![]() ![]() Swords were always expensive and only available to the relatively wealthy. Undoubtedly, the form and technology of spears, swords, and shields developed, but this must be investigated through sustained archaeological research (such as works by Walsh and Pierce), rather than documentary sources. Spears and swords continued to be the main offensive weapons, and shields the main means of defense. Borrowing of weaponry is not easily detected in the historical record because, on paper, few new weapon types were introduced by the Vikings (with the exceptions of bows and axes). This Irish site produced Ireland’s finest "Viking" sword, a bow that must be ultimately of Viking background, and other typical "Viking" weapons. Military technology always responds rapidly to new influences, and Ballinderry crannog, County Westmeath, may illustrate how far this process had advanced by the tenth century. Initial Viking technological superiority could have been made up fairly readily, however, by the greater Irish kings. The normal range of Viking military equipment is well known their main weapons were spears, swords, axes, and bows and arrows. ![]() In view of the scarcity of good contextual information, however, Rynne’s classification and chronology must be regarded as provisional. Rynne suggested that swords of "sub-Roman" type developed during the fourth to seventh centuries, followed by other forms ("expanded-ended" and "crannog" swords), which may have remained in use until the ninth century. Mallory suggested that colg is the earlier, originally applied to small Iron Age thrusting swords, whereas claideb is a fifth- or sixth-century introduction, denoting longer swords designed for slashing or cutting. Early medieval sources contain two terms for "sword"-claideb and colg. Archaeological study of medieval spearheads is hampered, however, both by the scarcity of examples from dateable contexts and by the recurrence of similar forms over long periods. At least twelve different terms for spears are found in Irish sources-testimony to its ubiquity. Used by all races, classes, and types of warrior, it could be thrown as a missile or retained in the hand to thrust and parry in close combat. The spear was the most common, and in that sense the most important of these weapons. The shield/sword/spear combination seems to have been the ideal throughout the Iron Age and early medieval periods. Significantly, these are the only weapons represented in the historical or archaeological record for the pre-Viking period and, indeed, for the preceding Iron Age. Irish sources of the ninth to twelfth centuries depict the ideal weaponry of a warrior as a shield, a sword, and one or more spears. ![]() The quality of pre-Viking Irish weapons has been questioned, although metallographic study of weapons of this period has found that while some were technologically poor, others were quite effective. Early medieval Ireland was not highly militarized, and without significant external threats there was little pressure to improve military technology. ![]()
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