says: Only short message is required! The symbols will copy and paste from the table in the article

Viking Weapons and Warfare