AlphaDelta's Viking developing corner

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Thanks Nick! The specular looks bette than I thought it would.. Looking forward to 1.503. :smile:

Here is the next thing on the line.. By the request of Nick, some leather armours.

First up, leather ring tunic.

ad_leather_armour_01.jpg


 
About the Vikings. They come from Denmark and Norway and allways uses longships. There ships have Mythology Heads on the Frontside and they carry Mailarmor and shields. They uses Axes and swords and never have Horned Helmets. They was very brutal and pillage around. They don't have really Kings, some of them was good and Rich Warrior and called himself Kings.

The Vikings in Britain

In the year 793 Viking pirate raiders sailed across the North Sea to a Christian monastery at Lindisfarne in Northeast England. They stole its treasures, murdered the monks and terrified everyone. This was followed by other violent 'Viking raids' all over Britain.
In 865 a 'Great Army' of Danish Vikings invaded England. There were fierce battles for several years. In the end the Vikings conquered all of northern, central and eastern England, and seized much of the land for their own farms. This area was called 'The Danelaw'.
During the same period, Norwegian Vikings sailed to northern and western Scotland, and seized land for their farms around the coast and islands. They also settled in the Isle of Man, and parts of Wales.

Bows and Arrows

Four 9Th-10Th cent. Viking arrowheadsBows were used both for hunting and in battle. They were made from yew, ash or elm trees. The draw force of a 10Th century bow may have reached some 90 pounds force (400 N), resulting in an effective range of at least 250 m. A bow found at Viking Hedeby, which probably was a full-fledged war bow and arrow, had a draw force of well over 100 pounds. A unit of length used in Icelandic law (the Grágás) called a bowshot (ördrag) corresponded to 480 m. Illustrations from the time show bows being pulled back to the chest, rather than to the ear, as is common today.

Arrowheads were typically made from iron and produced in various shapes and dimensions, according to place of origin. Most arrowheads were fixed onto the arrow shaft by a shouldered tang that was fitted into the end of a shaft of wood. Some heads were also made of wood or antler. Evidence for eagle feather flights has been found with the feathers being bound and glued on. The end of the shaft was flared with very shallow self nocks, although some arrows possessed bronze cast nocks.

The earliest find of these relics were found in Denmark, seemingly belonging to the leading-warrior class, as per the graves in which they were found.


Spear

The spear was the most common weapon of the Viking warrior. Spears consisted of metal heads on wooden shafts of two to three meters in length. The heads could measure between twenty and sixty centimetres, with a tendency towards longer heads in the later Viking age. Spear heads with wings are called krókspjót (barbed spear) in the sagas. Some larger-headed spears were called höggspjót (hewing spear) and could also be used for cutting.

The spear was used both as a throwing weapon and as a thrusting weapon. Most evidence indicates that they were used in one hand. Limited evidence from a saga indicates that they may have been used with two hands, but not in battle.

Compared to a sword, the spear can be made with lesser steel and far less metal overall. This made the weapon cheaper and probably within the capability of a common blacksmith to produce.


Shield

The shield was the most common means of defense. The Viking shield was typically round, being a successor to earlier Germanic shields with a diameter of around 80–90 cm or more and a typical thickness of less than 10mm, made of planks of woods such as fir, pine, willow or linden. It usually had a central hole with a hand grip, the hand being protected by a metal boss. Shields were likely covered with rawhide or leather. The Gokstad ship has places for shields to be hung on its railing, and the Gokstad shields have holes along the rim for fastening some sort of non-metallic rim protection. Some Viking shields may have been decorated by simple patterns, although some skaldic poems praising shields might indicate more elaborate decoration and archaeological evidence has supported this. Towards the end of the Viking age, the Norman kite shield came into fashion.


Knife, Seax

A Seax is a large, single-edged knife commonly carried by freemen in Norse society. It would serve as a machete-like implement in peacetime, but also made a deadly side-arm in war. A wealthier man might own a larger seax, some being effectively swords. The smaller knives were likely within the fabrication ability of a common blacksmith.

