The Svinfylking,

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

for "swine array" or "boar snout", was a formation used in battle. Related to the wedge formation, it was used in Iron Age Scandinavia and later by the

Vikings Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

. It was also used by

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

during the

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

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

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

. The apex was composed of a single file. The number of warriors then increases by a constant in each rank back to its base. Families and tribesmen were ranked side by side, which added morale cohesion. The tactic was admirable for an advance against a line or even a column, 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 guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

s and less-armored archers 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 groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

charging a group in Svinfylking formation were frequently attacked by the outer warriors with spears, which caused complete chaos for the horses. The Svinfylking could also be used as a wedge to break through enemy lines. Several Svinfylking formations could be grouped side by side and appear something like a zig-zag to press or break the opposition's ranks. Its weakness was its inability to handle flanking. The Svinfylking was based on a monumental shock, and unless it broke the enemy lines immediately, its warriors 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