Tactic from the "Icelanders Sagas"

S

scotjute

Joined
Aug 7, 2001
Messages
212
Hope ya'l find this interesting. I've just
started reading these.
This is from : The Saga of Egil (approx. pre-900
AD if I remember right)

Egil's sword had a leather strap on the hilt
which he slipped over his wrist, he then grabbed
his spear and waited Onund's approach. When Onund
saw him, they both
charged and exchanged spears. Onund's spear
glanced off Egil's shield, while Egil's spear
lodged in Onund's shield, making it heavy to
move. Onund's sword was halfway out of scabbard
when Egil thrust him thru with his sword.


And I had thought that the leather strap thru the
hole in the knife handle and slipped over the wrist
while skinning was a fairly recent technique.
 
Originally posted by scotjute
Onund's spear glanced off Egil's shield, while Egil's spear
lodged in Onund's shield, making it heavy to
move. Onund's sword was halfway out of scabbard
when Egil thrust him thru with his sword.
Click to expand...

Interestingly enough, the Romans used this exact same tactic with the pilum, a spear with a long, soft, iron shaft and small head, designed to pierce their opponent's shield, and then bend and hang there, making defensive moves difficult and providing an opening for the vesputum or gladius. See:

http://www.novaroma.org/via_romana/reenactments/pilum.html
 
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