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What weapons and armour did the Vikings have?

Viking warriors fought using鈥long swords鈥痑苍诲鈥axes. A good sword was handed down from father to son, but Vikings also鈥buried鈥痺eapons with their owner when he died.

An Anglo-Saxon warrior fights a Viking warrior in armed combat.

Vikings did not wear much armour. Some chieftains鈥痺ore鈥mail coats, made of thousands of metal rings but most relied on a round 飞辞辞诲别苍鈥痵丑颈别濒诲鈥痜or protection since these were very expensive.

A Viking cross, showing god of war Odin with a raven and spear.
Image caption,
A Viking cross, showing god of war Odin with a raven and spear.

Some Viking warriors went into battle wearing wolf or bear skins. These warriors were called 鈥榖别谤蝉别谤办别谤蝉鈥 from Old Norse 鈥榖ear-shirt.鈥 Berserkers believed that Odin, the god of war, gave them superhuman powers and that they didn't need to wear battle armour for protection and they fought in a frenzy.

The Vikings, like the Anglo-Saxons, fought on foot (not horseback) and in battle formed a 鈥荣丑颈别濒诲-飞补濒濒鈥 where they locked together side-by-side, shields in front, and pushed their enemy back until they broke up.

There were no prisoners taken in these battles. Those who could not run fast enough were killed and their helmets, weapons and armour were stolen.

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How did the Vikings attack?

A Viking sword.

The Vikings did not send many ships on their first raids. They made鈥surprise attacks鈥痮n places like Lindisfarne in AD793.

There was no English navy to guard the coasts so it was easy for small groups of Vikings to land on a beach or sail up a river.

But it was not long before larger Viking armies attacked Britain in AD866 almost conquering the English.

A Viking sword.
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King Alfred and the Vikings

In AD892, over 300 Viking ships invaded Britain to fight King Alfred of Wessex. No one knows how big the Viking army was but if there were 20 men in each Viking ship, the army of AD892 numbered 6000!

That was a huge army for the time. Most Viking armies were smaller, perhaps 1000 to 2000 men.

Viking re-enactors battle in York.
Image caption,
A re-enactment of Viking battle in York.

King Alfred was prepared though, having fortified the towns and organised a large army drawn from his own warriors and the male population called up to do service.

One army stayed to guard the forts whilst the king shadowed the raiding ships, forcing them stay in their ships. Raids, ambushes and the occasional full battle went on for five years, until AD897.

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Long ships and dragon ships

Viking long ship.

The Vikings built fast 鈥榙谤补驳辞苍-蝉丑颈辫蝉鈥 and 鈥榣ong ships鈥 for鈥痳aiding鈥痑苍诲鈥痺ar.

They also had slower passenger and cargo ships called 鈥榢苍辞谤谤蝉鈥. They built smaller boats too, for fishing or short trips.

A ship carried everything needed at sea 鈥 drinking water, dried meat to eat, tools, weapons, and furs to keep warm.

The Oseberg longship in the Vikingskiphuset, Oslo.

Viking long ships could sail in鈥蝉丑补濒濒辞飞鈥痺补迟别谤 so they could travel up rivers as well as across the sea. In a raid, a ship could be hauled up on a beach. The Vikings could jump out and start fighting, and then make a quick getaway if they were chased.

In France, bridges along the River Seine were built to prevent them getting too far into France!

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The Battle of Maldon poem

A Viking leaps from his longship to run ashore to take part in a daring land raid.

In AD991, a Viking force landed off the Essex coast. There were perhaps several thousand of them and the local English earl, Britnoth, allowed them to land safely on the causeway to give battle. This was probably to prevent them sailing elsewhere and attacking defenceless people.

In the heat of battle, Britnoth was betrayed and all his men died fighting with him. A famous Anglo-Saxon poem called The Battle of Maldon celebrated Britnoth鈥檚 bravery and tells us something of the battle:

Then loosed they from their hands the file-hard lance.

The sharp-ground spears to fly

Bow were busied 鈥 buckler met point

Bitter was the battle-rush, warriors fell鈥

A Viking leaps from his longship to run ashore to take part in a daring land raid.
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What was the last Viking battle?

Two wooden Viking shields.
  • The Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 was the last major Viking battle in England.
  • It was between King Harald of Norway and Tostig and King Harold of England.
  • King Harold won the battle.
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Activites

Activity 1: Viking weapons

Click on the labels below to find out more about a Viking warrior鈥檚 weapons and armour.

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Activity 2: Viking long ships

Click on the labels below to find out more about the parts of the a Viking long ship.

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Activity 3: Viking battles

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Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

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