Hank Reinhardt's The Book of the Sword (16 page)

To discuss and understand the use of the sword and combat in the Viking period (from circa 793 AD to 1066 AD), three things must be abandoned. One is all thoughts of modern fencing. Another is all forms of swordplay as depicted in movies and books, and the third is the modern concept of "fair play."

Modern fencing is a sport that was originally developed to teach the use of the rapier and small sword. Although schools of fence (from "offence" and "defense") had been around since at least the 1300s, these had dealt with many types of weapons and many combinations of weapons. In the early 16th century with the introduction throughout Europe of the rapier, greater and greater emphasis was being placed on dueling between gentlemen, the rapier being just about useless for war. As dueling continued to gain in popularity it became quite necessary for gentlemen to learn to use the rapier and, later on, the small sword. Fencing was not only a skill for self-preservation, but became a social requirement, as much as the ability to dance. With the advent of the gun beginning to replace the sword in the 18th century, skill with a sword was no longer necessary, but it remains to the present day as a sport.

Two variations of the rapier developed: the foil and the epee. Both of these "weapons" are extremely light in weight and have nothing to do with the Viking or medieval sword. The third aspect of fencing is the saber. Another weapon that is extremely light, and is based on saber play as if you were on a horse! In other words, leg cuts are not allowed. Fencing is a sport, with its origins in dueling with two types of swords. But it is a sport and has nothing to do with fighting.

Movies, and most of the books where swordplay is an important part, have obviously been written from the standpoint that all swordplay is ultimately fencing. This gives us such wonderfully wacky scenes as a twelfth-century Robin Hood fighting up and down stairs with the Sheriff of Nottingham and using all of the approved moves of the nineteeth-century fencing saber. Or men armed with sword and shield fighting with right foot forward, shield in the left hand, and doing all of their parrying with the sword blade. About the only thing I have seen that is sillier is long, thin rapiers being used as if they were cutting swords!

Abandoning all thoughts of fair play when it comes to fighting with swords is one thing that is sure to cause a stir. All of the knightly virtues, all of the tales of chivalry are bound up in the concept of fair play. If there is one national characteristic that Americans have, it is the concept of fair play and pulling for the underdog. This is true in our movies, books, sporting events, and all of our fables. It just isn't true in real life. If it were true, then one heroic cop would call out the bank robber and the two would meet in the street in the classic shootout. (Of course the cop would give the bad guy a chance to go for his gun first.) But that isn't what happens. Instead they call out the SWAT team, and ten to twelve heavily armed officers try to capture the felon, or if necessary kill him, with as little a risk to themselves as possible. Is this fair? Certainly not, but it does get the job done.

I bring up the "fairness" issue so that you will not be shocked as you read many of the incidents from various sagas. Sometimes the good guys outnumber the bad guys, and sometimes it's vice versa.

It is also important, gentle reader, that you understand that this was not a sport, nor a game, but a deadly serious affair, in which people died. It was as real then as a murder is today.

For instance, there was a fight in
Njal's Saga
involving an ambush. Sigmund and Skjold set out to kill Thord when he was on his way from the Allthing (a popular time for ambushes, either going to or from that meeting). Sigmund rode up to him and said, "Get ready, for it's now time for you to die." "Certainly not," said Thord. "Come and fight in single combat." "Certainly not," said Sigmund. "We shall make full use of our advantage in numbers." They attacked, and Thord managed to shatter both their spears. They fought on and Skjold hacked off Thord's arm. Thord still continued to fight for a short time until Sigmund ran him through and he fell dead. (Such a nice group of people.)

It is not possible to say for certain how the weapons were used in the past. It will always be a matter of speculation until such time as someone invents a time machine. Then we can go back and watch, but until then we have to rely on our ability to study, interpret and experiment. Given this, I think it is possible to come up with some pretty good ideas of the actual use of the sword and axe during this period.

As mentioned before, some of the richest written sources for studying the use of weapons are the Viking sagas. Some of them are believed to be fictional romances designed to entertain, some are believed to be relatively accurate accounts of real people. One thing that is absent from most of them is the hyperbole of many of the medieval romances. Instead the sagas are told in a laconic, matter-of-fact style. Sometimes detail is lacking, but this is understandable. The stories were being told to people who were familiar with what was involved, and did not need the detail.

Let me clarify this. If a group of boxers and boxing enthusiasts are talking about a fight, they will not go into details. "Thompson was using his left really well, kept sticking it in Hammond's face and really stinging him. But in the ninth Hammond caught him with an uppercut to the chest that bounced him off the ropes and back into an overhand right that put him away. But hell, he was out when he hit the ropes."

What they do not give is the detail of the blows. One is dancing and throwing left jabs on a steady basis. They do not mention that the uppercut consisted of slipping the feet into position, dropping the shoulder, and driving in and up with both hip and shoulder. In short, these people already know how it's done.

For instance, in
Njal's Saga
, a number of weapons are mentioned when Skarp-Hedin and his two brothers set out to avenge themselves on the writers of some lampooning verses made and sung in public, Sigmund and Skjold (the ambushers of Thord). But specifics about the weapons are left out, and while this fight is fairly detailed, even the killing blow placement is left out. Skarp-Hedin told Sigmund to gather up his weapons and waited while Sigmund armed himself. Skjold turned to face Grim and Helgi. Grim sliced off Skjold's foot at the ankle and then Helgi killed Skjold with a sword thrust. Skarp-Hedin and Sigmund fought one-on-one. Sigmund was wearing a helmet and shield, with a sword in his belt and a spear in his hand. He thrust at Skarp-Hedin with the spear. Skarp-Hedin blocked the blow with his shield then severed the spear shaft with his axe and cut directly at Sigmund. The blow struck Sigmund's shield and split it down past the handle. Sigmund drew his sword and hacked at Skarp-Hedin. The sword pierced the shield and stuck there. Skarp-Hedin twisted the shield sharply so that Sigmund let go of the sword. Skarp-Hedin struck him again; this time the axe caught Sigmund on the shoulder and cut into the shoulder blade. Skarp-Hedin jerked the axe toward himself and Sigmund fell forward to both knees, but he jumped to his feet again. Skarp-Hedin hacked once at his helmet and killed him with the next blow.

But before I analyze the use of these offensive weapons, let's take a look at the armor and defenses that were generally available at this time.

The most important and prevalent body protection was mail. Mail was very expensive. It is very difficult to translate modern dollars into Viking or medieval purchasing power, but let us say that only the very wealthy could afford it: chieftains, kings, jarls, or very successful pirates. As time passed, mail became more and more available, but it was well into the Middle Ages before mail became common for the average soldier.

Drawing of international pattern of mail.

Mail is composed of wire formed into circles, and then linked together. The most common pattern, known as the "international pattern," is used all over the world. This pattern consists of one link being joined to four others, two above and two below. This pattern lies flat and is very flexible. Each individual link is flattened on one end with a hole punched in the end. Once linked, they are then riveted together. This is known as riveted mail. Some mail, which was rare in Europe, did not have the ends riveted, but was merely butted together. Curiously enough, this is known as "butted" mail. In slightly later periods the mail was composed of a ring stamped out of sheet metal, and then joined with a riveted ring. This was still known as riveted mail.

Butted mail. Inset shows detail.HRC356.

Riveted mail. HRC355.

Shirt length varied a great deal. Some were thigh length with long sleeves, called a hauberk, others were waist length, with long or short sleeves, called a habergeon in the Middle Ages, or a byrnie by the Vikings. Later, during the early medieval period, the legs were also protected with pants of mail or flat sections of mail that were tied around the legs.

Antique mail shirt. HRC356.