Paddy Griffith
The Viking Art of War
Philadelphia and Newbury: Casemate, 2009 [original 1995]. 224 pp. $32.95 USD. ISBN 978-1932033601.
The term "Viking" has long captured the imagination, interest, and even dread of modern society. The engravings of the nineteenth century, the cartoon "Hagar the Horrible", and even Hollywood have helped to promote particular perceptions and misconceptions about the Vikings, often simultaneously fueling certain fallacies, as well as to inspire continued interest in discovering who the Vikings truly were. Paddy Griffith, in his preface to his book, The Viking Art of War, indicated his goal of advancing this latter idea by examining and discussing one of the most visible and intriguing aspects of the Vikings: their warfare.
Originally published in 1995 by Greenhill Books as part of their Art of War military paperback series, this new Casemate publication presents Griffith's work in a hardcover format. Even when first published, Griffith's book received mixed reviews, partly dependent on the expertise and expectations of the reader. However, it is easy to see how this book, which exhibits strengths and weaknesses unevenly, is not clearly geared towards either a scholarly or amateur audience: at times outright elementary and including details assuming a more specialized understanding of Viking history and culture, the introductory and advanced are quite unevenly and uncomfortably combined throughout the book.
Generally, introductory elements predominate, and thus would seem to point to the author's intended readership. On the other hand, while the author has provided not simply a bibliography but rather an annotated bibliography at the end of the book, the referencing is far from exhaustive. Citations throughout the book are provided in parenthetical format, instead of end- or footnotes standard for historical scholarship. The two-page glossary of terms is helpful, although this reviewer found the choice of including certain terms while omitting others to be somewhat surprising, especially as some of the terms hardly were used in the text. For example, although the term "shield wall, or Skjaldborg" appears in the glossary, the only mention of this or a similar formation is in figure 15 (143), when it is referred to as a "shieldburg." Perhaps more commonly used and similarly obscure or little-known terms would have been better choices for inclusion in the glossary. This reviewer was also puzzled as to why Griffith felt the need repeatedly to use the translated name "Harald Hard-ruler" (e.g., p. 18, 19) when he is simply and virtually always called "Harald Hardrada" in Viking scholarship [perhaps an editor in 1995 forced this change. – ed. (in 2010)].
The book's structure is organized, logical—as befits a book largely interested with strategy and tactics—and clear. Seven chapters cover topics increasingly more specific, with the first two presenting overviews of Viking society, culture, and historical chronology. Dotted throughout are line drawings of maps, archaeological items, schematics, charts, and graphs, as well as tables listing everything from the dates of the conversion to Christianity of various Viking lands, to the ergonomics of different forms of transport, specific snapshots of the Viking world at different points in time, and a comparison of distinct methods for levying troops. There is a sense, however, that some of these additional visual or informational aids are merely interesting factoids but not directly related to the text at hand. Indeed, there are no references in the text body to the various figures, maps, graphs, and tables, and hence no attempt either to relate the text to the image, or to explain many of the visual aids further. For example, there is no attempt to explain or apply the information in figure 14 (111), entitled "The key factors for success in small-unit operations" to the context of Viking tactics, the topic of the surrounding text. Additionally, the author fails to indicate where he obtained the information for his figures and tables.
One of the more troubling aspects of Griffith's book is the manner in which he applies his goal of "examin[ing] what we know of Viking warfare using the methods of modern military analysis." (11) By itself, this is not necessarily a flawed strategy, but Griffith often seems to force the Viking material with which he was working to conform to modern military realities, concepts, or explanations, even if either there is not sufficient evidence to support conclusions consistent with this methodology, or if the results contradict the evidence that does exist. For example, hoping to categorize the tactical arrangements of St. Olaf and his enemies at the battle of Stickelstad in 1030 in modern classifications, Griffith first explores a columnar organization, even though the existing saga evidence contradicts this notion handily. (191) He relies heavily on assumptions, as is evidenced by his frequent use of phrases such as, "We may speculate that," and, "we can assume that, " without providing evidence as to the justification for such assumptions; when he claims, "we may speculate that Viking Age sentries were similar to those described by Colonel Callwell in 1906," there is no reason presented as to why we are able to make such a comparison. (148) Furthermore, Griffith appears significantly more at home comparing aspects or details of Viking warfare to much more modern examples rather than to similar Viking or other medieval exempla, which would likely be more relevant and accurate. Griffith's own scholarly background, which included the research and publication of topics dealing with modern warfare, would seem to indicate that he has approached the issue of Viking warfare not from the perspective of an expert or specialist in this period, but as a generalist with the passing interest of a dilettante in the topic. However, credit must be extended to him for utilizing some if not all of the traditional primary sources for Viking studies, such as the sagas and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, even if they provide some of the limitations that have tempted him to fill in the blanks with more modern details.
Overall, this reviewer remains unconvinced that Griffith was successful in applying modern military analysis to fruitful ends for studying Viking warfare. For both the scholar and even for the casual reader, there remain better and more dependable books on the market.
