The A to Z of the Vikings 32. This book provides a comprehensive work of reference for people interested in the Vikings, including entries on the main historical figures involved in this dramatic period, important battles and treaties, significant archaeological finds, and key works and sources of information on the period. It also summarizes the impact the Vikings had on the areas where they traveled and settled. There is a chronological table, detailed and annotated bibliographies for different themes and geographical locations, and an introduction discussing the major events and developments of the Viking age | 288 WEAPONS AND ARMOR A further rare find from Gjermundbu is one of the most complete chain-mail shirts yet found and although there are indications that mail was worn by kings and the wealthiest warriors leather jerkins were probably worn as protection by most Viking warriors. Shields were circular up to a meter in diameter wooden often edged with iron or leather and had a raised iron boss in their center behind which was the hand-grip. Literature some archaeological finds normally only the shield boss survives due to problems with the preservation of wood and stone sculpture suggest that shields were painted and decorated. For example the shields found in the Gokstad ship burial were painted in alternating yellow and black segments and there is a subgenre of skaldic poetry known as shield poems that describes scenes painted on shields see Bragi . Spears could be thrown or thrust at an enemy and had wooden ash shafts measuring 2-3 meters in length that were tipped with iron blades. These iron spearheads are generally all that survive in pagan Scandinavian burials as the wood has normally perished. In Norse mythology Odin s weapon was the spear and throwing a spear over enemy warriors was said to dedicate them to Odin or in other words bring about their death in battle. The ax might be a simple hand ax which could be used as a tool in woodworking or a more elaborate broadax with a crescent-shaped blade like those said to have been used in the Battle of Hastings 1066 by Harold Godwinsson s housecarls. According to Snorri Sturluson s Prose Edda axes were often named after she-trolls. Axes are found more often than any other weapon in Norwegian Viking-Age graves. Swords were also given names although these were generally rather poetic and encapsulated the qualities of a good sword such as Magnus Bare-Foot s sword Legbiter. Most Viking swords had double-edged blades and during the early Viking Age were pattern-welded later swords were more commonly inlaid with symbols
