The Viking Trek by Jean Olivier is the book of my childhood.
And then the moment came when the feeling came that "you can write about them yourself!" Because each time has its own songs. Some books are "too childish", some are poorly translated, while others are frankly abstruse and it is best to read them at night in order to fall asleep as soon as possible. So now, you, dear visitors of VO, will periodically get acquainted with the articles "about the Vikings", which after some time will become the basis of a new book. I would like to warn you right away that they are not written according to the plan, but according to what material can be obtained first of all. That is, in theory, one should start with historiography and a source base (and this will be necessary!), But … it does not work that way. Therefore, do not be surprised that the cycle will be somewhat fragmented and inconsistent. Alas, these are production costs. Right now, for example, I have at my fingertips a very interesting material about … axes of the Vikings and why not start with it, because you still have to start with something ?!
The famous "ax from Mammen". (National History Museum, Copenhagen)
If we turn to Ian Heath's book "Vikings" published in Russia (published by "Osprey", series "Elite Forces", 2004), we can read there that before the beginning of the Viking Age, such weapons as an ax in the European military science was practically forgotten. But with the arrival of the Vikings in Europe in the VIII - XI centuries. they came into use again, since it was the ax that was the second most important weapon in their arsenal.
Viking swords and axes at the National History Museum in Copenhagen.
According to, for example, Norwegian archaeologists, for 1500 finds of swords in burials of the Viking Age, there are 1200 axes. Moreover, it often happens that an ax and a sword lie together in the same burial. There are three known types of axes used by the Vikings. The first one is "bearded", in use since the 8th century, an ax with a relatively short handle and a narrow blade (for example, the "ax from Mammen"), and an ax with a long handle and a wide blade, the so-called. "Danish ax", with a blade width of up to 45 cm and a crescent shape, according to the "Saga of Lexdale", and called "breidox" (breidox). It is believed that axes of this type appeared at the end of the 10th century. and gained the greatest popularity among the Anglo-Danish warriors of the housecarls. It is known that they were used in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but then quickly faded away, as if they had exhausted their resource, and, most likely, this was the case. After all, it was a highly specialized type of ax designed exclusively for battle. He could well compete with the sword as the main symbol of the Viking warrior, but he had to be able to use it and not everyone could do it.
"Ax from Ludwigshar" with a wide slotted blade. (National History Museum, Copenhagen).
Interestingly, the Vikings gave the axes female names associated with gods or forces of nature, as well as the names of trolls, while King Olaf, for example, gave his ax the name Hel, very meaningfully named after the goddess of death!
Ax from Langeid. (Museum of Cultural History, Oldsaksamling University, Oslo).
In 2011, a burial ground was discovered during archaeological excavations at Langeide in the Setesdalen Valley in Denmark. As it turned out, it contained several dozen graves from the second half of the Viking Age. Grave 8 was one of the most remarkable, although its wooden coffin was almost empty. Of course, this was a big disappointment for the archaeologist. However, as excavations continued, an ornate sword was found along one of its long sides around the outside of the coffin, and a large and wide ax blade on the other.
Axes have been used in Denmark since the Bronze Age! Image in stone from Fossum, Bohuslan, Western Sweden.
The blade of the Langeid ax was relatively little damaged, and the damage that was, was fixed with glue, while the rust deposits were removed using micro-sandblasting. It is quite surprising that the inside of the butt retained the remains of a 15 cm long wooden handle. Therefore, in order to reduce the risk of wood destruction, it was treated with a special compound. However, a strip of copper alloy, which surrounded the handle in this place, helped to save the wood. Since copper has antimicrobial properties, this prevented its complete decay. The strip had a thickness of only half a millimeter, it was highly corroded and consisted of several fragments that had to be carefully glued.
Micro-sandblasting was used to remove rust from the ax blade. (Museum of Cultural History, Oldsaksamling University, Oslo)
It used to be so that archaeologists sketched their finds and they had to include professional artists in the expeditions. Then photography came to their aid, and now the finds are X-rayed and the X-ray fluorescence method is used.
X-ray of the Langeid ax. You can see the thickening of the blade behind the cutting edge and the butt weld line. Also visible are the studs securing the brass band to the handle. (Museum of Cultural History, Oldsaksamling University, Oslo)
All of these studies confirmed that the shafts were made of brass, a copper alloy containing a lot of zinc. Unlike copper and bronze, which are reddish metals, brass is yellow in color. Untreated brass resembles gold, and this seems to have been important at the time. The sagas constantly emphasize the splendor of the weapons that belonged to their heroes and sparkle with gold, which was undoubtedly the ideal of the Viking age. But archeology proves that most of their weapons were in fact decorated with copper - a kind of "poor man's gold."
Reconstruction showing the main design features of the Langeid ax. (Museum of Cultural History, Oldsaksamling University, Oslo)
Unlike powerful landowners who emphasized their social position and used the sword as a weapon, the less wealthy resorted to using axes designed to work with wood as a weapon of war. Thus, the ax was often identified with the landless working man in the household. That is, at first, the axes were universal. But in the latter half of the Viking Age, axes appeared exclusively for battle, the blade of which was finely forged and therefore relatively light. The butt was also small and not so massive. This design gave the Vikings a truly deadly weapon worthy of professional warriors, which they were.
