Warrior Bio: Norse War-Lord, circa 892 CE.

Author's Note:  I'll just leave this here.

A troupe of Norse raiders known as "vikings" makes landfall,
their war-lord at the head of the assault.  Image used without
permission from http://blogs.toorakcollege.vic.edu.au.

-Offensive Assessment

~Close-Quarters Combat; Seax, Hand Ax and Roundshield.  The Norse used a variety of weapons in melee combat - most commonly, the seax and hand ax.  The seax was a long, cutting dagger used in everyday life for various utilitarian purposes:  cutting meat, chopping wood, clearing underbrush, and gutting enemy soldiers.  The hand ax was also a very common weapon, being easier to produce and maintain than a sword.  Norse hand axes were single-edged and short, useful when packed shoulder-to-shoulder in a shield-wall.  Together with the roundshield, the close-range weapons of the Norse get three (3) points out of a possible five (5) in this category.  As always, slashing weapons are not as effective as thrusting ones, keeping both of these close-range killing tools from winning more points.

~Weapons of Reach; Danish Ax, Spear and Roundshield.  At middling ranges, the favourite weapon of the Norse was the spear.  It was very easy to produce and learn how to use, required little metal and skill to be forged, and could be replaced with materials found often at hand in Northern Europe.  The majority of Norse warriors would use a spear and roundshield as their primary weapons, well-knowing the difference of having six feet of ash and steel between themselves and their opponents made.  The characteristic weapon of the huscarl class, the bodyguards to the war-lords, was the Danish ax.  A two-handed, five-foot-tall monster of a weapon, it was single-edged and used to shear through all kinds of armour and defenses.  However, it took a long time to prepare for use, leaving the warrior behind it open.  To counter this, often-times two Norse warriors would stand together, one covering the other with his spear and shield while the other readied his ax for a strike at a foe.  It was considered unremarkable among the Nordic warriors for two of their own to hold five or six of the enemy at bay in this fashion. Together, these weapons get a perfect ten (10) points.

Despite their distaste of ranged fighting, the Norse were not fools - they recognized
the opportunity that being able to strike your foes from a distance provided, and seized
it heartily.  They created many different types of arrows, each assigned with a different
purpose.  From left to right in the image:  (two, first) the short bodkin was made to puncture
plate armor such as found in helmets of the time, (one) the large leaf arrow was made for
general use in warfare or hunting, (one) another short bodkin, (one) the sail splitter has been tentatively identified as being used to tear enemy sails and rigging, though there is no historical proof for this beyond the arrow's existence, (one) the cavalry arrow was made extra-large for use against horsmen's mounts, (one) the barbed arrow was intended to make removal difficult, (one) another large leaf arrow, (one, last) the unique fire arrow was made for the sole purpose of carrying a bit of tar-soaked linen until impact was made, when it would light whatever surfaces that made contact with it aflame.  This image is used without permission from http://farm4.static.flickr.com/.

~Long-Distance Fighting; Hunting Bow, Javelins.  The bow was not a favored weapon of Norse warriors, as they considered it an unmanly weapon – they apparently shared this opinion with the Spartans of Greece.  They would often have a few enslaved serfs along with war-bands, if for nothing else than to hunt game with their simple self bows, which were made from single pieces of wood formed into an arching shape.  These weapons were not the powerful longbows used in later periods, but were still good at their job.  Due to their lack of widespread use or professional training, the hunting bow only gets twelve (12) out of twenty (20) points here, largely due to the fact that it still possessed killing power and decent range.  However, there was a second weapon used by the Norse when fighting at a distance; that being the javelin.  Usually a lightweight spear no longer than five feet in length, the javelin was much a tool of sport as war.  Accurate at twenty to thirty feet, the Norse used the javelin to soften up their enemies before a charge or in ship-to-ship actions.  One feat attributed to the Norsemen was their ability to snatch javelins thrown at them out of the air, reverse them, and throw them back at the enemy.  The most famous user of this technique was Olaf Tryggvason, one of the greater Kings of Norway.  Long after his death a young Norse chieftain named Tryggvi invaded Norway claiming to be Olaf’s bastard; his enemies mocked him, saying that he was not fit to be a viking or a King, or even a priest.  In the battle in which he was killed Tryggvi is said to have replicated his father’s famous javelin trick while readying his own javelin for throwing.  Now holding both weapons, he charged his attackers and threw them both (killing both targeted enemies), while allegedly shouting, “This is how my father taught me to pray!”  With this is mind, it seems decent to bump up the long-distance score of the Norse to sixteen (16) of twenty (20) possible points.

