Less Known Weapons of the Vikings

The Vikings were famous for their savage battles and consecutive success. In their raiding battles, the Vikings carried with themselves many powerful and deadly weapons such as axes, spears, swords. However, there were some other weapons of the Vikings which people may not know about. In this blog post, we are going to discuss the other less known weapons of the Vikings.

The Atgeir

In those days, the Vikings used a type of weapon known as the atgeir. The design of this weapon was the combination between the spear and the battle axe. The English name for the Atgeir might be the halberd.

The most famous tale about the atgeir was associated with a skilled Viking warrior. His name was Gunnar Hamundarson. In the surviving materials, Gunnar was nearly invincible in combat. He was powerful and could jump his own height with full armor in the body, back and front. And his choice of weapon was the atgeir which he brought with himself into many raids and combats.

Regarding the design of the atgeir, it was a long and long-shafted weapon. This weapon was as mighty as the Viking axe and could thrust the enemies in the long distance like the Viking spears. It was nothing but a perfect combination of Viking axe and spear! The atgeir was used not only to thrust and cut but it could also help its users to climb through the high fort.

Seax

Seax was actually a little knife of the Vikings. Nearly any Viking warrior carried a little seax in their belt. Yes, it was literally little just like a kitchen knife. Often, it was one-edged blade. This may have prevented Viking seax from dealing a dealy blow to the enemies. The small size of it was seen as an advantage because it could be easily hidden behind the shield. Or it could be drawn out to finish the fight.

Viking seax

 However, the Viking warriors commonly did not want to slay their enemy with their knife. The last resort of the Vikings was still the sword or axe. Because the Viking believed this would sentence him as a murderer and he did not deserve to reside with the gods.

Javelin

The javelin was mostly used as a missile weapon by the Viking warriors. Each Viking warrior would join the battle with two or three javelins within their hands. The design and the use of the javelin were not so much different from those of the spears. Thereby, a javelin could also be known as a light spear. But it was usually known as a throwing weapon.

Hail of javelin