Norse and Viking archery. Norse longbows.
NOTE: See also the files: Norse-msg, Norse-food-art, books-Norse-msg, Norse-crafts-bib, amber-buying-art, Norse-games-art, archery-msg, bow-making-msg, arrows-msg.
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NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.
Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:42:04 MST
From: "C. L. Ward" <gunnora at bga.com>
Subject: Re: Viking bow plans
To: gll at inreach.com
CC: "Mark.S Harris (rsve60)" <rsve60 at email.sps.mot.com>
Michael Lykinsg wrote:
> I am looking for plans for viking period bow. Thank you.
> Michael Lykins gll at inreach.com
The Vikings used longbows. The bow was used both for hunting meat and for
hunting men. Saxo Grammaticus described the Norwegians as "famous bowmen."
Icelanders, on the other hand, apparently did not use the bow much at all.
Longbows were probably the most common type of bow, but one find has turned
up a composite bow from Norway strengthened with iron bands. Like other
weapons, bows could be ornamented, and examples are known of bows with
engraved runes, and others with carved knotwork designs.=20
There are a wide variety of Viking Age arrow head types, some for fowling,
deer hunting, warfare, and other specialized uses. Arrow heads were
typically iron, and could be tanged or socketed. The typical arrowhead was
leaf-shaped, but arrow heads could be barbed (kr=F3kr), blunt, or even
trefoil in cross section, sporting three cutting blades. The typical
quiver was cylindrical, worn on a baldric and hung at the hip. These were
fairly large quivers, and examples have been found holding up to 45 arrows.
Arrowheads are one of the most common weapons finds in men's graves, and
are often found in women's graves as well.
Though I don't have time to go dig up all my sources documenting the use of
bows in the Viking Age, there is a famous anecdote about a warrior standing
on deck with his king during a sea battle. He is struck in the chest by an
arrow, and when he pulls it out he says, "See how well the king keeps his
men! There is fat by my heart!" right before he dies.
Another famous tale is that of the man who made the fatal mistake of
slapping his wife. Later, when his enemies have cornered him in his home,
he is able to hold the attackers off by means of his superlative
marksmanship. That is, until his bowstring broke. He then cried to his
wife to plait him a new bowstring of her hair, but she refuses, bidding him
to remember that last slap he gave her.
There is also a theme of magical archery found in association with accounts
of seir, where wizards are seen to be able to shoot multiple arrows at one
time, often from their bare fingertips. They never run out of arrows, or
the arrows return to the sender to be used again, and often the magical
archer of this type cannot miss his mark.
Some sources that mention Viking archery and archery equipment include:
Peter G. Foote and David M. Wilson, The Viking Achievement. London:
Sidgwick & Jackson, 1970. pp. 181, 278
Johannes Brndsted, The Vikings. New York: Penguin. 1960, 1965. pp. 123.
cc: Lord Stefan li Rous
::GUNNORA::
The Viking Answer Lady
To: Norsefolk at yahoogroups.com
Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 03:44:38 -0000
From: baronboar at yahoo.com
Subject: Viking bows
I don't believe you can characterize Viking bows into any one type.
Yes, some have been found that are similar to the English longbow
(without the horn string nocks), but there were others that were of
different design. I don't believe there was a standardization of
type in the Viking Age, as occurred later in England, as evidenced by
the bows found on the Mary Rose. There may have been local styles, or
even some widely accepted styles, but different types coexisted.
Some of the first bows found in Scandinavia were with the Nydam ship.
These bows were pictured in "The Viking Age" by DuChaillu in 1889.
Though no cross sections are shown, the two bows illustrated on page
228 appear to have a round cross-section. Using the scale on the
plate to determine the length, they were around six feet long. The
Nydam ship has recently been dated by dendrochronology to 310 - 320
AD. - obviously before the Viking Age.
However, they show characteristics that are also found on Viking age
bows. One such characteristic is the nail in one end of the bow to
keep the string from sliding down the bow when it is unstrung.
These same two bows and another bow are also described in Proceedings
of the Prehistoric Society for 1963, New Series, vol. XXIX, Clark, J.
G.D., ed. The third bow illustrated has a roughly D-shaped
crossection.
The Ballinderry bow was found in Ireland, and dates to the 10th
Century. It is believed to be Norse because of the related items
found in the dwelling. It is described in great detail in "The Bow:
Some Notes on its Origin and Development", by Gad Rausing. It was 73
inches long with a D-shaped cross section in the middle, which became
more oval toward the ends.
More recent work on the subject of bows in Scandinavia can be found
in "Bue Og Pil Fra Danmarks Sten-, Bronze- og Jernalder" (Bows and
Arrows from the Stoneage, Bronzeage and Ironage in Danmark), by Dan
Hoj. He illustrates many scandinavian bows and arrows. I do not
have a copy of his book, only a few pages that the author sent me.
It looks to be an excellent book. It is in Danish, but the author is
attempting to find a publisher to translate the book into English. I
have ordering information if anyone is interested.
