Weapons & Shields, Iceland National Museum ~ Reykjavik, Iceland
Weapons and Shields
Axes, spears and shields are often found in pagan graves and were common weaponry for the time. Swords are a rarer find, perhaps because they were often stolen by grave robbers.
1. Axes. Some are found in graves. The two largest axes are battle axes from the second half of the 10th century. One (a) was found in the cemetery in Hábær in Þykkvabær that earlier was a heathen graveyard. The other (b) was found by Kálfafell in Fljótshverfi.
2. Sword from the late Viking Age (c) is from a cluster of graves in the southwest. The second sword (d) was found in the east of Iceland in the late 19th century.
3. Swords from the late Viking Age. The largest (e) is from a grave in South Iceland.
4. Spear heads of various types, most of them found in graves. one (c) had a silver encrusted socket.
5. Shield boss from a male grave. The shield had been laid over the head of the dead man, as was customary. Shields were circular, made of thin sheets of wood, the edges reinforced with strips of iron. At the center was a large hole, with a handle fixed across it. The boss of the shield covered the hole, protecting the hand.
Trade and Battle
The Icelanders were mostly farmers rather than Vikings, although they maintained certain Viking customs. They traded, and the men were armed.
The journeys made by Scandinavians had a threefold purpose: to trade, to raid and to settle. When they sailed to Iceland, they could only have had settlement in mind, as the country was uninhabited.
Icelanders have traded with each other from the earliest times. Farmers who lived by the sea bartered dried fish for butter, tallow or wool from inland farmers. When they sailed abroad to trade, they mainly headed for Norway.
Feuds arose between individuals or whole families, often over property or matters of the heart. Such disputes often led to armed conflict. Fighting was always carried out at close quarters, hand-to-hand, never on horseback. Women were prohibited by law from bearing arms.
Weapons & Shields, Iceland National Museum ~ Reykjavik, Iceland
Weapons and Shields
Axes, spears and shields are often found in pagan graves and were common weaponry for the time. Swords are a rarer find, perhaps because they were often stolen by grave robbers.
1. Axes. Some are found in graves. The two largest axes are battle axes from the second half of the 10th century. One (a) was found in the cemetery in Hábær in Þykkvabær that earlier was a heathen graveyard. The other (b) was found by Kálfafell in Fljótshverfi.
2. Sword from the late Viking Age (c) is from a cluster of graves in the southwest. The second sword (d) was found in the east of Iceland in the late 19th century.
3. Swords from the late Viking Age. The largest (e) is from a grave in South Iceland.
4. Spear heads of various types, most of them found in graves. one (c) had a silver encrusted socket.
5. Shield boss from a male grave. The shield had been laid over the head of the dead man, as was customary. Shields were circular, made of thin sheets of wood, the edges reinforced with strips of iron. At the center was a large hole, with a handle fixed across it. The boss of the shield covered the hole, protecting the hand.
Trade and Battle
The Icelanders were mostly farmers rather than Vikings, although they maintained certain Viking customs. They traded, and the men were armed.
The journeys made by Scandinavians had a threefold purpose: to trade, to raid and to settle. When they sailed to Iceland, they could only have had settlement in mind, as the country was uninhabited.
Icelanders have traded with each other from the earliest times. Farmers who lived by the sea bartered dried fish for butter, tallow or wool from inland farmers. When they sailed abroad to trade, they mainly headed for Norway.
Feuds arose between individuals or whole families, often over property or matters of the heart. Such disputes often led to armed conflict. Fighting was always carried out at close quarters, hand-to-hand, never on horseback. Women were prohibited by law from bearing arms.