What was anglo saxon 10th century armor like?

by yesh_me_lorde

What archaelogical evidence is there of armor in this period?

Steelcan909

There are precious few examples of Anglo-Saxon armor surviving from the early middle ages and none that I am aware of coming from the time frame that you've put forth. However this does not mean that there are not commonly accepted ideas on what the Anglo-Saxons were using to defend themselves at this time. There are several helmets that have been recovered and reconstructed, mail armor is well attested in literature even if it is not commonly found in archaeological sites, and shields are also well attested and were probably quite similar to other shields throughout Europe.

First I'll tackle some helmets that have been recovered from archaeological sites.

The famous Sutton Hoo helmet dates from the 600's

http://www.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN00035/AN00035172_001_l.jpg

Then there is the Coppergate (or York) helmet which dates from the mid 8th century.

http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/zoom-image.php?img=4YORCM_CA665-1.jpg

Both of these helmets predate your question by some centuries, but are the most well known examples of Anglo-Saxon helmets.

So what about armor? The only extant example of armor that has survived to the modern day and was definitevely Anglo-Saxon is the suit of mail found in the Sutton Hoo burial. The scarcity of mail in the archaeological record is probably due to corrosion.

However chain mail is quite well attested in literature of the time, particularly in Beowulf and riddles from the Exeter Book.

The Bayeaux Tapestry, which again is outside of the time frame that you have put down, shows Anglo-Saxons clad in mail as well.

http://www.bayeux-tapestry.org.uk/deathofharold.jpg

Also of note are the shields that are being wielded.

Now of course the tapestry is an artistic representation and not direct archaeological evidence so we cannot take its depictions without corroborating evidence. The literary evidence and limited archaeological evidence suggests though that mail was in use nearly continuously in Anglo-Saxon England.

And finally there are shields. Again the Bayeaux tapestry and literary evidence are useful here because shields also do not tend to survive the process of corrosion/wood rot. The Sutton Hoo burial is again a very valuable source of information as well here. Metal parts of a shield have been reconstructed into a shield design.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/collectionimages/AN00079/AN00079865_001_l.jpg

Sources:

Pictures are from www.britishmuseum.org, www.historyofyork.org.uk, and www.bayeux-tapestry.org.uk

Bernice Grohskopf. The Treasure of Sutton Hoo: Ship-burial for an Anglo-Saxon King

Tania Dickinson and Heinrich Harke, Early Anglo-Saxon Shields

Dominic Twiddle, "The Coppergate Helmet", in Forn Vaenen: Journal of Swedish Antiquarian Research