Almost all the illustrations Angus McBride made for the books about the Vikings, there are various battle axes.
In the Byzantine Empire, they served as high-ranking mercenaries in the so-called Varangian Guard, and were bodyguards of the Byzantine emperor himself. In England, these broad-bladed axes came to be called "Danish axes" because of their use by the conquerors of the Danes at the end of the Viking Age.
Viking in long-bladed chain mail (center) and with a wide-bladed Braydox battle ax. Rice. Angus McBride.
Archaeologist Jan Petersen, in his typology of Viking weapons, classified wide-bladed axes as type M and believed that they appeared in the second half of the 10th century. "Ax from Langeid" has a slightly later origin, which is associated with the dating of the grave, where it was found, in the first half of the 11th century. Since the initial weight of the ax itself was at the beginning about 800 grams (now 550 grams), it was clearly a two-handed ax. However, it is lighter than many woodworking axes previously used as weapons. Its hilt is believed to have been around 110 cm long, but this is shorter than most people think. The metal band on the handle is unusual for finds in Norway, but at least five other similar finds are known. Three axes with brass stripes were found right in London in the Thames.
It is often quite difficult to distinguish a working ax from a battle ax, but the Viking era battle ax, as a rule, was smaller in size and somewhat lighter than a worker. The butt of the battle ax is also much smaller, and the blade itself is much thinner. But it should be remembered that most battle axes, presumably, were held in battle with one hand.
Another Viking battle ax with a relatively narrow blade and one-handed grip. Rice. Angus McBride.
Perhaps the most famous example of an ax of the Viking Age was found in the town of Mammen in Denmark, on the Jutland Peninsula, in the burial place of a noble Scandinavian warrior. Dendrological analysis of the logs from which the burial chamber was built revealed that it was built in the winter of 970-971. It is believed that one of the closest associates of King Harald Bluetooth is buried in the grave.
This year was very eventful for the entire "civilized world": for example, Prince Svyatoslav that year fought with the Byzantine emperor John Tzimische, and his son and future baptist of Russia, Prince Vladimir, became a prince in Novgorod. In the same year, a significant event happened in Iceland, where the future discoverer of America Leif Eriksson, nicknamed "Happy", was born in the family of Eric the Red, whose adventures are precisely the subject of Jean Olivier's book "Viking Trek".
A page from this book …
The ax itself is not large in size - 175 mm. It is believed that this ax had a ritual purpose, and was never used in battle. And on the other hand, for the people who believed that only those warriors who died in battle get to the Viking paradise - the Valhalla, therefore the war was their most important life ritual and they treated it, and death too, accordingly.
"Ax from Mammen". (National History Museum, Copenhagen)
First of all, we note that the "ax from Mammen" was very richly decorated. The blade and butt of the ax were entirely covered with a sheet of blackened silver (thanks to which it will remain in such excellent condition), and then decorated with inlaid silver thread, laid out in the form of a complex pattern in the style of the "Big Beast". By the way, this ancient Scandinavian ornamental pattern, which was widespread in Denmark in 960-1020, is today called “Mammen”, and it is precisely because of this ancient ax.
A tree is depicted on one side of the ax. It can be interpreted as the pagan Yggdrasil tree, but also as the Christian “Tree of Life”. The drawing on the other side depicts the Gullinkkambi rooster (Old Norse "golden comb") or the Phoenix bird. Rooster Gullinkambi, like Yggdrasil, belongs to Norse mythology. This rooster sits on the top of the Yggdrasil tree. His task is to wake the Vikings every morning, but when Ragnarok ("the end of the world") comes, he will have to turn into a crow. Phoenix is a symbol of rebirth and belongs to Christian mythology. Therefore, the motives of the images on the ax can be interpreted as both pagan and Christian. The transition from the ax blade to the hub is gold plated. In addition, on both sides of the butt, slots were made in the form of an oblique cross and, although they are now empty, in ancient times they were apparently filled with bronze-zinc foil.
Viking (late era) weapons from the Museum of Cultural History, Oldsaksamling University, Oslo.
Another equally huge ax was found in 2012 during the construction of a highway. The remains of the owner of this huge ax have also been discovered, with the tomb in which they were located was dated to around 950. It is noteworthy that this weapon is the only item buried with this deceased Viking. Based on this fact, scientists conclude that the owner of this weapon, apparently, was very proud of him, as well as his ability to wield it, since there was no sword in the burial.
"Ax from Silkeborg".
The remains of a woman were also found in the tomb, and with her - a pair of keys, symbolizing power and her high social position in the Viking society. This gave scientists reason to believe that this man and this woman had a very high social status.
It is interesting that as a props for the costume of the "Varangian Guest" from the opera "Sadko" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, in which at the premiere of 1897 Fyodor Chaliapin himself performed his part, a completely huge ax was prepared, which clearly should emphasize the commitment of the Vikings to this kind of weapon!
