The Norse warrior frequently carried several light throwing spears into combat to be thrown as the distance closed, leaving the warrior free to use his sword or axe for hand-to-hand fighting. The javelin's sharply pointed tip, strong central ridge and straight-edged blade was designed to pierce maille, and actually did so better than the axe or sword - but hey, glory is in the close-up fight. The decorated socket of this spear head demonstrates the Viking's creative mix of art and war, whereby weapons often carried intricate patterns created using the niello process. This involved using an alloy of several metals (notably silver) mixed with sulfur which was rubbed into an incised pattern and then fired. Where the alloy is rubbed into the engraving it remains black, while the rest of the surface is polished to a bright finish. The engraving provides a permanent niello-like effect on the socket of this replica. The head is brightly polished, the edges are not sharpened, the tip is quite nasty. A lot of my jousting and cavalry friends use these for mounted skill-at-arms throwing spears and tent-pegging lances.

length: 15 7/8"
blade: 9 3/4"
socket opening: 1"
socket depth: 5 1/4"
weight: 9.0 oz

Price: $60