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The spear heads could measure between twenty and sixty centimetres with a tendency towards longer heads in the later Viking Age. [2] Spear heads with wings are called krókspjót (hooked spear) in the sagas. Some larger-headed spears were called höggspjót (chopping spear) and could also be used for cutting. The barbed throwing spears were ...
The references from saga literature are not relevant to the Viking Age but come from Iceland of the thirteenth century and later. Originally it meant 'most spear-like spear' i.e. best spear, and can refer to a light or a heavy weapon. [4] Arguably the most famous atgeir was Gunnar Hámundarson's, as described in Njal's Saga.
The krókspjót was a barbed spear, literally "hooked spear", from Old Norse krókr, "hook, anything crooked", [1] and spjót, [1] "spear" (cf. höggspjót, above). The krókspjót resembled a regular spear, except that it had two lugs or "wings" attached at the bottom of the spearhead, somewhat like a boar-spear. Additional hook-spear types ...
Near the sword was a small knife made of iron and a whetstone. Two spearheads, the larger appearing to be the remains of a spear thrust into the grave and the smaller appearing to be from a spear that was thrown in. Additionally, 25 arrowheads of the Wegraeus Type D1, were all that remained of arrows and quiver.
The vast majority of runestones date to the Viking Age. There is only a handful Elder Futhark (pre-Viking-Age) runestones (about eight, counting the transitional specimens created just around the beginning of the Viking Age). Årstad Stone (390–590 AD) Einang stone (4th century) Tune Runestone (250–400 AD) Kylver Stone (5th century)
The most common weapon in the Viking arsenal was the spear. They were inexpensive and effective weapons, and could also be used when hunting. In the late Roman Iron Age (ending c. 500 CE), the Norse were reputed for their preference of and prowess with the light spear. The wooden shaft of the Viking spear was between two and three meters long.
Generally, the head bore an axe head or hammer head mounted on ash or other hard-wood shafts from 4–6 ft in length, with a spike, hammer, or fluke on the reverse. [4] In addition, there was a spike or spear head projecting from the end of the haft which was often square in cross section, sometimes referred to as the "dague dessous". [4]
They carry a spear (framea is their name for it), with a narrow and short head, but so sharp and easy to wield that the same weapon serves, according to circumstances, for close or distant conflict. As for the horse-soldier, he is satisfied with a shield and spear; the foot-soldiers also scatter showers of missiles each man having several and ...