Anglo Saxon Arms and Armor

1
Anglo Saxon Arms and Armor

• By
• Joey Trevino
• Michael Cruda
• Danny Acosta
• Rico Burnnet
• Alvin Pineda

2
Anglo Saxon Swords

• The usual length of the blades are 72-80cm long
  and 7.5cm wide with a shallow,but broad groove
  down the center to lose weight not strength.
• These early swords usually had pommels and
  crossguards made up of layers of organic material
  such as wood, bone or horn, which were covered
  by, bronze, gold and silver.
• The Vikings tended to go for swords with 3 or 5
  lobed pommels and the Anglo-Saxons for 'Cocked
  Hat' styles.

3
Helmets of the Anglo Saxons

• Valsgarde and Vendel period helms are the largest
  group of helmets to survive the last thousand
  years. Others are the helm from Sutton Hoo the
  Benty Grange helmet the Morken helm from
  Belgium the Jorvik helm and the Wenceslas helm
  from Czechoslovakia.
• Metal helms of several types were all fairly
  similar in principle, being made from bands of
  metal forming a framework which was 'filled in'
  by riveting metal, leather (speculative) or even
  horn panels into I and A few of the earlier
  Anglo-Saxon and Viking helmets had spectacle like
  eye-guards or visors

4
Anglo Saxon Shields

• Round shields seem to have been the norm, being
  either flat or 'watchglass' shaped in
  cross-section. They are always shown with a boss
  and often have wooden or metal bands on the back
  to strengthen them.
• Traditionally shields were made of linden (Lime)
  wood although other timbers may also have been
  used such as Alder and Poplar.
• Round shields seem to have varied in size from
  around 45 - 120cm (18" - 48") in diameter but the
  smaller and more manageable 75 - 90cm (30" - 36")
  is by far the most common.

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Anglo Saxon Bows Arrows

• The Anglo-Saxons seem to have used the bow mainly
  for hunting, displaying a certain disdain for
  it's use in battle. The bow was more widespread
  as a weapon amongst the Vikings, but even then
  was not terribly common.
• Bows were mainly made of yew, elm or ash, 'D'
  shaped in section and tapering from the centre to
  the tips.
• The bows tended to be between 1.65 - 1.9m (66" -
  76") long, reflecting the height, reach and
  preference of the user. Depending upon the
  quality of the wood that the bow was made from,
  it could be smooth and regular along it's length,
  or quite knobbly where knots had to be
  accommodated in it's design.

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The Spears of the Anglo Saxons

• The main weapon of the period was the spear, not
  only for the peasant but also for the
  professional soldier and even the nobility. It
  was the traditional weapon that Woden used and
  remained the weapon par excellence among the
  Germanic peoples even during the tenth and
  eleventh centuries.
• The light throwing spear or javelin could have
  been launched when the two opposing sides were
  about 30 - 40 paces apart. When we tried a
  javelin against a cloth covered pig carcass, it
  nearly passed all the way through the body, and
  with mail on, it only managed to penetrate some 5
  inches (13 cms) or so.

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Body Armor

• Chain mail was first used around 700 AD where
  early Norman and Saxon armies protected
  themselves in combat with this this prized
  commodity. During that time, the hood or coif was
  widely used. By 1100 primarily all armor was
  maille. The full length shirt is called a hauberk
  and was normally long sleeve and ankle length.
  The bernie is shorter and normally has half
  sleeves.

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Biblography
Web Site Regia Anglopum. El Camino Library. 9
Sept. 2003 lthttp//regia.orggt.