Arms of offence—Defensive weapons—Swords: Their rich ornamentation—Scabbards—Belts—Figurative names of swords—Supernatural qualities attributed to weapons—Weapons as heirlooms—Spears: Their figurative names—Axes: Their figurative names—Bows and arrows: Their figurative names—Mythical arrows—Slings—Shields: Their figurative names—Coats of mail: Their figurative names—Helmets: Their figurative names.

The finds, as well as the Sagas, fully corroborate the fact that from the earliest times the Northmen were a very warlike people.

Their arms of offence were the sword, the axe, the spear, the bow and arrow, the sling, &c., &c. Those of defence were the coat of mail, the shield, and the helmet. The weapons are often described as being ornamented and inlaid with gold and silver.

The hilts of the swords were of iron, bronze, or wood, often inlaid and ornamented with precious metals, garnets, ivory, &c., &c.; when made of wood they were sometimes adorned with silver-headed nails. The handles of some of those swords belonging to the period of the earlier iron age are nearly identical in form with those of the bronze age.

The scabbards were of wood, covered with skins, often richly ornamented with gold and silver. The men carried them in a belt across the shoulder, which by means of a double button could be lengthened or shortened. The luxury of the ornamentation on their weapons corresponds with that of the countries whence the forefathers of the race claimed to come.^[92]

“Eyvind Urarhorn was in the winter at the Yule-feast with King Olaf, and received rich gifts from him, Brynjolf Ulfaldi was also there, and got as Yule-gift from the king a gold ornamented sword, and also a farm called Vettaland, which is a very large farm” (St. Olaf’s Saga, ch. 60).

“There were in the house not a few gold ornamented swords. Sigvat made a stanza, in which he said he would accept a sword if it were given to him by the king. The king took one and gave it him; the hilt was bound with gold, and the guards were gold ornamented; it was a very costly weapon” (St. Olaf’s Saga, 172).

The swords were carefully tested before use.

“ThÓrÓlf took his own sword and gave to Thorstein; it was a fine and well-made sword. Thorstein took it, drew it, and catching its point, bent the blade between his hands so that the point touched the guard; he let it spring back, and it did not straighten again. He gave it back to ThÓrÓlf, and asked for a stronger weapon....” (SvarfdÆla, ch. 2).

From the following we see how careful the people were in polishing their swords, so that they might be very bright:—

“Thorir was the herdman of King Olaf, and was greatly honoured. As a token of it the king gave him the sword which his kinsmen had owned for a long time and been very fond of. It was called Thegn; it was both long and broad, sharper than any other, and three times polished” (An Bogsveigi’s, Saga, ch. 1).

Whetstones were used from very early times to sharpen their weapons or tools of iron, for these are quite common in the finds.

Swords seem to have been prized above all other weapons; occasionally their genealogy was carefully kept. Some swords caused death every time they inflicted a wound, from which we must infer that their blades had been poisoned, either during or after the forging.

The mÆkir, the sverd, and the sax seem to have been the three kinds of swords used by the people.

The sax had only one sharp edge in contrast to the sverd, which had two.

Upon the swords more than upon all other weapons the poets lavished their most figurative and poetical names; they are called:—

Among the most celebrated swords were Tyrfing, the sword of Sigurlami, son of Odin, which had come down to Angantyr and his descendants. It shone like a ray of sunshine, and slew a man every time it was drawn. It was always to be sheathed with man’s blood upon it; it never failed, and always carried victory with it.

“In the battle Heidrek was in the foremost array, and he carried Tyrfing in his right hand, and cut down the host of the jarl like saplings, and neither helmet nor armour could resist; he went through the host; he slew all who were near him” (Hervarar Saga, c. 10).

Some weapons had special names given to them, and the great fame they had acquired was doubtless due to the personal bravery of the warriors who had owned them, to the great skill with which they were handled, and to their superior workmanship. People believed in their supernatural qualities; some were even thought by them to have been forged by the Dvergar, others were supposed to have been given by Odin himself; while some had become infallible by akvoedi, that is, by charms and incantations used over them while they were being made, or else by mal, i.e., mystic signs engraved or inlaid upon them.

