About the Vikings and their weapons ...
Flower of gold.
The best of rulers
Honors his chosen ones.
Warrior can not be displeased
So gorgeous decoration.
Militant ruler
Multiplies its glory
His generosity.
(The Saga of Egil. Translation by Johannes V. Jensen)
To begin with, the topic of the Vikings is again politicized for some reason. “In the West, they don’t want to admit that they were pirates and brigands” - something like that I recently had to read in HE. and it says only that the person is not well aware of what he writes or that he has been thoroughly brainwashed, which, by the way, is not only done in Ukraine. Because otherwise he would have known that not only in English, but also in Russian, there is a book by Astrel publishing house (this is one of the most popular and accessible publications) “Vikings”, authored by the famous English scientist Yen Heath, who was published in the Russian Federation in 2004 year. The translation is good, that is, it is written in a completely accessible, by no means “scientific” language. and right there on page 4 it is explicitly written that in Scandinavian written sources the word “viking” means “piracy” or “foray”, and the one who participates in it is “viking”. The etymology of this word is considered in detail, starting from the meaning of “a pirate hiding in a narrow sea bay” to “vik” - the geographical name of a region in Norway, which the author considers unlikely. And the book itself begins with a description of the Viking raid on the monastery in Lindisfarne, accompanied by robbery and bloodshed. The Frankish, Saxon, Slavic, Byzantine, Spanish (Muslim), Greek and Irish names are given - so there’s simply nowhere else. It is indicated that the growth of trade in Europe has created favorable conditions for piracy, plus the success of the northerners in shipbuilding. So the fact that Vikings are pirates is said in this book several times, and no one in it covers up this circumstance. As, actually, and in other editions, both translated into Russian, and not translated!
The image of events that took place in the IX century, the Byzantine artist of the XII century. The miniature shows imperial bodyguards-varangs ("Varangian Guard"). You can clearly see, and 18 axes, 7 copies and 4 flags can be counted. A miniature from the 16th century Chronicles of John Skilits, stored in the National Library in Madrid.
About the most stories vikings we will talk some other time. And now, since we are on a military site, it makes sense to consider the Viking weapons, thanks to which (and various other circumstances - who can argue?) They managed to keep Europe at bay for almost three centuries.
Feral head with the Ozeberg ship. Museum in Oslo. Norway.
Let's start with the fact that Viking attacks on England and France at that time represented nothing more than opposition from infantry arriving to the battlefield on ships, and heavy weapons riders who also tried to arrive at the enemy’s attack site as soon as possible to punish arrogant "northerners." Many of the armor of the troops of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty (named after Charlemagne) were a continuation of the same Roman tradition, only the shields acquired the form of a “drop drop”, which became traditional for the era of the so-called early Middle Ages. In many ways, this was due to the interest of Charles himself in Latin culture, it was not without reason that his time was even called the Carolingian Renaissance. On the other hand, the weapons of ordinary soldiers remained traditionally Germanic and consisted of short swords, axes, short spears, and armor-clad armor often replaced a shirt of two layers of leather and a filler between them, quilted with the help of rivets with bulging hats.
The famous weather vane from Soderal. Such weather-vane adorned the noses of the Vikings and were signs of special significance.
Most likely, such "shells" well held lateral blows, although they did not protect against injection. But the farther from the VIII century, the more and more the sword was drawn and rounded off at the end so that it became possible for them to only chop. Already at that time, parts of the relics began to be placed in the heads of the swords, from which the custom began to be applied to the sword’s handle with the lips, and not at all because by its shape it resembled a cross. So leather armor was most likely spread no less widely than metal, especially among warriors who did not have solid wealth. And again, probably, in some internecine battles, where the whole matter decided the number of the combatants, such protection would be sufficient.
"A Thracian woman kills a Wit." A miniature from the 16th century Chronicles of John Skilits, stored in the National Library in Madrid. (Apparently, the attitude towards the Vikings in Byzantium was not always good. I dismissed my arms, here it is, and ...)