~Specialized Weapons; Longsword, Roundshield.  Like in many other cultures, the longsword was the signature weapon of the noble class.  For the Norse, this was the war-lords, men who had fought long enough and secured the funds and land to command others.  A longsword required much material and skill to be created, so each one forged in the fires of the North was of incredible build and quality.  Norse longswords were complex, much more so than their Frankish and Saxon neighbors, introducing the concepts of fullured and tapered blades that strengthened and extended the cutting edges, respectively.  Additionally, longswords were intended to thrust as well as slash, increasing their threat manifold.  The Norse were cunning fighters; they sharpened both sides of their blades to allow for complex back-cuts across the neck or hamstrings rather than the simple body-cuts gotten from an ax.  Combined with the broad roundshield, this weapons combination warrants all five (5) out of five (5) points in this category.

This skull was found at an archaeological dig in Eastern Scotland. 
It has been identified as belonging to an adult man, likely a warrior fighting
Norse raiders in defense of his home and hearth.  Is is believed that the fatal
wound sustained to the left side of the skull that detached the mandible was taken from
a Nordic longsword that was slashed along the unprotected face.  This speaks well to the need for a properly-protected head.  This image is used without permission from http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk

-Defensive Assessment

~Head; Spangenhelm, Maille-Coif.  The typical helmet worn by Norse warriors was the spangenhelm, which was formed by four pieces of metal reinforced by strips of leather or iron.  The multiple pieces involved would spread the energy of blows to the head over them, harmlessly distributing glancing blows and weakening, however slightly, direct ones.  Other defenses added onto this would be eye- and face-guards, a nasal piece to protect the nose, or a maille-coif sewn inside of the helmet.  Naturally only the wealthiest of Norsemen, the war-lords, could afford such an extravagance, but for them it was a necessity.  The head defenses get a decent seventeen (17) of a possible amount of twenty (20) points, in thanks to the superior balance of vision and protection that they awarded the user.

~Torso; Maille-Coat, Gambeson, Hide Cloak.  The most important piece of body-armour for Norse warriors was their maillle-coats.  This was a single suit of riveted chain links, together making up a large shirt that stretched from the knees to the elbows and neck.  Nigh-impenetrable to slashing attacks, maille distributed the force of blows to the body by the many-connected rings, spreading the kinetic force harmlessly over the body.  Despite being very heavy when in one's hands, chain-maille of any decent quality is easily-distributed over the body when worn properly.  However, chain-maille fared less well against thrusting or blunt-force attacks, the first of which only affects a small area of the chains, and the second bypasses the defense to crush the bones and flesh beneath it.  War-lords would often wear a gambeson, a thick, padded coat under their maille, and some would wear the hides of black bears and wolves over all to block blows from the back or flanks.  Altogether, this many-layered torso defensive system gets a very strong nine (9) of ten (10) point grade.

This image shows multiple different styles of Nordic shield paint patterns -
despite color differences, all Norse shields were constructing the same.  That is,
out of wooden planks fastened (glued?) together and fixed around a metal shield boss,
which housed a space over the cross-grip that ran from top to bottom and allowed the
warrior holding the shield to maneuver it in virtually any way in his imagination. 
Image used without permission from http://wargamesfoundry.com/.

~Limbs; Bracers, Iron Straps, Maille-Coat.  The limbs of Norse warriors would be defended up to the elbows and knees by maille-sleeves, but seldom further than that due to the massive expenses needed to pay for such work.  To still provide some protection against attacks to their extremities, Norse warriors would wear leather bracers on their forearms and reinforce their tall boots with strips of iron around their legs to defeat glancing strikes.  The limbs defenses of the Norse get a stern four (4) out of five (5).