The Seax was in widespread use among the Migration period Germanic tribes, and is even eponymous of the Saxons. It appears in Scandinavia from the 4Th century, and shows a pattern of distribution from the lower Elbe (Elbe Germans) to Anglo-Saxon England. While their popularity on the continent declines with the end of the Migration period, they remain in frequent use in both England and Scandinavia throughout the Viking Age.


Sword, Viking sword

Owning a sword was a matter of high prestige. A sword mentioned in the Laxdæla saga was valued at half a crown, corresponding to the value of 16 milk-cows. The weapon was constructed from many layers of high- and low-carbon steel, the high-carbon steel providing durability, and the low-carbon steel flexibility. Constructing such weapons was a highly specialized endeavor -- likely outside the skill of an average Norse smith. Persons of status might own ornately-decorated swords.

The Viking sword was for single-handed use to be combined with a shield, with a blade length of typically 60–80 cm. Its shape was still very much based on the swords of the Dark Ages and on the Roman spatha, with a tight grip, long deep fuller, and no pronounced cross-guard.


Axe, Viking axe

Based on the everyday tool for splitting wood, axes specialized for use in battle evolved, with larger heads and longer shafts. Some axe heads were inlaid with silver designs. In the later Viking era, there were axe heads with crescent shaped edges measuring up to 45 cm, called breiðöx (broad axe). The limitations of the weapon are limited reach and a slow recovery time after striking a blow.

An axe head was mostly wrought iron, with a steel cutting edge. This made the weapon less expensive than a sword, and was a standard item produced by blacksmiths, historically.


Atgeir

A polearm known as the atgeir is mentioned in several Norse sagas and other literature. Atgeir is usually translated as "halberd", but may have been more akin to a glaive. Gunnar Hámundarson is described in Njáls saga as cutting and impaling foes on his atgeir.


Armour

Helmet

Helmets from the Viking Age are very rare - only one example is known to exist.[1] This Viking helmet was made of iron and was in the shape of a rounded or peaked cap made from four plates after the spangenhelm pattern, and was excavated from Gjermundbu, Norway, and dated to the 10th century. Gjermundbu is located in Haugsbygda, a village in Ringerike municipality, northeast of the center of Hønefoss, in Buskerud, Norway. This helmet has a rounded cap and has a "spectacle" guard around the eyes and nose, in addition to a possible mail aventail. The eyeguard in particular suggests a close affinity with the earlier Vendel period helmets. From runestones and other illustrations, we know the Vikings also wore simpler helmets, often peaked caps with a simple noseguard. Unlike what is often shown in popular culture, there are no sources that prove that Viking helmets had horns mounted on them.[2]


Mail

Once again, only a single fragmented but possibly complete mail shirt has been excavated in Scandinavia, from the same site as the helmet - Gjermundbu in Haugsbygda. Scandinavian Viking age burial customs seems to not favor burial with helmet or mail armour, in contrast to earlier extensive armor burials in Swedish Valsgärde.The mail shirt is currently interpreted as elbow-and-knee length. Probably worn over thick clothing, the mail shirt will protect the wearer from blows that get past his defence. Mail was very expensive in early medieval Europe, and would only have been worn by rich warriors. Mail armour of this type may also be known as a byrnie or brynja. The television series Deadliest Warrior documented the effectiveness of mail at deflecting slashing blows when a coat of mail prevented two strikes from a katana from doing any damage to the "flesh" beneath the mail.


Lamellar

More than thirty lamellae (individual plates for lamellar armour) were found in Birka, Sweden, in 1877, 1934 and 1998-2000.[3] They were dated to the same approximate period as the Gjermundbu mailshirt (900-950AD) and may be evidence that some Vikings wore lamellar armour.


