Our knowledge of weaponry for the Viking Age is based on relatively sparse archaeological finds and pictorial representation, together with the sagas. Quilted cloth (a gambeson) is conjectured as possible armour for lower-status warriors, but no examples have been found in graves.

Before a large Viking axes
battle, combatants would mark their helmets so that they could identify one another.
The shield

The shield was one of the most important weapons for any Viking warrior. Round shields, sometimes known as lindar or lamhyrn, were the most common. They were constructed from linden or similar timbers, usually reinforced with leather or iron on the edge. They were also painted or ornamented with runes, symbols or designs to aid in the defence of the bearer. In battle, the shield could be thrown at an opponent and the iron or steel shield boss would then penetrate into their body with enough force to injure them severely.

A variety of other weapons were used to attack foes, including the spear, sword and axe. The sagas mention several polearms such as the atgeir, which is described as being akin to a glaive. Gunnar Hamundarson, for example, is described in Njals saga as cutting and impaling his enemies with this weapon. No atgeir have been found in graves, however, and they may not have been an everyday weapon for the Vikings.

Mail was also an effective protective armour. It was extremely difficult to make, and was the privilege of those who were wealthy enough to afford it. Mail was worn only by those who were going into battle, such as the professional warriors of the Great Heathen Army at the Battle of Fulford in 1066 or Harald Hardrada’s forces during his invasion of England.

Another type of protection was a helmet. Very few complete ones have survived from the Viking period, but the Gjermundbu helmet (pictured above) is a good example. This helmet dates from the 10th century and has clear evidence of battle damage – a sword blow and an arrow puncture. This helmet had a spectacle guard around the eyes and nose, which both presented a frightening visage to an opponent and helped deflect incoming attacks.

A more practical type of shield was the seaxe, which was a large knife with a single-edged blade. It was a very useful tool for both hunting and warfare. A lesser quality seaxe was made from a curved piece of metal, while the more expensive ones were from solid iron.
The axe

In a period when almost everything was made of wood, it is not surprising that axes would play an important role in the daily life of the Vikings. As weapons, axes were often used in combat and they have also been found in warrior graves, where they would accompany the dead magnates on their journey into the afterlife. The axe from the magnate’s grave at Mammen in Jutland is a fine example. It is adorned with silver inlay. On one side of the axe there is a bird motif. This could be either the rooster Gullinkambi (Old Norse “golden comb”) or the Phoenix, which is a symbol of rebirth and belongs to Christian mythology.

In this case, the axes with crossed axes are a memorial to two Viking warriors who fell during a battle. They had been buried with their axes in order to protect the graves of their loved ones.

The axes were discovered in 1942 by a man cutting peat for fuel in Denmark. He initially thought that they were fragments of buried waste and set them aside. But later, archaeologists examined the axes and realised that they were actually part of two helmets with horns.

Until now, it was impossible to date the helmets with crossed axes with certainty. But the new research has proved that they were deposited in the peat bog around 900 B.C, long before the Vikings and Norse dominated the region. The researchers were able to establish this with the help of a new method, which involves measuring the radioactive carbon isotope in organic material.

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The helmet

The helmet was the only head protection available to a Viking warrior, and it offered a formidable barrier against blows that could break the skull or cut through the scalp. It also protected against arrows and a sword thrust, which would be fatal to any other part of the body.

Only a handful of helmet fragments have been recovered from archaeological digs, and the only more-or-less complete helmet from the Viking Age is the Gjermundbu helmet. It dates from the 10th century, and has a rounded cap with a covering for the face, resembling a modern pair of spectacles. This design makes the wearer appear frightening to an enemy, as well as protecting his eyes from the glare of incoming shafts and sword points.

Unlike the helmets of medieval knights, which were made from one piece of iron hammered into shape, Viking-age helmet bowls were usually made from several pieces of iron riveted together, following a pattern called spangenhelm. This was less labor-intensive than making a single piece, and may have been an attempt to make a helmet more durable.

A sharp spike at the crest of the helmet made it particularly deadly, and this can be seen on the reconstruction shown here. Although such a spike wouldn't have stopped a spear or sword strike, it was likely enough to deter a foe from attacking at all and might even disorient him, as suggested by the description in Njals saga of Gunnar Hammerson cutting and impaling his foe with an atgeir (halberd).

Other than helmets, the only other armor available to Viking warriors were long pants covered by quilted cloth and leather boots. This was sufficient protection for raiding parties, but only for a limited period of time. Even the wealthiest warriors weren't able to afford full mail armor, which was only worn by professional soldiers on a large battle like Harald Hardrada's invasion of England in 1066 and wealthy aristocrats.

The scarcity of archaeological evidence for helmets and other armor means that much of what we know about the military technology of the Vikings is based on pictorial representation and accounts in sagas and laws from the 14th century. Some of these sources mention that combatants were marked before a battle so that the sides could recognize each other. But it isn't clear whether this practice was widespread.
The hammer

The hammer and pick (also called a hammer and chisel or a pickaxe), also known as the mining symbol U+2692 in Unicode, is used in heraldry to indicate mining, mines, miners, and is borne as a charge in the coats of arms of mining towns. It is also used as a symbol for fans of Premier League club West Ham United and Ukrainian Premier League side Shakhtar Donetsk.

During the excavation of the peat pit, a man working to clear land for cultivation discovered fragments of two helmets that had been buried for centuries. He thought they were discarded waste and set them aside, but later examined them closely and found that they had curved horns. They were dated to the late Nordic Bronze Age, long before the Vikings and Norse dominated Scandinavia, by using radiocarbon dating of the organic material on their horns.

Archaeologists have interpreted the decoration of these helmets as an attempt to make the wearers look more imposing and ferocious, as was the custom at this time. The horned helmets are a reminder of the mighty warriors who once lived and died in these parts.