How did the Norse arm themselves? What we know of Norse weaponry and armor is from what we have found predominately in grave sites from the early periods. Additionally, from depictions that were carved on stones, tales in the Sagas, and from legal texts written in the later periods which give us a general idea and paint clues for us to piece together about how Norsemen armed for combat during the Viking Age. During the time the laws in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden required that every able-bodied man should own weapons according to his status. In Norway, a sword or ax, spear and shield must be owned and maintained. In Sweden and Denmark, this was a sword, spear, shield and iron helmet that was to be for each man. Additionally, it was common for some laws to required a mail shirt or protective jerkin and a bow and arrows be provided for each bench seat in a ship or that a local chieftain be required to provide these items.
As part of a coming of age ceremony, a Norse freeman would receive an armring from his lord, pledging his loyalty and service to that lord. That is, to come to war or raid when that lord called them to. This was a standard practice and a part of Norse culture. Bearing an arm ring was also a status symbol. Some lords would also reward their new subjects awarded arm rings that had sworn oaths to them with weapons. The use of weapons was also apart of life. From an early age, a lad would train in the use of weaponry as a part of everyday life.
So what were these weapons?
The Shield
There is Skaldic poetry that is specifically dedicated to shields. They are known as the "shield poems." The shield was as much a part of Norse culture as was the ax.
The Viking shield was very different than that of ...
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...he sword under secret conditions.
The word Ufberht actually had two crosses in it, one before the word and one at the ending before the “t.” Whereas it actually spelled “+-U-F-B-E-R-H-+-T.”
Remains of an +Ulfberh+t sword in Denmark.vii
Getting your hands on a real Ulfberht sword was difficult and extremely expensive and there were many counterfeits. Most swords of the time were made from low carbon steel by means of pattern welding. A method where the central section of the blade was made from twisted rods of iron and pounded together forming a strong and pliable core, then a harder (but more brittle) edge was then welded to the core. Example of pattern forged sword.
When the quality and knowledge of iron smelting improved, in addition to purer and more regular sources of iron becoming more readily available, the method of pattern welding was discontinued.
Levick, Ben. "Anglo Saxon Weapons & Armour - Angelcynn Re-Enactment Society." Anglo Saxon Weapons & Armour - Angelcynn Re-Enactment Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. .
Carpini is also able to tell us the weaponry and armory of the Mongol army. Every soldier is given at least one good bow, multiple quivers full of arrows, and a single battle axe. The armor that the soldiers carry are made of iron and are layered on top of each other to create ...
The sword just so happened to be a magical one that was blessed by the giants that made
> In the introduction, Burton Raffel states, “The important > tools, in this poem, are weapons: proven swords and helmets > are handed down from father to son, like the vital > treasures they were. Swords have personalities, and names: > � (xi) > Beowulf uses Hrothgar’s helmet and armor to protect > him from serpents’ claws while he descends into the lake to > meet Grendel’s mother.
Leif Erikson’s grandfather, Thorvald Asvaldsson slaughtered a man in Jæren, Norway in 960 CE. This was the age of the Vikings, but Thorvald was still banished from the land (Mandia, n.d.). So he brought his ten year old son Erik, later to be named as Erik the Red because of his scarlet hair, to Drangar in northwestern Iceland on a farm with rather appalling soil (Where is Vinland?, n.d.).
The warrior in the Anglo-Saxon civilization had many duties to fulfill. He was obligated to respect and protect his lord as well as defend his lord's honor. The demonstration of personal valor was also very important in these times. Beowulf is "Higlac's Follower" and works to please his lord. He is afraid that "My lord Higlac / Might think less of me" (l 191-192) if he uses weapons in battle. Not only does Beowulf work to please his lord, but he also works to protect Hrothgar, the lord of the Danes. As the poem shows, when
Vikings originated from Scandinavia, They were well known as brutal raiders most of the time, but not always. Viking homes were mostly workshops because most of their houses have a certain job to do such as carving, quilting, cooking for trips, and storing food and a lot of other jobs that was held in the Viking houses. Most Vikings were farmers and believe it or not they were very hygienic for what they are made to do.
"So,” begins poem. “The Spear-Danes in days gone by/ and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness./ We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns” (1-3). What follows is a brief history lesson, the story of “Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,/ a ...
This changed when armies started to use longbows, as these weapons needed a lot more training and were much more powerful, despite this, archers still only had a dagger or home-made weapon to defend their selves with if an enemy got too close. Due to the power of the new longbows, archers need an extreme amount of training, almost starting from birth. In 1252 CE, a law called the “Assize of Arms” was pasted, meaning every man between 15 and 60 had own a bow and arrows, and had to train to be able to use them, so that the armies would have more soldiers with powerful weapons they could use. King Edward III took this further, making archers have to practice on Sundays and Holidays. When crossbows became more powerful than the longbows, there were many soldiers able to use them, as the crossbows required little to no training, unlike the
The Norse religion is the religion of the Norse people prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia. It may seem as though the religion’s influence has died out, but it still affects our culture today. The general mythology is well known, but the details, such as how the lore was passed down from generation to generation, is obscure.
