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Swedish spearheads and axehead, all richly inlaid. The axehead is of the earlier skeggox type. (Antivarisk-Topografiska Arkivet, Stockholm)

Viking spearheads found in various parts of Sweden. Second from the left is the broad-bladed hoggspjot type, possibly used in the fashion of the later pole-arms. (Antivarisk-Topografiska Arkivet, Stockholm).

and were sometimes beautifully decorated with silver inlay on blade and neck.

From the illustrations on the Bayeux tapestry it would appear that the broad axe had a haft about 1-2501 in length. The axe was held in the shield hand, that is behind the shield, if a spear was also carried, but freąuently a warrior would be armed with only axe and sword and if he carried a shield this was slung over his back on a long strap to leave both hands free. The axe was held with the left hand uppermost so that it was swung from the left shoulder to catch an opponent on his unshielded side. There was little dcfence against the broad axe’s immense power, and both attacker (who was unprotected when striking) and attacked relied mainly on agility to survive. It is interesting that only axemen were admitted to the bodyguard of Knut: the start of the tradition of axe-armed housecarls belonging to the English kings.

Spears were much as described under the Saxons, of both throwing and thrusting varieties: some of the later thrusting spears were richly inlaid with geometrical patterns in silver across the base of the blade. These were probably the hewing spear (Old Norse hoggspjot), not designed to be thrown at all, though this term may have been for yet another form of spear, a heavier, slashing staff weapon.

Viking shields were round, on average about 6ocm in diameter, with iron boss and sometimes iron edging. Unlike the Saxon round shields, they were always fiat, but otherwise construction was the same. The Norwcgians in Ireland often used the cone boss, either derived from the native Irish shields or because smiths were not available to produce the other type of boss at a reasonable price.

Most men carried a smali, single-edged knife at their belt, with a simple handle of wood or bonę. The Norwegians had a liking for the Saxon