![]() The law codes of Ine ( King of Wessex from 688 to 726 CE) stipulate the imposition of fines for anyone who assists the escape of another's servant by lending them a weapon. Literary evidence from later Anglo-Saxon England indicates that only free men were permitted to bear arms. In Old English and other Germanic languages, which were spoken across much of Northwestern Europe, tribal groups often had names that appear to be based upon the names of weapons for instance, the Angles may have taken their name from the Old English term angul (meaning "barbed" or "hook"), the Franks from the word franca ("spear," or possibly "axe"), and the Saxons from seax ("knife"). The Beowulf poem uses at least six different words for a spear, suggesting that these terms actually had slightly varying meanings. In Old English, the primary language of Anglo-Saxon England, multiple words were often used to denote the same type of weapon. However, the artists may have been following artistic conventions concerning the depiction of warriors and weapons rather than accurately portraying the use of such items in their society. Such depictions also appear in manuscript illustrations and in the embroidered Bayeux Tapestry. Īrtistic depictions of soldiers bearing weapons can also be found in some Anglo-Saxon sculpture. The law codes and wills authored in the tenth and eleventh centuries also provide some insight into the military equipment used by the Anglo-Saxon nobility in this period. Some poems, including Beowulf, Battle of Brunanburh, and The Battle of Maldon, also refer to the use of weapons in combat however, these sources are difficult to accurately date and it is unclear to what extent such descriptions are the creation of their authors' imaginations. Therefore, scholars often draw from literary sources produced by neighbouring societies, such as the continental Franks and Goths, or later Vikings. Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People mentions various battles that had taken place, but gives few details. These literary sources are almost entirely authored by Christian clergy, and thus they do not specifically describe weapons or their use in warfare. Scholarly knowledge of warfare itself relies mostly on literary evidence, which was produced in the Christian context of the late Anglo-Saxon period, from the eighth to the eleventh century. However, questions have been raised as to how representative these items, specifically deposited with a purpose, are of the wider array of weapons used in Anglo-Saxon life. Īrchaeological evidence for Anglo-Saxon weaponry allows the documentation of the chronological development of weapon styles over time and the identification of regional variations. The popular historian Stephen Pollington proposed that this was either a return to the prehistoric practice of "deposition in sacred waters" or a reflection of the fact that battles were being increasingly fought at fords, which is confirmed by contemporary sources such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. According to historian Guy Halsall, the "deposition of grave-goods was a ritual act, wherein weaponry could symbolise age, ethnicity or rank at various times and places a token weapon might be used to illustrate such concepts." In addition, some late Anglo-Saxon weapons have been found at riversides. ĭue to the frequent inclusion of weapons as grave goods in the early Anglo-Saxon period, a great deal of archaeological evidence exists for Anglo-Saxon weaponry. Some of these literary sources include the poems Beowulf and The Battle of Maldon.Įvidence for arms and armour in Anglo-Saxon England derives from three types of sources - archaeological, textual, and illustrative - all of which raise different interpretation issues and are not evenly distributed in a chronological manner. However, the establishment of a literate Christian clergy in Anglo-Saxon England resulted in the production of several textual sources that describe weapons and their use in battle. ![]() In a non-funerary context, weapons were occasionally deposited in the ground or near rivers. ![]() The vast majority of these weapons were buried in graves of men, but they also were buried in the graves of women. ![]() Weapons were commonly included as grave goods in the early Anglo-Saxon burials. Weapons also had symbolic value for the Anglo-Saxons, apparently having strong connections to gender and social status. For defensive purposes, the shield was the most common item used by warriors, although sometimes mail and helmets were used. Other commonplace weapons included the sword, axe, and knife-however, bows and arrows, as well as slings, were not frequently used by the Anglo-Saxons. Spears, used for piercing and throwing, were the most common weapon. Many different weapons were created and used in Anglo-Saxon England between the fifth and eleventh centuries.
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