~Vikings~

The term Viking is typically used to refer to the Norse explorers, merchants, traders, warriors, and pirates who explored and settled in wide areas of Europe and the North Atlantic Islands from the late 8th century to the mid 11th century. These Norsemen used their logic to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far west as Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. This period of Viking expansion - known as the Viking Age - forms a major part of the medieval history of Scandinavia, Britain, Ireland, and the rest of Europe in general. The Vikings sailed most of the North Atlantic, reaching south to North Africa and east to Russia, Constantinople, and the Middle East. The motives driving the Viking Expansion form a topic of much debate in Nordic history - there are many different theories to this. Our knowledge about arms and armor of the Viking Age is based on relatively sparse archeological finds and to some extent on the accounts in the Norse sagas and Norse laws recorded in the 13th century. According to custom, all free Norse men were required to own weapons, as well as permitted to carry them at all times. A wealthy Viking would have a complete ensemble of helmet, shield, chainmail shirt, and a sword. A typical "freeman" was more likely to posses a spear a shield, and most also carried along with them a knife. Bows were used in the opening stages of land battles, and at sea, but tended to be considered less honorable than a hand weapon. Vikings were relatively unusual for the time in their use of axes as a main battle weapon. There were two distinct classes of Viking ships: the longship and the knarr. The longship, intended for warfare an exploration, was designed for speed and agility, and was equipped with oars to compliment the sail as well as making it able to navigate independently of the wind. The knarr was a dedicated merchant vessel designed to carry cargo. It was designed with a broader hull, deeper draft, and limited number of oars. Longships were extensively used by the Leidang, the Scandinavian defense fleets.