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/* References */
{{Stars2|Category = Weapons}} {{Spears}}
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If one ignores Oakeshott’s [OAKESHOTT 1960] rather short and glib analysis of spears in his seminal work ‘The Archaeology of Weapons’ then you quickly realise that spears follow fashion changes by time and region in much the same way as swords. Although not as glamorous as the sword, the spear was in every sense the definitive weapon of the Viking Age and used as the primary weapon of combat by almost every warrior. Decorated spearheads inlaid with precious metals prove that in the Viking Age spears were not seen as the poor man’s choice and one has only to look at the representations of warriors from the illuminated manuscripts of the era to quickly come to the conclusion that the use of the spear was ubiquitous. Many of the Anglo-Saxon phrases used to describe both battle and warrior help to underline the importance of the spear.<br>
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Numerous Anglo-Saxon and Carolingian sources depict the use of the spear being used one handed in an overarm style.<br>
|Literature =
* Caedmon, æsc-plega, “Spear-bearer” is applied to a soldier. [HEWITT 19961855: P.28]* History of Judith, æsc-plega, “play of spears” used as a term for battle [HEWITT 19961855: P.28]* Codex Extoniensis, æsc-stede, “a field of battle” [HEWITT 19961855: P.28]* Beowolf, Eald æsc-wiga, “some old spear warrior” [HEWITT 19961855: P.28]
|Archaeology
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* England. So far I have identified 45 spearhead finds from England. 20 are of type K/M or M. 7 others are of winged form.
* Wales. 2 finds [REDKNAP 2000:p.53-54]
* Iceland. 81 spearheads have been found dating from the Viking Age. They have been found in 56 graves and 22 spearheads have been registered as stray finds. 40 spearheads belong to type K, 3 to type G, 2 to type H, 3 to type I and 1 to type E. The remainder are probably of local manufacture and do not sit easily within Petersen’s typology.[ANDROSHCHUK and & TRAUSTADOTTIR 2004]
|Discussion =
Most spearhead finds dated from 800AD to 1100AD in Britain are single discoveries often from rivers and are dated by their form against Petersen’s typology. <br>
We do however have a few graves in Scotland, the Isle of Man and northern England. Unfortunately most of these were excavated in the 19th Century with only basic notes about the burials being recorded. To make things even worse many of the spearheads from this era have ended up in private collections or have become ‘lost’. Haakon Shetelig [BJORN & SHETELIG 1940] has helped us here by compiling a series of books of Viking Age finds from England and Scotland. These books list all of the known finds up to 1940 including some that are now lost.<br>
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Two settlements from Europe can be used to help corroborate Petersen’s typological dating, Iceland and the town of Birka in Sweden. Both have clear datable horizons that help us to place spearheads into clearly dated periods. <br>
Iceland was probably settled c.874AD and out of the 81 spearheads dated to the Viking Age from Iceland only one falls into Thalin’s group 1. All of the others are from his groups 2 and 3 (K x40, G x3, H x2, I x2, E x1, Unclassified x33) [ANDROSHCHUK and & TRAUSTADOTTIR 2004: P.6]. <br>
The settlement at Birka came to an end around c.960AD. No spearheads of K/M or M types were found there, which would help confirm a late dating for these sometimes decorated spearheads. [FUGLESANG 1980: P.33] <br>
Both of these settlement horizons help confirm Petersen’s original typological dating.<br>
==== Leaf shaped heads ====
'''Thålin Group 1'''<br>
Leaf shaped heads, Petersen types A(B), C(D1) and E, seem to go out of fashion by 950AD [PETERSEN 1919]. Other people have suggested that a few leaf shaped heads may have continued throughout the period [*Citation Needed].
==== Angular shaped heads with short sockets====
'''Thålin Group 2'''<br>
Group 2 consists of Petersen types D:2, G and H. They are all types with edge shoulders placed low on the blade and a short conical socket with marked narrowing below the blade.<br>
Fuglesang includes the winged spears of Petersens type D2 in with this group as he removed wings as a determinant of typology making Petersens D2 and G types the same. See the section on ‘Winged Spears’ for examples of D2 style spear heads.<br>
====Angular spearheads with long sockets ====
'''Thålin Group 3'''<br>
Group 3 consists of Petersen types F, I, K & M. They are all types with a narrow blade which is often shouldered and a socket that is long, narrow and conical.<br>
F – 30cm to 50-60cm, 50-60cm being typical.
