The term "halberd" has been used to translate severalOld Norse words relating topolearms[1] in the context ofViking Age arms and armour, and in scientific literature about theViking Age.[2] In referring to the Viking Age weapon, the term "halberd" is not to be taken as referring to the classicalSwiss halberd of the 15th century, but rather in its literal sense of "axe-on-a-pole", describing a weapon of the more generalglaive type.
In English translations ofsagas, "halberd," "bill," or other terms have been used to translate several differentOld Norse words. It is thus difficult to know what kind of weapon is being described in these translations, or the original texts. Many of these terms are shown below.
Theatgeir[1] was a type of bill or halberd, from Old Norsegeirr,[3] "spear". Theatgeirr is thought to have been a foreign weapon and is rarely mentioned in the sagas, but is famous as the favorite weapon of Gunnar of Hlíðarendi. InNjál's saga this weapon is shown as used mostly for thrusting, but also for hewing.
Gunnar wins hisatgeirr early inNjáls saga:"Hallgrímr lagði til hansatgeirinum. Slá ein var um þvert skipit, ok hljóp Gunnar aptr yfir öfugr; skjöldr Gunnars var fyrir framan slána, ok lagði Hallgrímr í gegnum hann ok svá í slána. Gunnar hjó á hönd Hallgrími, ok lamðiz handleggrinn, en sverðit beit ekki, fell, þá niðratgeirinn; Gunnar tókatgeirinn ok lagði í gegnum Hallgrím. Gunnar baratgeirinn jafnan síðan."[4] In English: "Hallgrim thrust at him with hisbill. There was a boom athwart the ship, and Gunnar leapt nimbly back over it, Gunnar's shield was just before the boom, and Hallgrim thrust hisbill into it, and through it, and so on into the boom. Gunnar cut at Hallgrim's arm hard, and lamed the forearm, but the sword would not bite. Then down fell thebill, and Gunnar seized thebill, and thrust Hallgrim through..."[5]
Gunnar was able to fight with sword in one hand and hisatgeirr in the other:"Tók ek þá sverðit ok vá ek með annarri hendi en lagða meðatgeirinum annarri hendi..."[4] or in English: "Then I took my sword, and I smote with it with one hand, but thrust at them with mybill with the other..."[5]
Gunnarr was deadly with theatgeirr:"Gunarr leggr í mótiatgeirinum, ok kom á Egil miðjan. Gunnar vegr hann upp áatgeirinum ok kastar honum út Rangá.... Lítlu síðar skýtr Gunnarr til Barkaratgeirinum, ok kom á hann miðjan ok í gengum hann ok niðr í völlinn."[4] In English: "Gunnar thrusts at him with thebill and struck him in the middle, and Gunnar hoists him up on thebill and hurls him out into Rangriver.... A little while after Gunnar hurls thebill at Bork, and struck him in the middle, and thebill went through him and stuck in the ground."[5]
Eyrbyggja Saga has:"Þú skalt fara til Helgafells, ok ganga í lopt, þat er þar er yfir útidurum, ok rýma fjalir í gólfinu, svá at þú fáir þar lagtatgeir í gegnum; en þá er Snorri gengr til kamars, þá skaltu leggjaatgeirnum í gegnum loptsgólfit í bak Snorra svá fast, at út gangi um kviðinn...",[6] or in English "Thou shalt go to Holyfell and get into the loft that is over the outer door, and pull up the boards of the floor, so that thou may'st thrust abill therethrough; then when Snorri goes out to his privy, thou shalt thrust thebill through the floor of the loft into his back so hard that it may come out at his belly...".[7]
The 1250King's Mirror, also known asKonungs skuggsjá orSpeculum Regale mentions theatgeirr:"Blýsteyptir hersporar ok góðiratgeirar eru ok góð vápn á skipi,"[8] or in English: "Lead-cast caltrops and goodhalberds are also effective weapons on shipboard."
Egil's saga has:"Egill hafdi...hauggspiót í hendi." (c.934),[9] or in English: "Egill had... ahalberd in his hand."[10] Elsewhere, Egil's spear is called akesja (cf).
InFæreyinga saga there is:"...hafði rauðan kyrtil, hjálm á höfði, ok girðr sverði okhöggspjót í hendi...",[11] or in English: "...he had a red tunic, a helmet on his head, a sword girded on and ahalberd in his hand..."
Víga-Glúms saga has"Glúmr hafði skjöld sinn oghöggspjót, gyrðr sverði..."[12] or in English: "Glúmr had his shield,halberd, and a sword girded on..."