“Hraungvid said: ‘I have ravaged for thirty-three years, summer and winter, and I have fought in sixty battles, generally gaining victory; the name of my sword is Brynthvari, and it has never been dulled” (HrÓmundar Saga Greipssonar, ch. 1).

Grettir asked for a weapon, and Asmund, his father, answered:

“‘Thou hast not been obedient to me, and as I do not know what thou wilt do with weapons, so I will not give thee any.’ Grettir replied: ‘Then there is nothing to repay, where nothing has been given.’ Father and son parted with little affection. Many wished Grettir farewell, but few safe return. His mother followed him on the way, and before they parted she said: ‘Thou art not fitted out from home, my kinsman, as I would like, able as thou art; it seems to me the greatest want, that thou hast no weapon fit for use, and my mind tells me that thou wilt need one.’ She took an ornamented sword from under her cloak; it was very costly, and said: ‘This sword my grandfather JÖkul owned, and the old VatnsdÆlir, it used to give them victory. I will give thee the sword; use it well.’ Grettir thanked her much for the gift, saying he liked it better than greater valuables” (Gretti’s Saga, ch. 17).

The jarl Viking said to his son Thorstein:

“The only thing that gladdens me is that no man will stand over thy scalp (have thy head at his feet), although thou wilt have a narrow escape. Here is a sword, kinsman Thorstein, which I want to give thee; its name is Angrvadil, and victory has always followed it; my father took it from the slain BjÖrn Blue-tooth; I have no other remarkable weapons, excepting an old spear which I took from Harek Jarnhaus, and I know it is not manageable by any man” (Thorstein Vikingsson’s Saga, ch. 10).

“When Viking drew it (‘Angrvadil’) it was as if lightning flashed from it. Harek seeing this, said: ‘I should never have fought against thee, if I had known thou hadst Angrvadil; it is most likely it will be as my father said, that we brothers and sisters would be short-lived, except that one only who was named after him; it was the greatest misfortune, when Angrvadil went out of our family;’ and at that moment Viking struck down on the head of Harek, and cleft him in two from head to feet, so that the sword entered the ground up to the hilt” (Thorstein Vikingsson, ch. 14).^[93]

“King Athelstan gave him a sword, with hilt and guards of gold, but the blade was still better; with it Hakon cut a millstone through to the centre hole,^[94] and therefore the sword was afterwards called kvernbit (mill-biter). It was the best sword that ever came to Norway” (Olaf Tryggvason’s Saga; Fornmanna SÖgur).

Many were considered valuable heirlooms in families, and their possession was so much coveted that even burial mounds were broken open in order to get them.

Grettir had broken into the mound of the Norwegian chief KÁr, with whose son, Thorfinn, he was residing, and had taken therefrom a great deal of property.

“Late at night he returned to his house, and placed on the table before Thorfinn the property he had taken from the mound. Among the treasures was a sax, such a good weapon that Grettir said he had never seen a better. He wanted to have this very much, but produced it last of all (the treasures). Thorfinn’s face brightened when he saw the sax, for it was a great treasure, and had never gone out of his family; he asked how he (Grettir) got it, and Grettir told him.... Thorfinn said: ‘Thou must accomplish something that I think famous, before I will let thee have the sax, for my father never allowed me to use it’” (Gretti’s Saga, ch. 18).

“ArinbjÖrn gave to Egil a sword called Dragvandil, which ThÓrÓlf Skallagrimsson had given to him; Skallagrim had got it from his brother ThÓrÓlf, and Grim Lodinkinni (shaggy-cheek) had given it to ThÓrÓlf. Ketil Hoeng, Grim’s father, had owned it, and carried it in single-fights; it was sharper than any other sword” (Egil’s Saga, c. 64).

