Thank you Thiu for the correction, it is always good to learn more! Culann, *grins* I also thank you for the information about *bowing*! From now on I will simply *Stare*. I wonder if it is okay to clap someone on the back? In reading (yes I spent some time yesterday at one of the wonderful libraries we have) and found some material on weapons. I believe Culann remarked on the cost, let alone the time to make, chain mail and at least my information suggestions similar problems with weapons.

It was interesting to discover that laws of the late Viking period show that all free men were expected to own weapons and magnates were expected to provide them for their men.Perhaps Thiu can expand on the laws or correct me if my research is off? The main offensive weapons were the spear, sword and battle-axe, although bows and arrows and other missiles were also used. Since weapons were also a symbol of their owners' status and wealth they were often decorated with inlays, twisted wire and other adornments in silver, copper and bronze.

The spear was the commonest weapon with an iron blade on a wooden shaft, often of ash and 2 to 3 m in length. It was used for both thrusting and throwing. The blades varied in shape from broad leaf shapes to long spikes. Skilled spearsmen 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.

Swords, like chain mail, were very costly to make and a sign of high status. The blades were usually double-edged and up to 90 cm or a little over in length.However, early single-edged sabres are also known. They were worn in leather-bound wooden scabbards. "Early blades were pattern-welded, a technique in which strips of wrought iron and mild steel were twisted and forged together, with the addition of a hardened edge. Later blades of homogeneous steel, imported probably from the Rhineland, bore inlaid makers' marks and inscriptions, such as INGELRII or ULFBERHT." Viking craftsmen often added their own elaborately decorated hilts, and many swords were given names, such as Leg-biter and Gold-hilt.

The famed battle-ax of the Vikings were often used in open-combat, in place of swords. "The double-handed broad axe is a late development, typical of the late 10th and 11th centuries. But as the owner could not hold a shield at the same time, he would take cover behind the front line of warriors, rushing out at the right moment to hew down the enemy."


Rohan. Michael Scott
Scott. Alan J.
(foreword Magnus Magnusson)
The Hammer and the Cross
The Conversion of the Vikings
Alder Publishing
1980

Simpson. Jaqueline
Every Day Life in the Viking Age
Dorset Press
1987
0 88029 146 X 1

Wahlgren. Erik
The Vikings and America
Thames & Hudson
1986
Lib. Of
Cgress Cat
Crd No.
85-51467