Posts: 1,420 Location: New Orleans
Tue 27 Jan, 2009 2:33 pm
The Norse were essentially a culture emerging from the Iron Age, the Iron Age is usually considered to have lasted in Northern Europe until around 800 AD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age_Scandinavia
The Norse did have longbows going way, way back, in fact the longbow may have originated in Scandinavia, but we have very little evidence of massed use of longbows in battles during the period 800 AD - 1000 AD, though they probably did encounter them and use them. As you said, they are rare up to that point.
The predominant weapon on the European battlefield from
Viking times back to the Bronze Age was the javelin and other thrown missiles (fransisca axes, pilum, darts, plumbata, rocks etc.). Archers were generally specialist troops and were not that widespread, except in the East, and some places like Crete. Same for slingers who were recruited from the Baeleric isles etc.. The Romans of course also used Artillery, which the Byzantines kept using. But in Northern Europe from Halsstadt / Roman Republican times through the battle of
Hastings the javelin was king of the battlefield, opposing armies would shower each other with javelins before shock infantry or cavalry was ever deployed. In many cases it was these low-energy missiles that decided the day, the infantry charge was done to rout the crumbling enemy.
Higher-energy missiles began appearing in widespread use shortly after the
Viking age, at least by the time of the 1st Crusade. This was as siginifcant of a change on the battlefield as the rise of heavy cavalry and later, pike and halberd armed infantry (high energy missiles)
Longbows started to be used more intensively ating from the Anglo-Norman conquest of Wales in the 12th Century. By the time of Edward I (13th Century) they were already a major part of the English armies.
Crossbows, granted not necessarily cranequin powered until later but still very powerful and much higher energy than a javelin, were widespread by the 12th Century, in many regions of Europe not just Italian cities. The famous Eccclesiastical interdict against using them on Christians in the Lateran council was in 1139 AD.
Powerful
recurvie composite bows were also forcibly introduced into Europe by the Mongols in the 12th Century.
By the end of the 13th Century very, very powerful
Arbalests (crossbows), initially made of composite organic materials and later spring steel, and early
firearms were appearing in battlefields across Europe, followed by cannon. By the end of the 14th they were all widespread.
J