The Svinfylking,

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

for 'Swine Array' or 'Boar Snout', was a formation used in battle, related to the

wedge formation A flying wedge (also called flying V or wedge formation, or simply wedge) is a configuration created from a body moving forward in a triangular formation. This V-shaped arrangement began as a successful military strategy in ancient times when inf ...

, which was used in

Iron Age Scandinavia Iron Age Scandinavia (or Nordic Iron Age) was the Iron Age, as it unfolded in Scandinavia. Beginnings The 6th and 5th centuries BC were a tipping point for exports and imports on the European continent. The ever-increasing conflicts and wars ...

and later by the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

. It was also used by

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

during the

Germanic Iron Age The archaeology of Northern Europe studies the prehistory of Scandinavia and the adjacent North European Plain, roughly corresponding to the territories of modern Sweden, Norway, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. The regio ...

where it was known as the "Schweinskopf" or "Swine's Head". Its invention was attributed to the god

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...

. The apex was composed of a single

file File or filing may refer to: Mechanical tools and processes * File (tool), a tool used to ''remove'' fine amounts of material from a workpiece **Filing (metalworking), a material removal process in manufacturing ** Nail file, a tool used to gent ...

. The number of warriors then increases by a constant in each rank back to its base. Families and tribesmen were ranked side by side and this added moral cohesion. The tactic was admirable for an advance against a

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

or even a

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

, but it was poor in the event of a retreat. The formation consisted of heavily armed, presumably hand-to-hand

warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

s and less-armored

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...

s grouped in a triangle formation with the warriors in the front lines protecting the archers in center or rear.

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

charging a group in Svinfylking formation were frequently attacked by the outer warriors with spears causing complete chaos among the horses. The swine array could also be used as a wedge to break through enemy lines. Several Svinfylking formations can be grouped side by side, appearing something like a zig-zag, to press or break the opposition's ranks. The weakness of the swine array was that it could not handle flanking. The swine array was based on a monumental shock. If the swine array did not break the enemy lines immediately, then the warriors in the swine array would not hold long.The Boar : The ‘Svínfylking’ : the Swine-Snout Battle Wedge
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References

Viking practices Early Germanic warfare Tactical formations {{Mil-stub

See also

References