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==Javelins or darts==
Javelins, sometimes referred to as ‘darts’, are small spears designed for throwing although it is likely that they were also used as thrusting weapons in the same manner as spears.<br>
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==Angons==
'''Petersen type ‘L’ spearheads'''<br>
[[File:R211.jpg|thumb|100x150px|left]]
A 3 foot long metal shaft with twin barbs mounted on a wooden shaft. <br>
A Frankish weapon used in a similar way to the Roman pilum and in fashion between the 5th to mid 8th century. It was designed to be thrown at the enemy’s shield. The iron shaft would hen bend and the weight of the angon would pull the enemy’s shield down. [THOMPSON 2004: p.52-53].<br>
A similar weapon is Petersen’s type L spear. The primary difference is that whereas the Angon was socketed, Petersen’s Norwegian spears were tanged. Two types are described. The earlier barbed form is more numerous and dated to the first half of the C9th. Petersen could only cite 2 examples of the later type which dates to the mid C10th. This form’s head is more triangular in shape and is not barbed. [PETERSEN 1919]<br>
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== Spearheads with attached wings or lugs==
Lugged spear-heads of this kind, sometimes referred to as the Carolingian type, are common from Viking contexts from the 9th century onwards, both in Scandinavia and England, but the most recent studies cautiously point out that it can no longer be regarded as exclusively Scandinavian in character.
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Though Petersen used the lugs as diagnostic features for his typology of spears, recent scholars have very properly challenged the notion that they serve as chronological or stylistic indicators. Because the lugs have a function in preventing too deep a penetration of the blade, this type of spear was used primarily as a hunting weapon, since with it the animal could be more easily held at bay. So successful was it that it survived in use until the end of the Middle Ages. That it was so employed is demonstrated by the 10th-century cross Middleton A, near Pickering, which depicts a stag hunt with the huntsman wielding a lugged spear. Signe Horn Fuglesang's [FUGLESANG 1980: P.136] discussion of such sockets has convincingly removed the lug as a typological factor, and as a chronological criterion too.
|Lang<br>[LANG 1981]
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The winged spear can be seen in a few of manuscripts illustrations and stone carvings.=== Types of winged spears === '''Standard Wings'''<br>
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== Spear butts ==
Also known as a shoe or ferrule. It appears that generally spear butts were not used during the Viking period. An exception to this is those found in Ireland.
{{Evidence|
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* Ireland, Kilmaniham-Islandbridge. [GRAHAM-CAMPBELL 1989:p.25]
|Discussion
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== Spear shafts ==
=== Woods used ===
|Archaeology=
* Dublin, 66% of the spearheads from Dublin had rivet holes with the hole size usually being between 2 to 3 mm in diameter [HALPIN 2008: p.134].
* Isle of Man, Balladoyne. A type K spearhead retained traces of a fine linen fabric that had been wrapped twice around the point of the wooden shaft [BJORN and & SHETELIG 1940: p.26].* Hedeby, Denmark (Germany). A type E spearhead found in the harbour complete with 1m of remaining ash shaft. The shaft is 25mm in diamter and slightly oval in cross section. The shaft is only held on by the 71mm of wood inserted into the spear socket. No rivets or other forms of attachment have been found. [WESTPHAL 2006: p.61]
|Discussion =
Riveting, pinning and gluing were probably the most common.
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==Using spears twoone-handed with a slung center gripped shield==[[File:Aberlemno.png|thumb|Aberlemo stone showing the use of two-handed spear and shield. c.700AD]]{{Guide1|4|Allowable}}{Evidence|
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==Using a spear two-handed with a slung shield==
{{Evidence|
|Art=
So far all the images of men using a spear two-handed with a slung shield show them against either animals, ships or castles.
* Scotland, Aberlemo stone. c.700-850. Depicts a warrior attacking a mounted warrior.
* France, Saint-Omer. c.1000-1025. Depicts a man hunting a boar. (New York, Pierpont Morgan, MS.333 fol.1)
* Germany. St Gallen?. c.1125-1150. Depicts a warrior attacking a ship. (St Gallen, Cod. Sang, 863)
* England, Canterbury. Stained glass window. c.1190. Depicts a warrior attacking a castle.
