The Sling

[Old Guy]

Does anyone have any idea how prevalent the use of the sling was during the Dark Ages in Northern Europe and is there enough evidence to suggest complete units of slingers in Saxon, British or Viking etc. armies?

[Erpingham]

I think Saxo Grammaticus is the only one to mention Viking slingers (although I think the word used could mean stone-throwers).  There do seem to be numbers of them, not just individuals, though.

[Duncan Head]

I think Saxo Grammaticus is the only one to mention Viking slingers (although I think the word used could mean stone-throwers).

Abbo of Fleury mentions Viking slings - fundae - at the siege of Paris.

Búi Andríðsson never carried a weapon other than his sling, which he tied around himself. He used the sling with lethal results on many occasions. Búi was ambushed by Helgi and Vakr and ten other men on the hill called Orrustuhóll (battle hill, the smaller hill in the foreground in the photo), as described in chapter 11 of Kjalnesinga saga. By the time Búi's supply of stones ran out, he had killed four of his ambushers.

- that one's obviously one individual, not a group.

[Old Guy]

I was just curious as the whole question of large numbers of skirmishers for these armies, slingers especially, seem at odds with anything I have read about them, and I was trying to get an idea why people would think they were the norm. Thanks for the replies, I will have to dig deeper.

[aligern]

Skirmishers are under reported in ancient and medieval sources because they are generally not crucial to the outcome of a battle and are not part of the socially significant group that is the core of the army.  So in medieval depictions we get knights and archers, but sometimes no spearmen who we can be pretty certain were there. The Bayeux Tapestry is a prime example. Slingers are unlikely to be either militarily or socially significant so they may be at a battle and just not get mentioned. I am pretty sure that slingers were used in Edward Is expeditions in Scotland , not a unit one would expect. The sling has the advantage for Vikings that it is easy to carry, can be used in naval warfare  and would be handy for getting something for the pot when on the march.
Saxo is a late source for Viking warfare and is describing 'mythical' battles such as Bravellir so you will get some who think he is making it all up or describing conditions in his day.  I think that he may well have quite reasonable sources based on tradition and saga.

[Erpingham]

Saxo is a late source for Viking warfare and is describing 'mythical' battles such as Bravellir so you will get some who think he is making it all up or describing conditions in his day.  I think that he may well have quite reasonable sources based on tradition and saga.

Saxo isn't really any later than many of the "Viking" sources we normally use.  He's a near contemporary of Snorre Sturlasson, for example.  He's somewhat more influenced by classical writers (he studied in Paris, IIRC).  But I agree he probably had a pile of traditional material to work from.

How much Viking military practice different from early medieval military practice is of course a bit moot.  Personally, I'm happy to think of it being a continuum.