“He (King Magnus) was girt with a sword called Leggbit (the leg-biter); its guards were of walrus-tusk, and its hilt was covered with gold; it was one of the best of weapons” (Magnus Barefoot’s Saga, ch. 26).^[95]

In time of peace warriors wrapped round their swords what was called FridbÖnd (peace-band). This was a strap wound round the sheath, and fastened to the hilt, but unfastened in case of war.

Thorkel, Gisli’s brother, was well dressed at the Thorskafjardar-thing.

“He wore a hat from Gardariki and a grey cloak and a gold fibula on his shoulder, and he carried a sword in his hand.”

Two boys came walking up to him.

“The older boy said: ‘Who is the noble-looking man sitting here? Saw never I a better-looking or more dignified man.’ Thorkel answered: ‘Thou speakest well; I am called Thorkel.’ The boy said: ‘The sword in thy hand must be very precious; wilt thou allow me to look at it?’ Thorkel answered: ‘This is strange, but I will allow thee to look,’ and handed the sword to him. The boy took the sword, turned a little aside, unloosed the peace bands and drew the sword. When Thorkel saw this, he said: ‘I did not allow thee to draw the sword.’ ‘I asked no leave from thee,’ said the boy; and he brandished the sword and struck at the neck of Thorkel, taking off his head” (Gisli Sursson’s Saga, ch. 55).^[96]

A Valkyria says to Helgi:

Spears.—Different kinds of spears are mentioned, such as kesja; hÖggspjÓt (hewing-spear); gaflak (javelin); snoeris-spjÓt (string-spear); which last was thrown with the aid of a string fastened to the spear; pÁl-staf (pole-staff), a pole provided with an iron spike; skepti-fletta (cord-shaft), a shaft with a cord attached to it; atgeir, a kind of halberd.

The sockets were often richly ornamented with gold or silver inlaid in beautiful patterns, sometimes with fine notches of silver, or were covered over with sheets of silver, upon which were engraved the serpentine ornamentation peculiar to the North.

From the more numerous finds of spears, of which great numbers have been discovered together, we gather that the spear was a more common weapon than the sword. We also learn that spear-shafts were generally made of ash, and that they were sometimes more than eleven feet long, while their thickness rarely exceeded an inch; on some spears the centre of gravity was marked by nails or strings, in order that the thrower might quickly give the spear the right position in his hand.

Spears, like swords, had numerous poetical names. Odin’s spear was called Gungnir. Some other names were—

These are of many shapes, and it is impossible to tell those which were used for war, or for household, or for felling trees.

“It was seen from the Thing that a body of men rode down along GljÚfrÁ (a river), and that shields glittered there. When these arrived a man in a blue cloak rode foremost; he had a gilt helmet on his head and a gold-ornamented shield at his side; in his hand a hooked spear; the socket of its head was inlaid with gold; he was girt with a sword. This was Egil Skallagrimsson” (Egil’s Saga, ch. 85).

The axe.—The axe is frequently mentioned in the Sagas, and must often have been a formidable weapon. Some were artistically and splendidly made, and inlaid with precious metal, each side being made of different patterns.

One of the earliest forms of this weapon is probably the one here represented (Fig. 865), for it was found with a bronze sword, and shows the transition that was taking place, when iron was to supersede bronze in the making of weapons.

They also had peculiar figurative names—

The most celebrated axe in later times was that of SkarphÉdin, called RimmugÝg (the war-witch).

“The jarl (Hakon) asked (Hallfred) who he was? He said: ‘I am an Icelander; but my errand is, lord, that I have composed a song about you, and wish you to listen to it.’ The jarl replied: ‘Thou lookest to be a man who would be bold in the presence of chiefs, and thou shalt have a hearing.’ Hallfred recited the poem; it was a drÁpa (laudatory poem); he delivered it with skill. The jarl thanked him, gave him a large silver ornamented axe, and good clothes, and invited him to remain with him over winter; and this Hallfred accepted” (Hallfred’s Saga, ch. 5).