<gallery heights=200px mode="packed">
File:Scotland, Aberlemno II, Stone Carving.jpg|Aberlemno <br>c.700-850
File:New York, Pierpont Morgan 333. fol.51r Spear.JPG|France<br>c.1000-1025
File:St Gallen, Cod. Sang. 863.jpg|St Gallen <br>c.1125-1150
File:Canterbury Cathedral, Life of St Alphege c.1190.jpg|Canterbury Cathedral <br> c.1190
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|Literature
|Archaeology
|Discussion =
Using a spear in combat two-handed and with a slung shield evolved in the 1980’s as a way of winning re-enactment battles [SIDDORN 2005]. Using a spear in this fashion has one huge obvious disadvantage, you cannot defend your head with your shield! Having said this I do believe that some of the large headed winged spears could have possibly been used two-handed, as both hunting spears and combat spears. <br>
To the best of my knowledge we have no written sources that describe this form of warfare. This is not surprising, however, as most of the writings that we have are either short, factual chronicles or allegorical poems. From archaeology we have hundreds of large spearheads. On the whole these still have thin sockets, usually less than 25mm (1”) in diameter, and so would be unsuitable for the stout spear shafts that you would expect to see associated with a two-handed weapon. Another argument against their use in this manner are the manuscript images clearly showing these large spear heads being used single-handed, such as the Codex Aureus Epternacensis illustrated in AD c.1040.<Br>
We do however have numerous images of warriors using spears two-handed. Just not in association with a shield. This is what you’d expect as anyone armed with just a spear would automatically use it with both hands.<br>
This leaves us with the 4 images shown here. The earliest is from a Pictish picture stone depicting a battle and dating to somewhere between AD 700 to 850. The second is from a European manuscript made in Switzerland dating to AD 1125-1150. The third is from a stained glass window in Canterbury Cathedral and dating to AD 1190.
All of these images depict warriors fighting against non-infantry. <br>
Byzantine and Carolingian armies were known to use two-handed spears, or pikes, for use against mounted warriors. But for England we have scarce evidence for the use of mounted warriors prior to the Norman Conquest. If two-handed spears were in common use in AD 1066 we would expect to see them depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry and being used against the Norman cavalry. Instead we see Dane-axe wielding warriors fulfilling this role. It appears that England and Scandinavia chose a different way to deal with cavalry than adopting the two-handed spear.<br>
It seems then that the main use for stout two-handed spears in England was probably for use in hunting, the pursuit of the rich. This is not to say that they could not have been used on the battlefield as they would have made very effective weapons.<br>
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== References ==
{{Ref|Book=Androshchuk & Traustadottir 2004}}<nocite>{{Ref|Book=Bjorn & Shetelig 1940}}ANDROSHCHUK2004{{Ref|Book=Fuglesang 1980}}FUGLESANG1980{{Ref|Book=Graham-Campbell 1980}}GRAHAM{{Ref|Book=Graham-CAMPBELL1980Campbell 1989}}HALPIN2008{{Ref|Book=Halpin 2008}}HEWITT1996{{Ref|Book=Hewitt 1855}}HILL2004WHEELER1927</nocite><biblio force{{Ref|Book=false>#[[Template:Bib]]</biblio>Hill 2004}}* [*KENDRICK 1949] {{Ref|Book=Kendrick, T.D. Late Saxon and Viking Art. Butler and Tanner, 1949.}}* [*LANG 1981] {{Ref|Book=Lang, J.T. "A Viking Age Spear-Socket from York." Medieval Archaeology, 25, 1981: 157–160.}}* [*MAGI-LOUGAS 1994] {{Ref|Book=Magi-Lougas, Marika. “On the Relations between the Countries around the Baltic as Indicated by the Background of Viking Age Spearhead Ornament.” 1994.}}* [*OAKESHOTT {{Ref|Book=Oakeshott 1960] Oakshott, Ewart. The Archaeology of Weapons. Lutterworth Press, 1960.}}* [*PETERSEN 1919] {{Ref|Book=Petersen, Jan. De Norske Vikingesverd. 1919.}}* [*REDKNAP 2000] {{Ref|Book=Pollington 2006}}{{Ref|Book=Redknap, Mark. Vikings in Wales. An Archaeological Quest. National Museums & Galleries of Wales, 2000.}}* [*RICHARDS 2004] {{Ref|Book=Richards, Julian D. Viking Age England. Tempus, 2004.}}* [*SHETELIG 1940] Shetelig, Haakon. Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland Part 4, VIKING ANTIQUITIES IN ENGLAND. 1940.{{Ref|Book=Siddorn 2005}}* [*SWANTON 1973] {{Ref|Book=Swanton, M. J. The Spearheads of the Anglo-Saxon Settlements. The Royal Archaeological Institute, 1973.}}* [*WHEELER 1935] {{Ref|Book=Thompson 2004}}{{Ref|Book=Westphal 2006}}{{Ref|Book=Wheeler 1927}}{{Ref|Book=Wheeler, R.E.M. London and the Saxons. London Museum Catalogues: No 6, 1935.}}
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[[Category:Weapons]]