Thekesja[1] was another halberd-type weapon. The name is thought to come from Celtic-Latingæsum.[1] TheCleasby andVigfússon dictionary notes that "kesja,atgeir andhöggspjót appear to be the same thing".[1] It's interesting to note thatEgils saga shows thekesja being thrown like a javelin or spear, and describes it in detail, calling it also a "mail-piercer" (brynþvarar):
"Kesiu hafdi [Þórólfr] í hendi; fiödrin var tveggja álna laung, og sleginn fram broddur ferstrendr, en upp var fiödrin breid. Falrinn bædi lángr ok digr. Skaptið var eigi hæra enn taka mátti hendi til fals ok furduliga digrt. Iárnteinn var í falnum ok skaptid allt iárnvafit. Þau spiót voru kaullutBrynþvarar." (c.934),[9] or in English: "Thethrusting-spear [Thorolf] carried had a blade two ells long (38.75" or 98.4 cm) with four edges tapering to a point at one end, broad at the other. The socket was long and wide, the shaft no taller than might be grasped at the socket by the hand, but wonderfully thick. An iron spike was in the socket and the whole of the shaft was bound with iron. It was the kind of spear that is called ahalberd."[10]
"Ok ádr þeir mættiz þá skaut hvarrkesiu at audrum. Egill lauft skilldinum vitkesiunni ok bar hallan sva atkesian reist or skilldinum of slaug í völlin." (c.934),[9] or in English: "And just before they met, each flung hishalberd at the other. Egill let his shield take thehalberd, holding it aslant so that a piece was sliced away, then thehalberd fell to the ground."[10]
Even the late 13th centuryKarlamagnus Saga has a mention:"Þá lagði Oddgeir til hans ok í gegnum skjöld hans ok brynju, ok svá at á hol gékkkesjan",[13] or in English: "Then Oddgeir struck him and pierced through his shield and armor, so that thehalberd pierced him through."
Thekesja would thus have a blade around 90 cm in length with a diamond cross-section at the end, and an additional spike attached to the socket, whose placement and purpose is not explained. The length of the weapons' shaft is unclear, but was either shoulder-height, or long enough that a man reaching up could still touch the socket.
Thekrókspjót was a barbed spear, literally "hooked spear", from Old Norsekrókr, "hook, anything crooked",[1] andspjót,[1] "spear" (cf.höggspjót, above). Thekrókspjót resembled a regular spear, except that it had two lugs or "wings" attached at the bottom of the spearhead, somewhat like a boar-spear. Additional hook-spear types have been found from the period, used for hunting fish, seal and whale.[14]
Grettir's saga tells of how fearsome this weapon could be:"...yfir sæng Þorfinns hangirkrókaspjót et stora.... [Grettir] tvíhendi spjótit á Þóri miðjum... svá at þegar gekk í gegnum hann. Fjöðrin var bæði löng ok breið á spjótinu. Ögmundr illi gekk næst Þóri ok hratt honum á lagit, svá at allt gekk upp atkrókunum. Stóð þá spjótit út um herðarnar á Þóri ok svá framan í brjóstit á Ögmundi: steyptuz þeir báðir dauðir af spjótinn."[15] Or in English: "...over Thorfinn's bed hangs thebarbed spear.... [Grettir] thrust the spear with two hands in Thorir's middle... so that it went through him at once. The spear-head was both long and broad. Ögmundr the Evil ran into Thorir and pushed him on, so that the spear went through up to thebarbs. The spear stood out of Thorir's back between the shoulderblades and entered the breast of Ogmund: they both fell dead, pierced by the spear."[16]
TheGulathing Law says: "En þat er hit þriðia misvigi ef maðr er lostenn krocoro. æðakrocspiote. oc þarf at skera til."[17] In English: "The third [form of] dishonorable manslaying is wounding a man with a barbed arrow orbarbed spear, so that [the head] has to be cut out."[18]
Theskeggøx, literally "bearded axe", was called so because while the blade was narrow at the haft, it widened downwards towards its edge, so that the "face" of the axe seemed to have a drooping "beard". The name is from Old Norseskegg, "beard"[1] andøx, "axe".[1]
Egils saga mentions askeggøx:"[Þórdr] felldi honum í hendrskeggexi eina. er Þórdr hafdi haft í hendi. þau vapn voro þá tíd." (c.909),[9] or in English: "Thord gave Egila thick-bladed axe he was carrying, common enough at that time."[10]
Konungs skuggsjá ("King's Mirror", 1250) recommended theskeggøx as a good weapon aboard a ship:"Á skipi eru góðir angorfsljár ok langskeptarskeggexar, slagbrandar ok stafslöngur, skeptiflettur ok allskyns annat vápngrjót..."[8] or in English: "Longhandled scythes and long-shaftedbearded axes, 'war-beams' and staff-slings, darts, and missiles of every sort are serviceable on ships..."
The term "Viking halberd" was used to describe a find in North America in the 1995 bookEarly Vikings of the New World, but it was later demonstrated to be a tobacco cutter.[19]
There has currently been, in fact, no clearly identified Viking halberd or bill found. Spears are the only type of polearms found in Viking graves. It is possible that halberds and bills were not part of Viking funerary customs, as opposed to other weapons that have been found in graves. Bills have been found inFrankish graves from theMerovingian period, which predates theViking Age; but their use by the Scandinavians is not attested and, if existent, seemed to have been rare.[20]
^Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. (1832).Færeyinga saga. Copenhagen: Jens Hostrup Schultz. pp. 206–07.
^Þorgilsson, Ari inn froði (1830). Guðmundsson, Þorgeir; Helgason, Þorsteinn (eds.).Íslendinga sögur. Copenhagen: S.L. Möller. p. 379. Retrieved6 October 2014.
