Viking Weapons

The Vikings were considered to be one of the most fearsome warrior races of their time and indeed in history as a whole - they discovered and conquered countries all over the world, often in relatively small numbers.

In the early days of the Vikings their fighters would fight as foot soldiers - they often brought horses with them on their travels but used them as transport rather than as a fighting aid. The weapons that the Vikings typically used included:

The spear - this was the most commonly used Viking weapon.
The sword - swords tended to be carried by more senior soldiers.
The axe - could be used instead of a spear.
The shield - wooden shields were used for protection.
The bow - bows and arrows were occasionally used but were not generally favoured by the Vikings.

Every free Viking was expected to own their own weaponry and provide weapons for men under their command if necessary. Vikings viewed their weapons as precious status symbols and they would often be intricately and expensively decorated. Owning a sword was a big deal for a Viking as they were expensive to manufacture compared to more standard weapons such as the spear. For this reason looting the weapons of fallen enemies was commonplace.