Taking advantage of a decently nice day, this Dane is using this time to work outside and get some fresh air while making the final adjustments to his new spear. Haithabu, Current-Day Germany ; Latter half of the 10th Century. Winters during the Viking Age were long and harsh. People rarely ventured far from their homes unless they were searching for wood for the fire, or in a last resort, food. This is yet another fact of life for historic people that we in today’s world overlook. In an age of fleece and extreme cold weather gear we can go about our daily tasks in even the coldest weather as if it were the dead of Summer, however, the reality for people for thousands of years before was far different. Even those growing up in rural areas during the early 1900’s will tell of hard winter living, and the Viking Age was no exception. Winters in Northern Europe and Scandinavia are harsh to begin with, then when one takes into account the clothing and equipment available to the average person at the time, one can easily see just how hard life would have been during these winter months.
As a result of this, a good percentage of the time in one’s daily life was spent doing little more than staying around the fire in an attempt to stay warm. It has been assumed from various archaeological finds that houses built during the Viking Age in Scandinavia were quite well-insulated, allowing for more freedom of movement throughout the home during cold months, however, this still did not alleviate the lack of outdoor travel in harsh weather. Because of this we have come to the conclusion that many household goods would have been repaired, new clothing and equipment produced for the following spring, and in our Dane’s case, new weaponry. Since there was little else that could be done, indoor maintenance would have been essential to not only have enough necessities for the following year, but to also curb the boredom associated with months of being cooped up indoors (I.E. “cabin fever,” as we call it today). During this time, our Dane has been inside for a couple of months now with only brief excursions outside to gather additional firewood and other items that might be deemed useful. Aside from leaving to replenish stocks of firewood, he has been staying occupied with repairing things inside his home such as shoring up walls, replacing wooden pins holding household goods together, and fixing the roof, among other things. One task in particular is adding a new weapon to the household's arsenal: A spear. Using some left over funds from this autumn’s crop harvest he has purchased himself a spearhead from the local blacksmith and has set to producing a shaft for it. Taking advantage of a decently nice day, he is using this time to work outside and get some fresh air while making the final adjustments to his new weapon. While most modern conceptions of Viking Age warriors show them carrying axes and swords, the spear was quite possibly the most commonly used “purpose-built” weapon of the period. While axes were most certainly extremely common, if for no other reason than the fact that they were an everyday utility item, spears served only two purposes: hunting and combat. This particular spear has a medium-sized forged iron head, ideal for both hunting food as well as fighting enemies. The shaft is made from oak and was cut, shaved down, and allowed to “season” for a considerable amount of time, with the head then being affixed. The shaft was trimmed down to fit the head, which was riveted in place onto the shaft with a small iron rivet. It was also sealed with pine pitch for extra stability and lastly reinforced with a grass rope wrapping. These measures will keep the spear sturdy and keep the head from flying off in combat or while hunting. The shaft is left undecorated as we have little to no archaeological proof that they were decorated at this time. Comments are closed.
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AboutThis part of the site will look at the various aspects of life on Viking Age Danish people. From what they ate, to how they may have fought. Archives
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