But here at the end of the 8th century the Norman raids from the North began and European countries entered the three-century “Viking Age”. And it was they who became the factor that most strongly influenced the development of military art among the Franks. It cannot be said that Europe faced the predatory attacks of the “northern people” for the first time, but numerous Viking campaigns and the seizure of new lands by them now acquired the character of a truly massive expansion, comparable only to the invasion of the barbarians on the lands of the Roman Empire. At first, the raids were unorganized, and the number of the attackers themselves was small. However, with such forces the Vikings managed to capture Ireland, England, plunder many cities and monasteries of Europe, and take Paris in the 845 year. In the 10th century, the Danish kings launched a massive offensive on the continent, while the heavy arm of the sea thieves experienced the northern lands of faraway Russia, and even the imperial Constantinople!
A feverish gathering of so-called “Danish money” begins throughout Europe in order to at least somehow buy off the invaders or to return the lands and cities that they had seized. But it was also required to fight with the Vikings, so the cavalry, which could be easily transferred from one area to another, turned out to be extremely necessary. This was the main advantage of the Franks in battle with the Vikings, since the equipment of the Viking warrior was not very much different from the equipment of the horsemen-francs.
A completely fantastic depiction of the victory of the Franks, led by King Louis III and his brother Carloman over the Vikings in 879. From the “Big Chronicles of France”, illustrated by Jean Fouquet. (National Library of France. Paris)
First of all, it was a round wooden shield, the material for which was usually served as linden planks (from which, by the way, comes its name, like “Linden of War”), in the middle of which a metal domed umbron was strengthened. The diameter of the shield was approximately one yard (about 91 cm). The Scandinavian sagas often talk about painted shields, and it is interesting that each color occupied either a quarter or half of its entire surface. They assembled it, gluing these boards together crosswise, in the middle they reinforced a metal umbon, inside of which there was a shield handle, after which the shield was covered with leather and also its skin or metal strengthened its edge. The most popular color of the shield was red, but it is known that there were yellow, black and white shields, while colors such as blue or green were chosen infrequently for coloring. All 64 shields found on the famous Gokstad ship were painted yellow and black. There are reports of shields depicting mythological characters and whole scenes, with multicolored stripes and even ... with Christian crosses.
One of the 375 runic stones of the 5th-10th centuries. from the island of Gotland in Sweden. This stone below shows a fully equipped ship, then a battle scene and warriors marching to Valhalla!
The Vikings were very fond of poetry, and metaphorical poetry, in which quite ordinary words were replaced by various flowery names associated with them. So there were shields with the name "Victory Board", "Network of spears" (the spear was called "Shield Fish"), "Tree of Protection" (direct indication of its functional purpose!), "Sun of War", "Hild Wall" (" Wall of Valkyries ")," Country of Arrows ", etc.
Then came a helmet with a noseband and a chain mail with rather short, not reaching the elbow wide sleeves. But the helmets of the Vikings did not receive such lush names, although it is known that King Adils' helmet had the name “Battle Boar”. Helmets had either a conical or hemispherical shape, some of them were supplied with half masks that protected the nose and eyes, well, and a simple noseband in the form of a rectangular metal plate that descended on the nose had almost every helmet. Some helmets had a decoration in the form of curved eyebrows decorated with silver or copper. In this case, the surface of the helmet was in the habit of painting, in order to protect it from corrosion and ... "to distinguish its own from others." For the same purpose, a special “battle sign” was painted on it.
The so-called “Wendel era” helmet (550 - 793) from a shipboard burial in Wendel, Upland, Sweden. Exhibited at the Museum of History in Stockholm.
The chain mail was called “shirt of rings”, but like the shield, it could have been given various poetic names, for example, “Blue Shirt”, “Battle Cloth”, “Arrow Net” or “Cloak for the Fight”. The rings on the viking chainmail that has reached our time are made flattened and are overlapped with each other, like rings for key chains. This technology dramatically accelerated their production, so that mail among the "northern people" was not something unusual or too expensive type of armor. She was looked at as a “uniform” for a warrior, that's all. The early chain mail had short sleeves, and they reached the hips. Longer chain mails were inconvenient because the Vikings had to row them. But already in the XI century, their length, judging by some specimens, has increased markedly. For example, Harald Hardrada’s mail reached the middle of the calf and was so strong that “no weapon it could not break. " However, it is also known that the Vikings often dumped their chain mail because of their gravity. For example, this is exactly what they did before the battle at Stamford Bridge in 1066.