Cloth, Leather

Quilted cloth (gambeson) and leather armors are conjectured as possible options for lower-status Viking warriors. Such materials rarely survive the ages, however, and no archaeological finds have been found. Some rune stones depict what appears to be armor which is not chain mail. Several layers of stout linen or hemp canvas would provide a good level of protection, at reasonable expense. Leather was far pricier during the period, and thus less affordable for the casual warrior.

I have read some Books Historical Books about Vikings.

Im lucky to find some Infos on Wikipedia and other Internetsites there better write this in English then I am can do.

Eventually this facts was Interesting for someone.
 
Good information there, thanks for posting.

Very interesting that they've only found 1 mail shirt, but have found 30 lamellae (pieces of lamellar vest). It's hard to imagine a viking wearing lamellar, but I think we have to remember that at their height, the vikings spread from Newfoundland, to Baghdad, coming into contact with all manner of armour and weapons. Kieven Rus were for example eastern Vikings, and they certainly wore lamellar.

It's also interesting that they would throw their main weapon, the spear. I wish we could have that feature in M&B.

Cheers
 
Wow, seeing this fast-paced, quality development, post by post is pretty awesome.
Some great work there.  :wink:

I somewhat reacted on the indications of lamellar armour, as my picture of northern "viking" armour was more or less complete with the tunics and mail.
But I soon found this - looks like there's plenty to read there, incase you haven't already seen it.

keep it up.  :smile:
 
few wiking helmets you could add them to mod

http://www.kruki.org/main.php?s=s0409

http://www.kruki.org/main.php?s=s0408

http://www.kruki.org/main.php?s=s0407
http://www.theknightshop.co.uk/catalog/images/300386l.jpg
http://www.kruki.org/main.php?s=s0406

http://www.kruki.org/main.php?s=s0405

http://www.kruki.org/main.php?s=s0404

http://dzikibez.pl/uploads/images/artykuly/helmy/vendelRek.jpg

http://www.globaleffects.com/B_pages/03_ArmsArmor/Period/Vendel_A_01_hi.jpg

http://www.globaleffects.com/B_pages/03_ArmsArmor/Period/Vendelkits_hi.jpg

http://www.gazeta.ie/media/Image/agnieszka/wiking4.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/wikingowie/helm.html

and some swords
http://www.goods.pl/images/products/351.jpg
http://www.miecze.pl/index.php5?page=Product&grupapr_id=4&c=0&lang=pl_PL
http://www.goods.pl/images/products/1476.jpg
http://www.vikings.com.pl/img/miecze2.JPG
http://halla.mjollnir.pl/files/typologia_mieczy0003.jpg
http://www.exchange3d.com/cubecart/images/uploads/aff465/Viking_sword_01.jpg
http://www.armart.antiquanova.com/images/s5a_full.jpg
http://www.armart.antiquanova.com/Viking.htm
http://www.a-work-of-art.net/pages/page04c.jpg


if you could add some of those things to mod it'l be nice :smile:










 
i guess it's about time i started making a nord army, used to use them as punching bags in a few of the earlier lords&realms versions (and I'm not just a gamer, I'm also a swede :twisted:) but not they look awesome, still no match against the rhodoks though in terms of practicality, their crossbowmen take down most things in 3-4 bolts, gots about 20 of them by now. but the new viking equip makes the nords look so badass now :mrgreen:.
 
I already addressed this in another thread but since it is to do with the vikings I'll mention it here too.

I think you should make a bare-chest wolf/bear pelt outfit for the viking berserkers. It should have a low stats but the actual berserkers should have a huge ironskin skill to boost their HP high up. I think the coat of plates armor they wear now doesn't look that berserkish. :smile:
 
In history 'berserkers' didn't go charging into battle naked or shirtless, that's just an invention of more modern writers. After all they were fantastic warriors but not idiots. Why would they throw away the advantage that armour gave them?

And don't get me started on horned helmets.

Awesome mod by the way.
 
any chance of the beserkers being taller and more bulky with muscle and longer reach?
It would be intimidating to see this in a battle

 
aha! knew i'd find you.its me, leonn. so this is where youve been hiding! ive been playing m&b for about a year too.
 
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