The most recent (1999) work on Viking bows is "Pfeil und Bogen in
Haithabu" (Arrows and Bows in Hedeby) in "Das Archaologische
Fundmaterial VI". This is in German and is difficult to obtain. It
took me over a year to find a copy. There are only two copies in the
US to my knowledge. It has both photographs and line drawings of the
bows found in Hedeby. They are around 6' long (one measured 75
inches - 191 cm) and have various cross sections. They do not
necessarily have the same type of crossection throughout the length
of the bow. The most interesting aspect of these bows is that they
have the last few inches of the bow bent backward toward the archer
(Dan Hoj has informed me this is accomplished by immersing the tip in
boiling water)! The string is attached below this bend. On the top
of the bow, there is only one notch cut in the side of the bow. On
many of the bows there is a nail a few inches below the notch to
catch the string when the bow is unstrung. There is no notch on the
other limb of the bow. The string was apparently tied in place so
that the majority of the knotwork was on the backward bending part of
the limb, with the string attached just at the bend. These bows
appear to be roughly circular in crossection. Some that had a D-
shaped crossection became more oval near the ends of the limbs.
That this bow design was somewhat widespread is evidenced by an
illumination on an English manuscript from the eleventh century that
shows a similarily shaped bow.
This publication also has photographs and descriptions of
reproduction bows and arrows and their performance.
Arrows and arrow points are illustrated in most of these books. Du
Chaillu states that the arrows from the Nydam ship were four fetched.
The reproduction arrows found in "Pfeil und Bogen in Haithabu" are
three fletch.
As to quivers, DuChaillu describes and illustrates a wooden quiver,
roughly circular in crossection. A leather quiver (actually parts of
at lest two different quvers) is described in "Die Lederfunde von
Haithabu" and a drawing shows how the quiver may have looked.
I hope this has been of some interest and help.
Ragnar
To: Norsefolk at yahoogroups.com
Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2001 03:44:38 -0000
From: baronboar at yahoo.com
Subject: Viking bows
I don't believe you can characterize Viking bows into any one type.
Yes, some have been found that are similar to the English longbow
(without the horn string nocks), but there were others that were of
different design. I don't believe there was a standardization of
type in the Viking Age, as occurred later in England, as evidenced by
the bows found on the Mary Rose. There may have been local styles, or
even some widely accepted styles, but different types coexisted.
Some of the first bows found in Scandinavia were with the Nydam ship.
These bows were pictured in "The Viking Age" by DuChaillu in 1889.
Though no cross sections are shown, the two bows illustrated on page
228 appear to have a round cross-section. Using the scale on the
plate to determine the length, they were around six feet long. The
Nydam ship has recently been dated by dendrochronology to 310 - 320
AD. - obviously before the Viking Age.
However, they show characteristics that are also found on Viking age
bows. One such characteristic is the nail in one end of the bow to
keep the string from sliding down the bow when it is unstrung.
These same two bows and another bow are also described in Proceedings
of the Prehistoric Society for 1963, New Series, vol. XXIX, Clark, J.
G.D., ed. The third bow illustrated has a roughly D-shaped
crossection.
The Ballinderry bow was found in Ireland, and dates to the 10th
Century. It is believed to be Norse because of the related items
found in the dwelling. It is described in great detail in "The Bow:
Some Notes on its Origin and Development", by Gad Rausing. It was 73
inches long with a D-shaped cross section in the middle, which became
more oval toward the ends.
More recent work on the subject of bows in Scandinavia can be found
in "Bue Og Pil Fra Danmarks Sten-, Bronze- og Jernalder" (Bows and
Arrows from the Stoneage, Bronzeage and Ironage in Danmark), by Dan
Hoj. He illustrates many scandinavian bows and arrows. I do not
have a copy of his book, only a few pages that the author sent me.
It looks to be an excellent book. It is in Danish, but the author is
attempting to find a publisher to translate the book into English. I
have ordering information if anyone is interested.
The most recent (1999) work on Viking bows is "Pfeil und Bogen in
Haithabu" (Arrows and Bows in Hedeby) in "Das Archaologische
Fundmaterial VI". This is in German and is difficult to obtain. It
took me over a year to find a copy. There are only two copies in the
US to my knowledge. It has both photographs and line drawings of the
bows found in Hedeby. They are around 6' long (one measured 75
inches - 191 cm) and have various cross sections. They do not
necessarily have the same type of crossection throughout the length
of the bow. The most interesting aspect of these bows is that they
have the last few inches of the bow bent backward toward the archer
(Dan Hoj has informed me this is accomplished by immersing the tip in
boiling water)! The string is attached below this bend. On the top
of the bow, there is only one notch cut in the side of the bow. On
many of the bows there is a nail a few inches below the notch to
catch the string when the bow is unstrung. There is no notch on the
other limb of the bow. The string was apparently tied in place so
that the majority of the knotwork was on the backward bending part of
the limb, with the string attached just at the bend. These bows
appear to be roughly circular in crossection. Some that had a D-
shaped crossection became more oval near the ends of the limbs.
That this bow design was somewhat widespread is evidenced by an
illumination on an English manuscript from the eleventh century that
shows a similarily shaped bow.
This publication also has photographs and descriptions of
reproduction bows and arrows and their performance.
Arrows and arrow points are illustrated in most of these books. Du
Chaillu states that the arrows from the Nydam ship were four fetched.
The reproduction arrows found in "Pfeil und Bogen in Haithabu" are
three fletch.
As to quivers, DuChaillu describes and illustrates a wooden quiver,
roughly circular in crossection. A leather quiver (actually parts of
at lest two different quvers) is described in "Die Lederfunde von
Haithabu" and a drawing shows how the quiver may have looked.
I hope this has been of some interest and help.
Ragnar
<the end>