Viking helmet from the University of Oslo Archeological Museum.
The English historian Christopher Gravette, who analyzed many ancient Norse sagas, proved that because the Vikings had armor and shields, most of the injuries were on their feet. That is, by the laws of war (if only war has any laws!), Sword strikes on the legs were completely tolerated. That is why, probably, one of its most popular names (well, apart from such magnificent names as “Long and Sharp”, “Flame of Odin”, “Golden Handle”, and even ... “Damage to the battle cloth”!) Was “Nogokus” "- the nickname is very eloquent and much explaining! At the same time, the best blades delivered to Scandinavia from France, and already there, on the spot, local craftsmen attached to them handles made of walrus bone, horns and metal, the latter usually encrusted with gold or silver or copper wire. The blades were usually encrusted too, and could have letters and patterns laid out on them. Their length was approximately 80-90, see, and are known as double-edged, single-edged blades, similar to huge kitchen knives. The latter were the most common among the Norwegians, whereas in Denmark there were no swords of this type found by archaeologists. However, in both cases, they were equipped with longitudinal grooves from the tip to the handle to reduce the weight. Viking swords have been very short and literally pinched the fighter's hand between the top and the crosshair so that it does not move anywhere in battle. The sheath of the sword is always wooden and covered with leather. From the inside, they were also plastered with leather, waxed with a cloth or sheepskin, and oiled to protect the blade from rust. Usually, the Vikings ’belt mount on the belt is depicted vertical, but it’s worth noting that the rower’s horizontal position of the sword on the belt is more suitable, in all respects more comfortable for him, especially if he is on board the ship.
Viking sword with the inscription: "Ulfbert." National Museum in Nuremberg.
The sword was required by the Viking not only in battle: he had to die with the sword in his hand, only then could one expect that you would get to Valhalla, where gilded wards, like the gods, according to the Vikings, were feasting on valiant warriors.
Another similar blade with the same inscription from the first half of the 9th century from the National Museum in Nuremberg.
In addition, they had several types of axes, spears (skillful spear throwers were highly respected by the Vikings), and, of course, bows and arrows, from which even kings, who were proud of this skill, accurately shot! Interestingly, for some reason, axes were given either female names associated with the names of gods and goddesses (for example, King Olaf had an ax called Hel on the name of the goddess of death), or ... names of trolls! But in general, it was enough to put a Viking on a horse so that he would not yield to the same Frankish riders. That is, the chain mail, helmet and round shield at that time were ample means of protection for both the infantryman and the rider. Moreover, such a weapon system has spread throughout Europe almost everywhere by the beginning of the XI century, and the mail has almost supplanted metal-scale armor. Why did it happen? But only because the Hungarians, the last of the Asian nomads who had come to Europe before that, by that time had already settled in the plains of Pannonia and now began to defend it themselves from outside invasions. At the same time, the threat from horse-drawn archery from the bow abruptly weakened, and the chain mail immediately pressed the lamellar shells - more reliable, but much heavier and not too comfortable to wear. But the crosshairs of the swords by this time began to bend more and more to the sides, giving them a crescent-shaped side, so that the riders could be more comfortable to hold them in their hands, or lengthen the handle itself, and such changes occurred at that time everywhere among the most different peoples! As a result, since about 900, the swords of European warriors have become much more comfortable compared to old swords, but most importantly, their number among riders in heavy weapons has increased significantly.
Sword of Mammen (Jutland, Denmark). National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen.
At the same time, in order to possess such a sword, a lot of art was required. After all, they fought in a completely different way than it is shown in our movies. That is, they simply did not fence, but inflicted blows rarely, but with all their might, giving the value of the power of each strike, and not their number. They also tried not to strike with the sword about the sword, so as not to spoil it, but dodged the blows, or took them on a shield (substituting it at an angle) or on Umbon. At the same time, slipping from the shield, the sword could well have injured the enemy in the leg (and this, not to mention the specially aimed blows to the feet!), And maybe this was one of the reasons why the Normans so often called your swords "Nogokus"!
Stuttgart Psalter. 820-830 Stuttgart Regional Württemberg Library. Miniature depicting two Vikings.
