The military equipment of our Saxon and Danish forefathers is of much interest to us as a nation, inasmuch as we are curious to ascertain with what weapons and with what personal defences our ancestors were able, apart from personal courage, to overcome the fierce opposition of the Romanised Britons. That this resistance was of a formidable character we may judge from the extended time occupied in the conquest of England, running into hundreds of years and necessitating waves of invasion. They won the country bit by bit, and the conquered were effectually displaced by the invaders; so thorough was this that practically the Britons disappeared before the warlike Teutons, whereby all their traces of occupation were wiped out and only the great works of engineering or building skill of those “who built for eternity, and not for time,” resisted their devastating march. It is probable that during the many centuries of Roman occupation many of the Britons had learned the method of warfare and the use of the weapons of their conquerors; and we know that British recruits for the Roman armies were in considerable demand. Consequently we may fairly assume that the Saxons were opposed by Roman swords, spears, and javelins, and that a certain amount of Roman armour protected the defenders. To this equipment we may ascribe the fierce and prolonged resistance offered to the invaders, who were only able to found their first petty kingdom, that of Kent, after a struggle of nearly forty years’ duration.

The Saxon Spear.—The chief weapon of offence among the Saxons was undoubtedly the spear, which was of two kinds—the longer, used by the cavalry, or in certain cases to be employed against them, and the shorter, which partook of the dual nature of a spear and of a javelin.

The chief authorities for Saxon arms and armour are (a) the illuminated manuscripts preserved in the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, &c., some of which date back to the eighth century or even earlier; (b) the written description of the equipment of certain warriors of a still more remote period; and (c) the sagas, most of them of a warlike nature, which not only laud the heroic deeds of warriors but constantly refer to the weapons and armour borne by them. But these details, necessarily crude and by themselves to a certain extent unreliable, are fortunately supplemented by actual examples which have been found in Saxon barrows all over the country and preserved in many museums, from which we are enabled to verify the illuminations and descriptions.

A spear is found as a rule in all Saxon interments, or more strictly speaking the iron head, the wooden portion having generally decayed. From numberless references to the latter we find that it was invariably made of ash, and the warrior is often poetically referred to as the “ash-bearer.” The shorter kind is found in barrows, doubtless because of limitation of space, and so commonly do they occur, that probably every Saxon, from freeman upwards, was interred with one. They are sometimes found reversed, with the iron head near the feet, and the hollow shoe or button which protected the end of the shaft near the skull. From many measurements taken from the head of the spear to the shoe, the total length of the shorter kind has been found to be about six feet.

In some places portions of the wood have been found still preserved; these have been tested and proved to be of ash wood, but in no case have these remains demonstrated that the shaft was excessively thin as is represented in illuminations, where as a rule only a narrow ruled line is drawn for the shaft. Judging from the numerous illustrations of mounted horsemen with which the MSS. abound, the length of the longer variety was about nine or ten feet. The accompanying illustration (Fig. 62) represents various forms of spear-heads copied from Saxon MSS. in the British Museum, from which it will be seen that no stereotyped pattern was in vogue, but that almost every variety of possible form was brought into use. That which at once attracts the attention is the form of guard invariably used below the spear-head, and which was doubtless intended to ward off sword-cuts which might possibly sever the shaft. They were of iron, and sometimes as many as three were in use. In two of these examples the barbed form of head is shown, which is the most uncommon, both in illustrations and also in actual finds in barrows. Probably this form was generally in use for javelins, the other variety being easily withdrawn after inflicting a wound. In Fig. 63, which presents examples of actual spear-heads found in Great Britain, we notice that the shaft is fixed in a socket which is always furnished with a longitudinal slit. Nails or rivets were used to fasten it to the shaft. The absence of the cross guards should be noticed; probably they were inserted in the shaft and formed no integral part of the spear-head. In the Tower Collection, however, is a spear-head, with a cross-piece similar to the guards shown in illustrations, which was discovered some time since near Nottingham. The short spear was not carried singly but generally in pairs, and at times three are represented; for instance, in a British Museum MS. the destroying angel is shown with three javelins, one in flight, one poised for throwing in the right hand, and one grasped in the left.

