These are of many shapes, and it is impossible to tell those which were used for war, or for household, or for felling trees.
“It was seen from the Thing that a body of men rode down along Gljúfrá (a river), and that shields glittered there. When these arrived a man in a blue cloak rode foremost; he had a gilt helmet on his head and a gold-ornamented shield at his side; in his hand a hooked spear; the socket of its head was inlaid with gold; he was girt with a sword. This was Egil Skallagrimsson” (Egil’s Saga, ch. 85).
The axe.—The axe is frequently mentioned in the Sagas, and must often have been a formidable weapon. Some were artistically and splendidly made, and inlaid with precious metal, each side being made of different patterns.
Fig. 864.—Axe inlaid with metal, of silver mixed with gold. ½ real size.—Bjerringhoï mound at Mammen, near Viborg.
One of the earliest forms of this weapon is probably the one here represented (Fig. 865), for it was found with a bronze sword, and shows the transition that was taking place, when iron was to supersede bronze in the making of weapons.
They also had peculiar figurative names—
The fiend of the shield.
The witch of the battle.
The witch of the armour.