Preferring to fight hand-to-hand enemies, the Vikings, however, skillfully used bows and arrows as well, fighting with them both at sea and on land! For example, the Norwegians considered “famous arrows”, and the word “bow” in Sweden sometimes meant the warrior himself. The length of the bow, bent in the shape of the letter “D”, which was found in Ireland, is 73 inches (or 185 cm). Until 40, arrows were carried around the waist in a cylindrical quiver. The tips of the arrows were made very skillfully and could be faceted and with grooves. As noted here, in the course of the Vikings there were also axes of several types, as well as the so-called “winged spears” with a crossbar (it did not allow the tip to enter the body too deeply!) And a long faceted tip of leaf-like or triangular shape.
Viking sword handle. National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen.
As for how the Vikings acted in battle and what methods they used, we know that the favorite technique of the Vikings was the “wall of shields” - a massive phalanx of soldiers built in several (five or more) rows, in which the most well-armed stood in front, and those who had worse weapons - from behind. There is a lot of controversy about how such a wall was built from shields. Modern literature casts doubt on the assumption that the shields overlapped each other, since this obstructed the freedom of movement in battle. However, the tombstone of the 10th century in Gosforth from Cumbria contains a relief depicting overlapping shields for most of their width, which narrowed the front line to 18 inches (45,7 cm) for each person, that is, almost half a meter. It also depicts a wall of shields and tapestry from Oseberg IX century. Modern cinematographers and stage setters using weapons reproductions and Viking constructions have noticed that in close combat the soldiers needed a lot of space to swing with a sword or ax, so tightly closed shields are nonsense! Therefore, the hypothesis is supported that, perhaps, they were closed only in the starting position to reflect the very first blow, and then they opened up by themselves and the fight turned into a general fight.
Replica of an ax. According to Petersen's typology Type L or Type M, made on the model from the Tower in London.
The Vikings didn’t shy away from peculiar heraldry: in particular, they had combat banners with images of dragons and monsters. The Christian king Olaf could have had a standard with the image of a cross, but for some reason preferred the image of a serpent on it. But most of the Viking flags carried the image of a crow. However, the latter is understandable, since the crows were considered the birds of Odin himself - the main god of Scandinavian mythology, the ruler of all other gods and the god of war, and was most directly associated with battlefields, over which, as we know, the crows always circled.
Viking ax. Docklands Museum, London.
The most famous Viking hatchet, inlaid with silver and gold, from Mammen (Jutland, Denmark). Third quarter of the tenth century. Stored in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.
The basis of the Viking battle system was the same "pig" as that of the Byzantine horsemen - a wedge-shaped structure with a narrowed front. It was believed that he was invented by none other than Odin himself, which speaks of the significance for them of this tactical device. At the same time, two warriors stood in the first row, three in the second, five in the third, which gave them the opportunity to fight very harmoniously, both all together and separately. The wall of the shields of the Vikings could also build not only frontally, but also in the form of a ring. This was done, for example, by Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, where his soldiers had to cross their swords with the warriors of King Harold Godwinson of England: “a long and rather thin line with wings bending backwards to form an adversary.” The commanders were protected by a separate wall of shields, the soldiers of which rejected the projectiles flying at them. Only the Vikings, like all other infantrymen, were inconvenient to fight the cavalry, although even when they retreated, they knew how to save and quickly restore their structures, and win time.
Luka Viking saddles from the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.
The first defeat to the Vikings, the cavalry of the Franks (the best at that time in Western Europe), was inflicted in the Battle of Soucort in 881, where they lost 8 - 9 thousand people. The defeat was unexpected for them. Although the Franks could lose this battle. The fact is that they made a serious tactical mistake by splitting their ranks in pursuit of prey, which gave the Vikings an advantage in a counterattack. But the second onslaught of the Franks again threw the Hiking Vikings back, although, despite the losses, they did not lose their line. The Franks also could not break through the wall of shields, bristling with long spears. But they could do nothing when the Franks began to throw spears and darts. Then the advantage of the cavalry over the infantry Franks proved to the Vikings more than once. So the Vikings knew the power of the cavalry and had their own riders. But they still lacked large equestrian units, because it was difficult for them to transport horses on their ships!
Information