Did Vikings Use Bow and Arrows?

A History of VIkings and Their Uses for Bow and Arrows. 

The Vikings are often perceived as wild-haired, and savage and not the sharpest tools in the shed. Yet their weaponry was somewhat impressive despite these perceptions. According to evidence, the bow and arrow was primarily used for hunting purposes - however they did appear in battle situations where long distance targets were desired.

Typically, their bows were made of wood from yew, ash or elm trees and ranged from 1.6 to 2 metres long. Arrow heads were constructed mainly from iron in a vast array of shapes and sizes. Arrowheads were not commonly found in the graves of warriors - which suggests that bows were not thought of as weapons for warriors. The majority of arrowheads were found at house sites, suggesting that bows were a domestic tool, often used for hunting.

It is estimated that the draw weight of a 10th century bow is 90lbs and the range of the weapon was about 200 metres. However, the medieval Icelandic law gives a conflicting estimate - the distance of an arrows flight is suggested to be around 480 metres. It is more than likely that different archers used bows with draw weights that matched their capabilities; therefore it was likely that there was variation in the draw weights of bows.

There is evidence that suggests the longbow was used in the viking lands, however there is also speculative evidence that composite recurve bows may have also been used in viking lands.

These particular bows were made in a way that stores more energy for a given bow length - for example, a short recurve bow would have a greater range than a longbow, offering greater advantages in situations where a longbow would not be appropriate.

Archaeologists discovered a well known viking’s grave that contained ring made from bone and suggested that the ring was in fact a thumb ring, used to protect his thumb whilst using a bow - similar to those used in Eastern Europe. The eastern recurve bow was typically drawn with the thumb and the draw weight could have been substantially over 100lbs - the reason why the thumb ring was heavily documented in Eastern Europe and Asia. The combination of these theories suggests that recurve bows may have been used in Norse Lands in the Viking Era.

It is certainly possible that the Vikings had contact with this kind of bow during trading voyages to Eastern Europe and Asia, yet the evidence is still to vague to suggest that the recurve bow used by the vikings.

The variety of Scandinavian bows discovered have been dated back to the Viking era, in addition to a small number of bows that predate the Viking period. This certainly provides evidence about the use, type and power of the bows the Vikings used. The earliest Viking era bow and arrow relics were found in Denmark and appropriate evidence suggests that they belonged to the upper warrior class, based on the graves where they were found.

So did Vikings use bow and arrows, the evidence suggest that yes they did. But maybe not for the intents and purposes we first assumed.