The Sword.—Swords were essentially cavalry weapons among the Anglo-Saxons, and were not carried by any person beneath the rank of thane. The earliest of those found in England have no quillons or cross-pieces, but merely pommel, grip, and blade. The latter was long, straight, rounded at the point, and double-edged, 30 inches long and 2 inches wide at the hilt; the grip was of wood and with but little swell. The total length is generally about three feet. Irish swords of the same period are about six inches shorter; both kinds were provided with wooden scabbards. Undoubtedly this sword was fashioned from classical models. During the later Saxon occupation a cross-piece was added to the weapon; it became more acutely pointed, and the pommel occasionally showed signs of ornamentation. No. 2 of Fig. 64 is a sword found in Cambridgeshire, and shows the quillons in an incipient form, while the addition of a knob to the pommel relieves the monotony seen in No. 1. No. 3, from the same find, has the cross-piece enlarged, while the other swords show various stages of development. The two swords, Nos. 5 and 6, are from MSS. of the eighth century. A rare example of the sword of this period is preserved in the Wallace Collection, and is shown in Fig. 65. It has a flat, crown-shaped pommel, with five small lobes and short, straight quillons rounded at the ends, the grip being missing. The blade is grooved, measures 30¼ inches in length, and shows traces of an inscription or ornament.

The sword preserved in the British Museum, which was obtained from the bed of the River Witham, is very similar to this and is probably contemporary, while another weapon has recently been found in the Thames with the hilt upwards which is almost identical with that found in the Witham. The blades of all three examples are about thirty inches in length. The grip of the swords appears to have been made of pine-wood, judging from a few remains which have been found. It is more than probable that the wood was covered with leather, bone, or horn. That the sword-hilts were at times of a costly character and richly ornamented we may infer from the Wallace sword, which has traces of silver work upon the quillons; the British Museum sword, which has the pommel and quillons inlaid with gold and copper in a lozenge pattern; and from numerous references in the MSS. to weapons with hilts of gold or silver, inlaid work, setting of precious stones, &c., the illuminations invariably showing the hilts and mountings of a yellow colour, thus implying gold, or gold plating. The sheaths were invariably of wood covered with leather, with ornamental designs painted or stamped upon them, and mountings of bronze or more costly metal. The sword is less often found in Saxon graves than the spear, as might be expected, seeing that its use was confined to the upper classes.

The Axe.—The axe was a distinctive and characteristic weapon of the northern nations, and its use by the Anglo-Saxons is proved by references and illustrations in a few late MSS. It is therefore possible that the Danes introduced its extensive use.

Its occurrence in interments in this country is extremely rare, and but very few examples have come to light. There appears to have been three varieties in use, the taper, the broad, and the double. Examples of the taper axe, found in Kent, are engraved in Fig. 66, Nos. 1 and 4; the broad axe is shown in Nos. 2 and 3, while a few other varieties are drawn. The double axe, or bipennis, very rarely occurs in illuminations, and has not been found in any Anglo-Saxon grave. Its form is shown in Fig. 62. The pole-axe is a variety, and appears in the hands of the Saxons at the battle of Hastings.

The Dagger or knife was a weapon in common use, and has been found in many Saxon graves. They are of various sizes, but probably only those of large dimensions were weapons, the smaller being used for domestic purposes. A fine example from Kent is No. 1 in Fig. 67. It is 16 inches in length, and provided with a small cross-piece. No. 2 is also from a Kentish find; Nos. 3 and 4, Irish. No. 4 is remarkable by reason of the preservation of the wooden handle, which shows traces of carving. The use of the dagger is shown in a very spirited little sketch taken from an Anglo-Saxon Psalter of the Duc de Berri (Fig. 68), where the spearman has been assailed by a dagger of the form shown in Fig. 67, No. 3. The head of the javelin is barbed in contradistinction to that of the spear, as previously mentioned. Both of the combatants appear to be emerging from the encounter second best. The long-bow was used by the Anglo-Saxons, but not extensively, and but few illustrations are found in MSS., while examples of arrow-heads in graves are uncommon; those illustrated in Fig. 69 are from MSS. chiefly, and but few from finds in graves. The sling was not extensively used, although it is occasionally shown in MSS. The accompanying cut (Fig. 70) is from the Anglo-Saxon and Latin Psalter of Boulogne. Other examples occur in Cott. MS., Claudius B. IV., and on the Bayeux Tapestry. Fairly numerous weapons may be cited as being occasionally in use, such as the bill, the mace, the pike, the “morning star,” &c., but they were in their incipient stage, and individual not universal favourites.

