Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The shield wall or skjaldborg was a main formation in which accomplished Viking warriors would create a line of interlocked shields and thrust spears at adversaries. Other notable tactics included the svinfylking "boar battle formation", in which warriors would create a wedge configuration and attempt to burst through the front line of nearby foes.
Shields were made out of wooden boards and held together by a rim of either leather or thin iron fittings. Shields also appears to have been covered in thin leather, preventing them from splintering. In addition to this, the weapons of their enemies sometimes became stuck in the shield, giving the Viking an opportunity to kill them. [63]
The shield-wall was commonly used in many parts of Northern Europe such as in England and Scandinavia.. A mention of "ſcild ƿeall" (shield-wall) in Beowulf. In the battles between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes in England, most of the Saxon army would have consisted of the inexperienced fyrd, a militia composed of free peasants.
Related to the wedge formation, it was used in Iron Age Scandinavia and later by the Vikings. [2] It was also used by Germanic peoples during the Germanic Iron Age and was known as the "Schweinskopf" or "Swine's Head". [3] Its invention was attributed to the god Odin. [3] [4] The apex was composed of a single file.
Evidence indicates that alder, willow, and poplar wood were the most common types; shields of maple, birch, ash, and oak have also been discovered. [91] The diameter of shields greatly varied, ranging from 0.3 to 0.92 m (1 to 3 ft), although most shields were between 0.46 to 0.66 m (1 ft 6 in to 2 ft 2 in) in diameter. [92]
The Anglo-Saxon peace treaty between Æthelred II of England and the vikings was established following the defeat of the English forces against a viking army at the Battle of Maldon (August 11, 991), after which viking invaders raided and tormented the regions of Kent, Hampshire and western Wessex for a period of four months. [1]
Skjöldr (Old Norse Skjǫldr, Icelandic Skjöldur, sometimes Anglicized as Skjold or Skiold, Latinized as Skioldus; Old English Scyld, Proto-Germanic *Skelduz ‘shield’) was among the first legendary Danish kings.
This page was last edited on 18 December 2023, at 20:45 (UTC).; Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply.