Viking warriors with swords & shields at Largs, Scotland, UK. 9th Sep, 2017. The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) Re-enactment event by the Swords of Dalriada, 13th Century, living history group. It was an indecisive engagement between the kingdoms of Norway and Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. The conflict formed part of the Norwegian expedition against Scotland in 1263, in which Haakon Haakonarson, King of Norway attempted to reassert Norwegian sovereignty over the western seaboard of Scotland.
The Vikings were Norse seafarers, who traveled the ocean trading and raiding to their hearts content. They sailed all over Europe and although they were mostly traders, they were also pillagers and Viking warriors are known to be some of the most ferocious. All Viking men were required to own weapons, and were permitted to carry them at all times. Many Viking warriors would use axes which was strange for the time. They would also use swords and spears. At the start of a battle Viking warriors would fire off arrows but would normally switch to swords later. This was because bows and arrows were less honourable than swords. Berserkers were warriors that would work themselves into a battle frenzy so much that they ignored pain and injury. Often, there would be many berserkers formed into groups and would be set loose on the enemy as shock troops. The berserkers believed that the god Odin would personally protect them from harm and so they often wore no armor into battle. There is only speculation as to what a berserker really was, as there are no accurate records of them. The word berserk comes from two words, ‘ber’ meaning bear and ‘serk’ meaning shirt. This probably means that these battle frenzied super warriors more likely wore bear skin shirts to battle as a symbol of their status.
Size: 3600px × 2400px
Location: Largs, United Kingdom
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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