Svinfylking

The Svinfylking, Old Norse for 'Swine Array' or 'Boar Snout',[1] was a formation used in battle, related to the wedge formation, which was used in Iron Age Scandinavia and later by the Vikings.[2] It was also used by Germanic peoples during the Germanic Iron Age where it was known as the "Schweinskopf" or "Swine's Head".[3] Its invention was attributed to the god Odin.[3][4]

Sketch of the Svinfylking.

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 and this added moral cohesion.[5][3] The tactic was admirable for an advance against a line or even a column, but it was poor in the event of a retreat.[3]

The formation consisted of heavily armed, presumably hand-to-hand warriors and less-armored archers grouped in a triangle formation with the warriors in the front lines protecting the archers in center or rear. 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.[6]