ABSTRACT
Warfare made up a complex and vital part of the dynamics of Viking-Age society. At the core of Viking-Age warfare was the retinue, a long-lived institution which adds a considerable dimension of history to Viking-Age recruitment. In this chapter, my aim is to explore how weapon types and weapon combinations, as well as the geographical distribution of weapon graves and hill forts, might illustrate central developments in the practice of warfare and the principles of recruitment in central Norway, from the Early Roman Iron Age to the Early Viking Age. The design and combinations of weapons, as well as the distribution of weapon graves and hill forts, suggest that warfare demanded a great deal of resources in terms of both economy and manpower during the Roman Iron Age. Weapon equipment indicates that large fighting units were mobilised. Fighting units seem to have become smaller and with more specialised warriors during the Migration Period, and the need for manpower seems to have fallen. Instead, defence in the form of hill forts became more frequent. During the transition to the Merovingian Period, the practice of warfare changed profoundly. From now on warfare concentrated on the individual, with an emphasis on the horse, and on surprise, speed and improvisation. The individual warrior and the retinue became focal points in warfare and politics. In the Early Viking Age, weapon equipment and the distribution of weapon graves in the landscape indicate that larger armies were mobilised once again, but now with close historical ties to the retinue and its central position, which was established in the Merovingian Period.