...when other warriors got through by force or let through. It could be swung around in wide sweeping strokes and clear a radius of six feet. A warrior in good armor would be slain quickly. A disadvantage of the broad-axe is that the warrior can’t use a shield to defend himself and it demands the wielder to stay in motion the entire time. A common disadvantage to all axes is “short cutting edges make it impossible to cut through both shield and man” in a single blow (Haywood 62). The axe was able to do more than just thrust and slash like the sword. Both axes can be used in taking down an enemy’s shield with the ‘beard’ of the axe and pulling their leg to make them off balanced or even to fall down for an easy kill. The Vikings could raid and battle each other in small numbers for little treasure. The Vikings need to go west in England to find the wealth they craved.
scientific experiments (Go welding: history of welding 1). Conventional welding is most easily explained as arc welding processes. Some arc welding processes are TIG welding, Stick Welding(SMAW), and MIG welding. TIG stands for Tungsten Inert Gas welding this means that using tungsten as a electrode and an inert gas, which is usually argon, the weld is produced by creating an arc between the piece being welded and the tungsten electrode. SMAW or stick welding utilizes a stick electrode held in a clamp surrounded by a powdered substance to weld. Mig welding uses a machine that holds a wire feeder within it, the wire feeder feeds the wire electrode through a tube to a gun that slowly sends out the wire as well as a steady flow of inert gas. These and other processes classified as conventional welding processes are the best processes for welding jobs because they are more cost effective, more...
The Anglo-Saxon culture ran on the outline of the heroic code. The warrior pledged allegiance to his lord in exchange for protection (“Beowulf” 38). Through acts of strength and bravery in battle, the warrior rose in levels of nobility and received rewards from his lord for his bravery (“Beowulf” 38). Hrothgar, king of the Danes and lord of the Scyldings, builds a mead hall, Heorot, to honor his warriors and give gifts to them (Beowulf 67-73). A savage demon named Grendel attacks the great hall and kills thirty of Hrothgar’s men (Beowulf 122). Beowulf, a young Geat warrior, leaves his homeland to aid King Hrothgar in purging the Danes of Grendel. Beowulf’s act of allegiance extends past the kingdom of his homeland by ‘rescuing’ the Danish people. His actions not only illustrate courage but the principle of allegiance to his family and himself. Upon arriving on the Danish shore, Beowulf states, “We belong by birth to the Geat people / and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac. / I come to proffer / my wholehearted help and counsel” (Beowulf 260-1, 277-8). Beowulf declares his allegiance to his lord and is willing to come to the Danes’ aid. Hrothgar knows that Beowulf is only in Denmark to “follow up a...
Welding was invented in the 1900s but lets go back a little to middle age that was when blacksmithing was the best method to use before welding. Now Edmund Davy of England was the one who discovered acetylene in 1836. Some of the others inventors were Auguste De Meritens who worked on how heating of an arc can join two pieces of metal, C.L. Coffin was one one who created a welding process with an electrode. There was other people that helped make welding more efficient. As the years past by welding was getting...
During the middle ages welding was very common. Early Egyptians learned the art of welding. Several of their tools were made by welding. A set of specialized workmen called blacksmiths created tools by melting the metal, then hammering them together. This method did not change much until the dawn of the 19th century which held major breakthroughs in welding. An open flame (acetylene) was very important to the history of welding. It allowed manufactures to make metal tools and equipment. In 1836 a man named Edmund Davy discovered acetylene which was soon utilized in the welding industries. Coated metal electrodes were first introduced in the 1900s. A coating of lime covered the electrode and made the weld much more stable. A number of other welding processes were also invented, such as seam welding, spot welding, flash butt welding, and projection welding. Stick welding also became popular around this time too. In the 1920s automatic welding was first introduced by P.O. Nobel. Automatic welding integrated the use of arc voltage and bare wire. It was mainly used for fixing old, molding metals. Several types of electrodes were also developed during this decade. A new type of welding was developed in the 1940s by Meredith. This became known as Heliarc Welding. Gas shielded arc welding or GTAW was another significant milestone in the welding history. Several advancements in the welding field were made in the 1960s. Dual shield, inner shield, and electro slag were some of the more important kinds developed. Plasma arc was also invented and was mainly used for metal spraying. Even now more techniques are being made. For example, laser welding was developed by the Russians and is being used more and more every day (“Welcome to