Viking Shields.pdf

Construction and dimensions

Shields were typically 80-90 cm in diameter [ 1 ] ( Table 1 ). The board was flat, and made of a single

layer of planks butted together. The Gokstad shields were made of seven or eight white pine [ 2 ]

planks of varying widths [ 3 ]. The planks were usually only 6-10mm thick ( Table 2 ) , and were

bevelled even thinner at the outer edge ( Fig. 1 ; Table 2 ). There is no archaeological evidence for

laminated (ie. cross-ply) construction (Härke 1981) though contemporary poetry and slightly later

legislation suggests it (Dickinson and Härke 1992; Nicolaysen 1882).

Figure 1 - Shield from Gokstad ship burial, Westfold Norway c.905AD. Diameter 94

cm (Nicolaysen 1882). a. Front. Boss type is Rygh 564. b. Reverse, note holes for

attachment of rim and single wooden crossbar serving as grip - the other

reinforcements seen in photographs are modern additions. c. Cross section, note

bevelled edges.

The planks were possibly glued together. Extra support could come from the boss, grip and rim

bindings (see below), and from a leather covering. At least some shields from Birka had a thin

leather facing, and some earlier English shields were covered on both sides (Arwidsson 1986;

Dickinson and Härke 1992). However, the planks of the Gokstad shields were painted , indicating

that they had no leather facing covering them (Lowe 1990). It is worth noting that their uniform and

fragile design suggests that the Gokstad shields may have been ornaments made especially for

the burial, and thus not representative of actual combat shields [ 4 ].

An interesting parallel to the Gokstad shields comes from a peat bog at Tirskom, in Latvia. Dated

to the ninth century, this near intact shield is constructed of six spruce or fir planks (Yrtan 1961)

and covered on front and rear with leather, padded with pressed grass.

Boss

At the centre of the shield was a circular hole [ 5 ] covered by a more-or-less hemispherical iron

boss of ~15 cm diameter (including flange), which enclosed the hand grip. The iron of the dome

was fairly thick (3-5 mm), though the flange was somewhat thinner (Lowe 1990; Manx Museum,

Douglas Man: pers. obs. 1994; Musee des Antiquites Nationales, St. Germain-en-Laye France:

pers. obs. 1994).

Bosses had two main forms - the early style had a high dome and a pronounced neck (Type Rygh

(R)564: Fig. 2-a ). The later style, low domed without a neck (R562: Fig. 2-b ), never completely

replaced the former (Graham-Campbell 1980). Less common were a squat style (R563: Fig. 2-c )

and a sub-conical style (R565: Fig. 2-d ), sometimes with an apical knob (Arwidsson 1986).

Figure 2 - Shield bosses, Rygh classification scheme. a. R564. b. R562. c. R563. d.

R565. From Arwidsson (1986).

Single examples of bosses with a toothed flange are known from Telemark, Norway ( Fig. 3-a );

Birka, Sweden; and Ile de Groix, France ( Fig. 3-e ). In the latter burial, some unique bosses with

elaborate flanges were found ( Fig. 3-b,c,d,e ). These bosses might have had a Western European

origin (Müller-Wille 1978).

The boss was normally attached by broad headed iron nails, the points of which were either

clenched (bent over) or flattened on the reverse of the shield ( Fig. 3-d,h ). In the Birka material four

nails was most common (Arbman 1940-3), occasionally six (as for the Gokstad shields). Five nails

were sometimes used, as in examples from Cronk Moar, Man and the ship cremation on the Ile de

Groix, France (Bersu and Wilson 1966; Müller-Wille 1978).

The flange of some bosses were angled, perhaps to secure the boss to the board by placing

tension on the nails (Dickinson and Härke 1992), or possibly because they were attached to

convex shield boards. Flanges with decorative edgings of non-ferrous metal strips were found in

some Birka graves ( Fig. 3-f,g ), and nail heads were sometimes inlaid or tinned (Arwidsson 1986).

Figure 3 - Shield bosses. a. Boss with toothed flange, Telemark Norway (Oslo

Olsaksamlingen, pers. obs.). b-e. Ile de Groix, France. Nail points were flattened

rather than clenched (from Müller-Wille 1978). f. Birka Bj544, showing tin applique

on flange; g. Birka Bj850, brass edging on flange; h. Birka Bj581, side view showing

nails clenched (bent) for attachment (after Arbmann 1940).

Handle or grip

Wood alone must have been used in the majority of graves where remains are lacking, as in the

Gokstad shields where a thin lath of rectangular section is nailed (crossways with respect to the

planks) from edge to edge across the back face, it serves as a handle where it crosses the central

hole ( Fig. l ). On more elaborate shields a wooden core was covered by a gutter-shaped sheathing

of iron (Arwidsson 1986), usually ornamented with embossed bronze sheet or silver inlay ( Fig 4-a ).

Figure 4 - Shield grips, 10th cent. a. Two fragments of a silver-embellished iron grip

with wooden core from Hedeby boat grave, Schleswig-Holstein Germany (from

Müller-Wille 1976). b. Fragment of shield grip with spatulate terminal, Gokstad ship

burial (from Nicolaysen 1886). c-d. Three-armed bronze fastenings for shield handle

in the form of animal/human masks, Hedeby boat grave and Birka grave Bj944

(from Müller-Wille 1976, and after Arbman 1943).

The handle was long, often crossing the full diameter of the shield, and was tapered towards both

ends. The tips could be flattened out into a spatulate terminal which was nailed directly to the

board ( Fig. 4-b ), or be fastened down by separate bronze mounts ( Fig. 4-c,d ). Occasionally the

nails fastening the boss also passed through the handle. The handgrip may have been wrapped

with leather (eg. Birka grave Bj504, and as known from early Anglo-Saxon finds: Arwidsson 1986;

Härke 1981).

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