Viking Age Arms and Armor
Other Viking Weapons

Other weapons are mentioned in the stories. In general, we don't know what they were, and the old Icelandic words are translated differently by different sources. Examples from the period are not known to exist (although one wonders if there is an unrecognized lump of rusty iron on some museum's shelf that was once one of these weapons).

The atgeirr was Gunnar Hámundarson's preferred weapon in Brennu-Njáls saga and is usually translated as "halberd" (although sometimes as "bill" or "javelin"). In addition to using it as a weapon, Gunnar routinely vaulted onto the back of his horse using his atgeirr. The saga text suggests that the weapon could be used both for thrusting and cutting. From the way Gunnar uses his atgeirr in the saga, one wonders if it might have been like a glaive, a pole weapon used in the later middle ages. Three 16th century glaives are shown in the photo to the left. Gunnar's atgeirr is thought to lie at the bottom of Breiðafjörður off the point of land called Skor (right), lost in a shipwreck in the 18th century.

Egill used a kesja on several occasions (such as in chapter 58 of Egils saga), translated as "halberd". In chapter 2 of Gisla saga, Gisli used a höggspjót, also translated as "halberd". One source suggests that atgeirr, kesja, and höggspjót all refer to the same weapon, but we don't know what it might have been.

In chapter 66 of Grettis saga, a giant used a fleinn against Grettir, usually translated as "pike". The weapon is also called a heftisax, a word not otherwise known in the saga literature. The saga says that the weapon had a wooden shaft and was equally suited for striking or stabbing.

In chapter 30 of Harðar saga og Hólmverja, Hörður threw a gaflak (javelin) at a man, killing him. In chapter 53 of Egils saga is a detailed description of a brynþvari (mail scraper), usually translated as "halberd". It had a rectangular blade two ells (1m) long, but the wooden shaft measured only a hand's length. The word bryntröll (mail troll) is also used, translated as "halberd". In chapter 37 of Laxdæla saga, Hrútr struck Eldgrímr between the shoulders with a bryntröll, splitting his mail and cutting through Eldgrím's body.

So little is known of the brynklungr (mail bramble) that it is usually translated merely as "weapon". Similarly, sviða is sometimes translated as "sword" and sometimes as "halberd". In chapter 58 of Eyrbyggja saga, Þórir threw his sviða at Óspakr, hitting him in the leg. Óspakr pulled the weapon out of the wound and threw it back, killing another man.

Rocks were often used as missiles in a fight. These effective and readily available weapons discouraged one's opponents from closing the distance to fight with conventional weapons, and they could be lethal weapons in their own right. Prior to the battle described in chapter 44 of Eyrbyggja saga, Steinþórr chose to retreat to the rockslide on the hill at Geirvör (left), where his men would have a ready supply of stones to throw down at Snorri goði and his men.

Búi was ambushed by Helgi and Vakr and ten other men on the hill called Orrustuhóll (battle hill, in the foreground in the photo), as described in chapter 11 of Kjalnesinga saga. By the time Búi's supply of stones ran out, he had killed four of his ambushers.

Everyday items were sometimes placed into service as weapons, according to the sagas. Such items as a boathook (Hávarðar saga Ísfirðing chapter 4), a whale bone (Hávarðar saga Ísfirðing chapter 10), a scythe (Finnboga saga ramma chapter 40), a pitchfork (Finnboga saga ramma chapter 32), a clothes beater (Reykdæla saga og Víga-Skútu chapter 22), a boat oar (Víga-Glúms saga chapter 27), mane shears (used for trimming a horse's mane, Bjarnar saga Hítdælakappa chapter 32), and a sled runner (Eyrbyggja saga chapter 37) were used in fights, sometimes with lethal results.