Viking Combat?

Coming right up SwordMaster Ramstein

www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_sword_technique.htm

Now keep in mind the Vikings primary weapon was the Longship. The Longship was a Keeled vessel that means it had a spine running down the center line in the water for stability. That means it could sail the Atlantic (at great risk). It also had a shallow draft bottom so it could enter shallow waters, bays, rivers. It had oars and sails. Its small, shallow draft means it could be carried across land between rivers. This was their primary weapon that allow for quick raids. Their primary target were civilians which they sold as slaves to the Arabs. The also raided monasteries for relics which they sold back. Kidnap and Ransom was also very profitable. So the raiding and trading went hand in hand. They raided half the time and traded those raided goods the other half of the time.

The Viking raids were a direct result overpopulation in Scandinavia. All Scandinavian men were trained in combat. This is unlike Christian Europe in which 90% of the population were peasants. The rest were Nobility who fought and Clergy that prayed. The Vikings were typically low class Scandinavians who usually attacked low class Christian peasants. The European peasants could not defend themselves and the nobility where not enough to defend them. The response of the Nobility in Western Frankia (France), was to build castles to defend themselves. These castles led to individuals gaining power and did not allow France to unite until much later. In East Frankia (Germany) the Viking raids were less, so no castles were built. This allowed Otto I to create the Holly Roman Empire.

The link I posted above shows some fighting tactics with sword and shield. However the handaxe was a more common weapon. It should not change things much, I believe it was used in much the same way. It was just slower. Thrusts could still be made with the corner tip, and the back of the head could be used as a hammer. The handaxe had the added advantage of hooking. My practice has shown that an axe can also be harder to use because it requies near perfect edge allignment or it will roll in your hand on immpact and you will hit with the flat. However, I think that is just a matter of more training.

I think that SCA fighting with sword and shield most closely resembles what Viking fighting would have been like. They were lightly armored so any hit was a good hit. No need to focus on half-sword and the like to find openings in the armor. The principal concern is getting around that big shield.

lol, you can use what ever shield you want or no shield. (still laughing here)

There is a tradeoff between defence and offence. The bigger your shield, sure your are better covered, but your own striking options are also more limited and so is your blindspot. The better fighters will attack you out of your own blindspot. The Trend in the North east cost is smaller heaters.

I have seen a lot of round sheilds too. The problem with them is they open you up to diagonal attacks which are easier. They come more naturaly. A shield with corners forces the opponent to make horizontal attacks accross the top. This is harder, they have to raise the elbow as they swing.

Everything as pro's and con's it how you manage them that makes the difference between live and dead.

Tsafa,

That is a great resource. I downloaded all the videos and bookmarked the site for future reference. These should be really good reading while I'm at work. ;D

Many thanks for posting it.

Rammstein, the BERSERKERS were viking blood. After ingesting a load of Fly agaric mushrooms or some hallucenogenic, they would run into battle in a sort of mushroom-madness slaying and trippin' out as they went. They were all dressed in animal skins as well. Scary stuff.

Kind of like angry smurfs with high blood pressure ! Only much bigger. ;D ;D

No seriously, here is a link.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserker_%28viking%29

Tsafa, I apologize but all I can find right now is the source where I got the picture from . I'll keep searching and get back to you as soon as possible

www.thearma.org/Manuals/Gladiatoria/Gladiatorie_part6.htm

Thereare severa; thingsthat I need to comment on. First, Viking ships were not weapons, merely a form of transportation, much as a horse might be. In fact it is well recorded that often a raid would land, grab available horses and attack inland..
Although there are not a lot of Viking shield emnants, there are enough for us to know that they ranged in size from 24 to 36 inches, most were round, although square ones are known, and the so called "Norman" shield was used soemwhat later. (by the way, that shield seems to have originated in thbe East and not in Europe) Axe handles were often oval in shape so as to prevent twisting, and since the Danish axe was very light, rarely over two pounds and about the thickness of a machete,they could be used quite effectively. There are many axes mentioned in the Sagas that we really don't know for sure what they looked like.
Regardless of what the Wikipedia says, there is no direct evidence that Berserkers used any form of drugs to attain their state. It seems more of a con job that anything else, although I feel sure that there were a very who went nuts in combat. But look how easy many of them were killed in battle. Also look at the guys who were not known as berserks who went wild in the midst of battle, Thorolf, Egils's brother is a good example.
As for the shield, many of them were quite light, and only a very few have been found with a forearm strap. What happens too often in the SCA is that they get the idea that everythign should be evenly matched, and you have rules against kicking, etc. I'veeat luck using a round shield, both with a forearm strap and without. Of course in the early years they ruled against me hitting sokeone in the helmet with the edge of my shield, or kicking him in the shield as I chopped at his neck..... Funny thing is that I never injured anyone, nor was I every hurt myself. With some practise you should be able to control both your sword and shield. Hank Reinhardt

Yes I agree. I am sorry if I gave the impression that Vikings actually attacked from inside their ships. I refered to the Longship as a weapon in the same context that modern Marines might refer to their landingcraft as weapons. I only wanted to stress how important the Longship was to Viking lifestyle. Without the longship, none of their raiding and trading activities would have ever happened. Other Northern Europeans at the time did not have such technology. When the Vikings attempted to to raid one of the harbors of Al Andalusia (Muslim occupied Spain),the Vikings suffered bitter defeats. I forget which Spanish harbor it was, but Mediterranean countries at the time retained their naval technologies from Roman times and could stop the Vikings at sea. The Byzantines further improved their Naval weapons with "Greek Fire", an early form of Napalm that was sprayed onto enemy ships. The successfully fought off turks at sea using this.

I also agree with you Hank that it would be nice if the SCA allowed more contact, allowed low leg hits and the use of some additional weapons like flails (with safety modifications). However, it is also my opinion that there is not great loss. Cheep tricks, like kicks, bull charges, using weapon that wraps around the shield can only be used once in a while when your opponent does not expect it. I would like to have those options available, non the less. SCA combat is still the most realistic of anything I have done. Livesteel / WMA is too limiting in its power and restricts headshots. Some groups restrict even body shots and only allow you to aim your weapon into the other persons weapon. I find livesteel a good way to drill certain advanced techniques. I have found that if you train to only fight at low power and speed, when you try to go fullpower and fullspeed, your form completely comes apart. The shields start opening up and the sword arm starts drifting out, you start tripping over your own legs, etc... The body is defenseless.

I know I don't need to tell you anything about SCA Hank, you can probably run circles around me, I'm just putting my thoughts out there for other people who might be interested in trying out SCA rattan fighting.

Interesting you mentioned Ireland Clyde. From what I recall the Vikings had a particularly hard time with Central Ireland. Two key problems the vikings encountered was they were not able to use their Longboats inland effectively. I am guessing Ireland does not have many rivers that go inland??? Not sure about the landscape, but that was a reason given. Other reason Ireland was able to offer more stiff resistance inland from what I recall was that peasants still trained as warriors within their clans. Peasants were able to mount gorilla tactics to counter the vikings. Again this echos back to the situation in the rest of Christian Europe were 90% of the people only worked the land and had no military training. Thats is all I have come across, with regard to Viking incursions into Ireland. If anyone has further details please post.

There are many books, mostly historical fiction books, but they have to know what they are talking about.
Morgan Lywellan is one and she writes allot on Irish history.
But this also come from the history channel and from TLC that they way the Viking Longboats were designed to not only manage the seas, but shallow enough to go up into shallow rivers and designed to be very silent in the rivers.
They came upon a many un-suspecting villages this way, not only in Ireland but also old Englan. ie. Mercia, Britannia, etc.