“As they parted, the jarl (Hakon) gave him (Olaf HÖskuldsson) a most costly gold ornamented axe” (LaxdÆla, ch. 29).

The bow (bogi) and the arrow (Ör) were among the most important weapons for war. The bows discovered are generally about six feet long.

Arrows were called by the poets—

The quivers from the earlier iron age were occasionally of wood, sometimes with bronze mountings, and were made to hold a score of arrows. Some arrows were ornamented with gold, were long, and often barbed with iron or bone. The arrow-shafts, of wood, were two or three feet long, with four rows of feathers, fastened into pitched thread; they, as well as the spears, often bore the marks of ownership; while some were engraved with runes.

Svein (England’s conqueror), King Harald’s son, PÁlnatÓki’s foster-son, went on warfare in his father’s realm and fought a battle at sea against him near Bornholm. He was defeated and shut up in a bay, Harald’s ships lying across it, each stem being fastened to the other.

“The same evening PÁlnatÓki came to the island with twenty-four ships. He laid his ships on the other side of the cape, and there tented over his host (on board). Thereupon he went ashore alone with his bow and arrows, and his sword at his belt. Now it must be told of King Harald that he went ashore with eleven men. They walked into the wood, made a fire there, and warmed themselves at it. They sat on a felled tree, and it had become dark as the night fell on. PÁlnatÓki went into the wood opposite where the king sat, and stood there. The king warmed himself at the fire, and came with his back close to it. Clothes were laid under him. He was on his knees, and stooped forward so low while warming his back and shoulders that the hind part of his thighs stood out. PÁlnatÓki heard the king’s voice, and recognised that of his father’s brother, FjÖlnir. He laid an arrow on his (bow) string and shot at the king, and, it is told, that the arrow hit the king straight between his thighs and came out of his mouth. The king fell dead, as was to be expected. When his followers saw what had happened, FjÖlnir said: ‘A great mishap has occurred to the man who has done this deed, or caused it to be done. A strange wonder is the way in which this deed has been committed.’ He asked what should be done. They left to him to decide that, for he was the wisest of them. It is told that he took the arrow out of the king’s mouth, and put it by as it was. It was easy to know, for it was bound with gold. FjÖlnir said to the men: ‘I think it advisable that we all tell the same tale about this event, and it seems to me we cannot do better than say he was shot in the battle to-day. That is more likely than the wonder which has occurred here.’ They all bound themselves firmly to tell the same story” (Jomsvikinga Saga).

The most celebrated mythical arrows^[99] of the Sagas were the Gusi arrows, which had come into the possession of Ketil Hoeng, and were owned afterwards by his grandson, Orvar Odd.

There are several accounts of these wonderful arrows in the Sagas.

“GrÍm (father of Orvar-Odd) followed them (Odd, Gudmund, Sigurd) to the ships and said: ‘Here are the costly things which I want to give thee, Odd, my kinsman; they are three arrows which have a name and are called Gusi’s nautar (Gusi’s followers).’ He gave the arrows to Odd, who looked at them and said: ‘They are very costly.’ The feathers were gilded, and the arrows flew off and on the string by themselves, and one never needs to search for them. These arrows Ketil Hoeng took from Gusi, the king of the Finnar; they bite everything they are aimed at, for they are forged by Dvergar. Odd said: ‘No gifts have I which I think equally fine.’ He thanked his father, and they parted with friendship” (Orvar Odd’s Saga, c. 4).^[100]

Slings and stones thrown.—Stone-throwing was an important means of attack. Stones were sometimes thrown by hand, but oftener with slings, particularly in sea-fights, and the art was brought to great perfection. Slings were also used on land by bodies of men who had no other weapons.^[101] The stone-throwers are mentioned as occupying the flanks in King Hedin’s army; and the slingers stood in the last ranks of King Hring’s order of battle on BrÁvalla heath.

As heavy stones could not be thrown any great distance by mere muscular strength, machines were employed, called ValslÖngva.

