When we think of the Vikings, we imagine these men from the North, eager for blood, combat and gold, who ravaged the European coasts before sinking into the land, of VIIIe century to XIe century. We also imagine of the inseparable attributes of their legend: a horned helmet, chicots in poor condition and … a sharp ax.
If these shots have a hard life, they are not completely false. Yes, the Vikings mainly used axes to fight – and probably had rotten teeth, but that was almost true for everyone at the time. The almost systematic use of the ax on the battlefield was (almost) an exception. Faced with them, European warriors, with the exception of the peoples of the Frankish and Germanic regions, were much more often equipped with swords or spears. Simple aesthetic consideration, to appear even more terrifying? Not quite.
No Moula, but sharp ideas
At the time, in the Middle Ages, having a sword was not trivial. It was a noble, precious weapon that only the richest could offer themselves. For what? Simply because its manufacturing required advanced know-how and above all … steel.
Rare and expensive, steel was prized for everyone. Vikings could get it, not without difficulty, especially from Europe. Problem: European steel was of poor quality, poor in carbon and filled with impurities called slag. Defects that made the blades less resistant, more fragile. In short, they could break in combat. What the Vikings hated above all, they who were always ready to put their face up until dead follows.
In the end, swords often finished in the hands of Vikings chiefs, richer and hierarchically above the lot. The ax, however, was much more accessible. Present in homes as a cutting or construction tool, it was easily adapted to combat. A reliable and economical alternative for warriors of lower row, but no less bloodthirsty. What to see the ax spread all over the Vikings ranks.
An ax that sends wood
If the sword, too fragile, was not really popular at home, there is however an exception: the ULFBERHT sword. A sword made not with Europe steel, but from… India! The outstanding Vikings, navigators and merchants, sent the precious steel ingots from Iran, following the Volga Commercial Road, crossing Russia until reaching the Caspian Sea.
Once in Scandinavian land, the Viking blacksmiths worked the bars in bands folded on themselves, creating an exceptionally solid, as much as rare and therefore expensive blade. A quality that Western metallurgy will only succeed in equal to the XIXe century, eight centuries later.
The value of a blade in combat depends on many parameters: shape, elasticity, weight … Despite its low reputation, ULFBERHT, the Viking sword, was one of the finest blades of its time. To have one was considered a real luxury. pic.twitter.com/leuttjpppu
– National Geographic Fr (@natgeofr) November 27, 2019
If, you will understand, the ax ended up in the hands of the Vikings because they were mowed, it was not a second choice weapon. On the battlefield, she was capable of breaking shields and bones, where the sword could sometimes struggle. A versatile weapon in every way, as effective for smash enemy lines as to cut wooden bundles at the end of the day. Pragmatism at Viking.
The sword, for his part, did not miss any assets at the time of the fight. Less powerful, of course, it remained lighter, more handy and faster to use. Without forgetting that it also made it possible to adorn the attacks. One everywhere, ball in the center.
(Vi) Kings of the fight, but not only
The image of the Vikings rushing while screaming in combat, threatening ax in hand, is well rooted in our collective imagination. Stories many and many times told by the chronicles of the time, which related – without exaggeration – the ravages of these bloodthirsty barbarians, inexorably sowing chaos in their path. The truth is however slightly more nuanced.
This dirty reputation comes largely from the writings of their enemies: the Christian monks, who saw in them demonic pagans, uniting a more advanced civilization. Admittedly, the monks and monasteries – which overflowed with wealth – were particularly targeted during the raids of the Vikings. But the latter were far from being only looters: they were also traders, explorers, craftsmen and navigators incomparable.
They are the ones who, very early in history, established commercial roads to the Arab world, founded colonies in Greenland or Newfoundland. The Vikings certainly had a certain appetite for the fight and did not know, moreover, no religious or moral restriction in matters of war – which Christians are, which reinforced their formidable image. But above all were motivated by economic objectives. Real entrepreneurs, in short! The ax cutting in addition, just to be able to convince more easily.