Respecting the defensive equipment of the Anglo-Saxons we are forced to the conclusion that the helmet and the shield were the principal portions, and that in numberless cases these only were adopted, others being considered subsidiary or superfluous. Indeed in the earlier periods of the Saxon occupation they are invariably represented with these defences only, the byrnie, &c., being essentially reserved for the leaders; but as the nation increased in prosperity so the additional defences were slowly added.

The Saxon Helmet was commonly of the Phrygian shape, but examples are plentiful of the hemispherical, the conical, and the combed hemispherical, side by side with the Phrygian. The foundation of the helmet was a framework of bronze or iron bands riveted together, of which the principal was the piece passing round the head, and that reaching from the forehead over the head to its junction with the plate at the back. These two were of thicker material than the rest. Occasionally the latter band was produced so as to form a nasal which became universal at the end of the tenth century. Upon this sub-structure a leather cap of varying forms was fixed, sometimes with ornamental additions in leather crowning it. The commonest form is seen in Fig. 75, while other varieties are perceived in Figs. 71, 76, and 77.

The Shield.—The shield was of wood covered with leather, invariably round in shape, but at times oval and convex. The lime was the favourite wood used in its construction, the “yellow linden” being often mentioned by Saxon poets. The distinguishing characteristic of this defence was the central boss or umbo, of which such a large number have been found in Saxon interments (Fig. 73). It was a hollow boss of varying form and dimensions, but generally about six inches in diameter, and projecting three or four inches from the outer surface of the shield; the wood was cut away to allow of its being fixed, and across the hollow at the back a piece of metal was carried, riveted at both ends to the boss. This formed a grasp for the left hand by which the shield was carried, the umbo protecting the hand from injury. As it was often spiked there is reason to suppose that at times the shield was used as an offensive weapon (Fig. 75). To strengthen it, radiating strips of iron or bronze were occasionally carried from the umbo to the edges of the shield, the simplest being a prolongation of the grip. It was not a heavy shield, in no way comparable to those of some other nations. The mode of carrying the shield when not in use is seen in Fig. 76.

The Byrnie or Battle-Sark was at times made of leather. In the figure reproduced from a British Museum MS. (Fig. 77) the coat appears to be of hide with much of the hair apparently left upon it; its lower edges are dagged, and it defends the body and a part of the legs, whereas in Fig. 78 the defensive covering appears only upon the upper part of the body. The byrnie was also made of padded stuff judging from the illustrations, but the earlier examples are so excessively crude and inartistic that it is rash to make authoritative statements. When a forest is indicated by four leaves and a twig, a mountain pass by a bulbous mole-hill, and elaborate Saxon embroidery by half-a-dozen scattered dots, it will readily be perceived that such a technical detail as body armour cannot be definitely settled by these rude drawings. Hence a controversy has arisen, which can by no means be considered as definitely decided, upon the question as to whether the Anglo-Saxons possessed byrnies of true interlinked chain mail. Hewitt in his “Ancient Armour” maintains the affirmative, and contends that the references in the poem of “Beowulf” to the “twisted breast-net,” the “hard battle-net,” the “locked battle-shirt,” the “byrnie twisted with hands,” the “war byrnie, hard and hand-locked,” can only mean chain-mail. He further refers to the Bayeux Tapestry where a body is being stripped, and the links show inside the hauberk as they are represented on the outside. These arguments certainly carry weight, but until a bonÂ-fide example of Anglo-Saxon manufacture is brought to light the question must apparently be left in abeyance. One of the modes of defence concerning which there is no doubt was the sewing on of separate flat rings of iron to a tunic of woven material or leather, and also the covering of the same with metal or leather plates, either cut into the form of scales and overlapping, or square or oblong.