Archery

Archery in the Viking age

Archery is an often neglected part of Viking age warfare. Although the bow did not yet have the commanding presence on the battlefield that it would develop in later medieval times, the evidence shows that it was still an important weapon in the Vikings' armoury.

Images of bows and arrows appear throughout Viking art: from scenes of warfare carved on a whalebone casket, to a bow and arrow on the back of an early 10th century Hiberno-Norse coin from York. Norwegian laws written towards the end of the Viking period list the bow among the weapons of a free man, Olaf Trygvason's Saga features a sea battle in which the bow played an important part, and Harold Bluetooth is said to have died from an arrow.

A variety of arrow heads have been found in the archaeological record. Types include blunts for hunting birds and small game such as hare, broadheads either for hunting or warfare, and the deadly "long bodkin": a heavy narrow spike designed to penetrate chainmail.

Archery in the society

Two main forms of archery are practiced in the society: Target shooting for competition and display, and "combat" archery as part of the battle display. Target archery uses sharp arrows based on archaeological finds. For combat archery (shooting at people running around the battlefield), we use bows of limited poundage, and arrows equipped with expanded blunt heads and oversized flights which tend to slow the arrow. The regulations for combat archery equipment are strict, as are the competency tests which archers must pass before being allowed on the battlefield.