~Blocking; Roundshield.  Like all of their gear, the Norsemen's roundshield was a multipurpose tool.  Depending on the warrior's taste and fighting style, it was either strapped to the forearm or held by a grip built into the large metal boss in the middle with which to bludgeon enemies.   The roundshield was three feet in diameter and up to an inch thick, covered by dried rawhide and rimmed with iron, providing a massive defense against enemy strikes.  Being well-suited to both offense and defense, I'm giving this stout shield all five (5) points.

The Norsemen were some of history's greatest explorers - they settled Iceland, barbaric Ireland, Greenland, and found the New World at least three hundred years before Christopher Columbus.  It is not known how far they penetrated into North America, with modern historians debating evidence such as ruins at Newfoundland and one hundred-pound rune stones found in the American Midwest as a testament to the adventurous spirit of the Scandinavian peoples.  This image is used without permission from http://farm4.static.flickr.com/.

-Variables Assessment

~Tactics; the Norse were the most feared warriors of the Dark Age - so much so that, among some circles today that epoch in history is referred to as the Viking Age.  They introduced the style of hit-and-run warfare to Europe, sailing up formerly safe rivers and creeks in their dragon-headed longships to rape and pillage and burn before vanishing like ghosts in the night.  When coerced into a fair fight, the Norse were known to make a dense shield-wall, not unlike the old Greek phalanx, and with it could practically run over opponents.  They would use their shields to protect themselves before closing with the enemy, where they would cut and stab with their short seax daggers and axes.  The shield itself was a weapon, easily capable of doing horrible things to the insides.  However, the Norse did not really explore other venues of attack or defense, as they hated to make siege and fight from a distance.  These shortcomings should explain why they only get a score of three (3) of a maximum five (5) points.

~Training; the Nordic warriors were trained to fight largely on instinct.  Large boar- and bear-hunts were common in the mountains of Scandinavia, which taught them to use the spear and shield effectively.  They were trained from a young age in the art of chopping wood with an ax, and easily applied such skills to the battlefield.  Training to use swordplay was a rare occurrence, with those men fortunate to come into possession of a decent blade often taught by the sword’s maker or previous owner in how to wield it, and from there they would often make up their own styles through trial and error – a process often rife with life-or-death consequences for the training.  However, the lack of formal combat training and conditioning meant that the skills of Norse warriors differed heavily from individual to individual, and for that they only get three (3) of five (5) points in this category.

The Norse used the horns of cows and goats for many purposes - the most famous probably being drinking-horns, which served as cups.  From a military perspective, hollowed-out bull's horns were used to coordinate the movements of multiple longships in poor weather or at night when on the seas.  The low frequency at which they produced sound ensured that they would sound loud enough for ship-to-ship communication, but that they would not carry far enough to alert their enemies - or victims.  This image is taken from the Bayeux Tapestry, was not uploaded by me, and is used without permission from http://www.viking.no/.

~Morale; the Norsemen were explorers and raiders, and so were not fighting to protect or serve their homelands, but rather to enrich themselves.  They were very effectively mercenaries – despite being self-employed – and on more than occurrence their soon-to-be victims would have been offered a chance to pay the danegeld, which was a glorified method of paying them off.  Unfortunately for the payers, the Norse were a seasonal danger, and would be back the following spring to again ask for gold or the sword.  That said, the sense of loyalty between the huscarls and their war-lord was great; without him, they would not be paid or rewarded, and so they took every precaution in serving him and protecting his person in battle.  Altogether, the Norse get a below-average score of two (2) points of five (5) here.

~Innovation; in battle, the Norse were known to go into a state called "berserk", originally bare-sark, which is to remove one's armour and fight without it, displaying one's lack of fear of death and injury.  These mad men were able to fight past normally-fatal wounds that would slay other men outright, such as being gored in the eyes by arrows, having swords and spears thrust through their bodies, and other battlefield horrors.  Many enterprising warriors made a career of this state, advertising their skill and danger to possible patrons with the scars of their previous exploits.  It was not uncommon for Norse warriors backed into a corner to remove their maille in unison before charging the enemy so as to die and go to Valhalla as blood-brothers.  The Norse are given all five (5) points for this section.