The chief Sturla Sighvatsson was attacking his enemies, who defended themselves inside a high wall.

“Sturla walked about outside, and took a stone; he threw stones better than any man, and usually hit the mark. He said: ‘It seems to me if I wished to throw a stone, that I, rather than you, would choose where it should hit; but I will not try it now,’ and he then threw down the stone” (Sturlunga, v., ch. 17).

“BÚi (the son of Andrid, in Brautarholt) would never carry any weapon but a sling, which he always wore tied round him. BÚi was outlawed because he did not want to sacrifice. Once when he was on a journey, Thorstein, a son of the chief Thorgrim, attacked him with eleven men. BÚi had come to a hill called Kleberg, where he saw them pursuing him; he stopped and gathered some stones. Thorstein and his men went fast, and when they had passed a brook which was there, they heard the sling of BÚi whistle and a stone flew; it struck the breast of one of Thorstein’s men and killed him. BÚi sent more stones, and hit a man with each one. By this time Thorstein had almost come up to him; BÚi retreated down the hill on the other side” (Kjalnesinga Saga, ch. 3).

Defensive weapons.—The shield, the form of which, as we see from the finds, was always round, and somewhat convex. Almost all shields were probably covered with leather. They were of wood, the boards surrounded on the rim by a ring of metal, sometimes of gold, and they were braced and furnished with a boss and handle of iron or bronze. Many were painted in different colours, or richly ornamented, and sometimes covered with gold.

Many figurative names were given to them:—

ThjÓdolf of Hvin, one of Harald Fairhair’s scalds, got as a gift from the Norwegian chief Thorleif^[102] a shield. The shield was painted with subjects from Norse mythology. On these ThjÓdolf wrote the poem HaustlÖng (autumn-long), which is preserved in the later Edda in two parts. The first part tells about the journey of Odin, Loki, and Hoenir; how on their way they met the JÖtun Thjassi; and it also describes the rape of Idun, and Thjassi’s death. This part of the poem winds up thus:—

The second part of the poem tells the fight of Thor with the JÖtun Hrungnir, and ThjÓdolf ends it with these words:—

“When the jarl heard the poem, he gave Einar a most costly shield. It was painted with old Sagas, and all the spaces between the paintings were covered with plates of gold and set with stones.

“When he was ready he went to the seat of Egil, and hung the costly shield there, telling the servants that he gave it to Egil, and then rode away.

“It is said that Egil took the shield on a bridal journey to Vidimyri, where it was spoiled by being thrown into a tub of sour milk; he had the ornaments taken off, and there were twelve aurar of gold in the plates” (Egil’s Saga, ch. 82).^[103]

“Sigurd rode away, his shield had many layers, and was covered with red gold, and on it was painted a dragon. It was dark brown on the upper part, and light red on the lower, and in the same way were coloured his helmet, saddle, and armour. He had a gold coat-of-mail (gullbrynja), and all his weapons were ornamented with gold and marked with a dragon, so that every one who saw the dragon might know who the man was, if he had heard that Sigurd slew the large dragon which the Voerings call Fafnir” (Volsunga Saga, ch. 22).

The shield of Bragi Boddason, presented to him as a gift by the famous Ragnar LodbrÓk, seems to have been divided into four sections, each containing a separate subject:—SÖrli and Hamdir killing JÓrmunrek and avenging Svanhild;^[104] Gefjon ploughing Selund out of Sweden;^[105] ThÓr fishing the serpent (Midgardsorm); the everlasting fight between HÖgni and HÉdin, which last is as follows:—

“King HÉdin, son of Hjarrandi, took Hild, daughter of King HÖgni, away while he was absent from home. When HÖgni heard this he pursued him, and found him on HÁey (Hoy, High Island), one of the Orkneys. HÉdin offered him much gold as indemnity, but HÖgni said: ‘Thou offerest peace too late, for now I have drawn the sword DÁinsleif, which was made by the Dvergar, which causes a man’s death every time it is unsheathed; the wounds cut by it are never healed.’ HÉdin said: ‘Thou boasteth of thy sword, and not of victory; I call every sword good which is faithful to its master’ (owner). Then they began the battle called Hjadninga-fight, and they fought all that day, and at night went to their ships. During the night Hild went to the field of the slain, and with witchcraft called all the dead to life again. The next day the kings went to the battle-field, and all those who had been killed the day before fought with them. Day after day the battle went on, and all the slain and all the weapons in the battle-field and the armour changed into stones. But at daybreak all the dead men rose and fought, and all their weapons could be used. It is told in songs that the Hjadnings shall remain thus till ragnarÖk (the last fight of the gods)” (Later Edda, SkaldskaparmÁl, ch. 50).

From some passages in the Sagas it seems that some of the shields were so large that men could be laid on them, and that some were oblong, as represented in wood-carvings and on the Bayeux tapestry.

“Then the king made ready and went along the valley; he selected a resting-place for the night where all his men came together and lie in the open air under their shields” (St. Olaf’s Saga, ch. 219).

“When Olaf was in the Syllingar (Scilly Islands) a hermit prophesied to him ‘that he would get severely wounded in a fight, and be carried on a shield on board his ship; that he would be cured in seven nights, and then be baptized;’ and this proved to be true” (Olaf Tryggvason’s Saga (Heimskringla), ch. 32).

Brynja, or ring coats-of-mail, are often alluded to, and the benches in Odin’s hall were covered with them. We have seen from the finds that Brynjas were used at a very early period, probably even before the Christian era. They were made long and short—some, in fact, were so short as not to cover the stomach. Only in two instances is the spanga-brynja, or plate coat-of-mail, mentioned. Occasionally brynjas are described as being made of gold. We read that the loss of the famous battle of Stamford Bridge by Harald Hardradi was attributed to his men having left their coats-of-mail on board their ship. Many coats-of-mail are described as being impervious to weapons, owing, no doubt, to their wonderful workmanship and the hardness of the rings.

Some of the poetical names given to brynjas are:—

From the following account we see that some of these coats-of-mail were made thicker than others:—

“HjÁlmar said: ‘I want to fight Angantyr, for I have a brynja in which I have never been wounded; it is set with fourfold rings’” (Orvar Odd’s Saga, ch. 14).

In the sea-fight between Olaf and Svein jarl—

“The latter had more men, but the king had picked men on his ship, and they were so well equipped that every one had a brynja; and on this occasion they did not get wounded” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 47).^[106]

Helgi Hardbeinsson, was told by his herdsman that he had seen many armed men, who had come to kill him, and he thus described the war-dress of one of them, as they sat in a circle taking their morning meal (day-meal):—

“He had on a coat of plate-mail^[107] and a steel cap, the brim of which was as wide as a hand’s breadth, and a shining axe on his shoulder, the edge of which seemed to be two feet long. He had black eyes, and was very viking-like in appearance” (Laxdoela Saga, c. 63).

Helmets (hjÁlm) are often mentioned; they were generally gilt, or of gold. On the front of them was a herkumbl (war-mark). From several bronze plates we see that they were sometimes made in the shape of animals. The Saga says of King Adils that he had a helmet called HildigÖlt (war-boar). In the finds they are extremely rare; one of silver has been found, and a fragment of another inlaid with gold, and one or two of iron.

The viking Framar is thus described: “He wore a helmet on his head, and was girt with a sword; had a gold-enamelled gull-smeltr shield, and a spear in his hand” (Sturlaug Starfsamis Saga, ch. 11).

Olaf Haraldsson, when he was about to fight the battle at Ness against Svein jarl:

“Had on his ship one hundred men, and they had on ring coats-of-mail and Welsh (foreign) helmets. Most of his men had white shields, and on them was the holy cross in gold, but some were painted with red or blue; he had painted crosses in white on the front of all helmets. He had a white standard which was a serpent” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 47).^[108]