It's important to remember that most Viking era fighters used spears, long daggers and axes, not swords. The Shield boss would also have been used for punching, note that some Viking shields even had nasty spikes attached to the boss. It is also likely that different shields would have been used for different types of battle, for a shield wall you'd want a really big shield, for other situations you might want something smaller, lighter, than enabled better visibility and maneuverability.

thank you SO MUCH! for pointing out that the edge is stronger than the flat

Why isn't anyone speaking up and volunteering!!??? This is awesome!!

Not many people actively encourage hitting the opponent's sword; you're usually better off avoiding it altogether. German longsword masters say to "seek the bind," but it doesn't mean crash your sword against his, it means get to where blades can wind, not swing into each other repeatedly. But the point is, the shield was the one constant in Viking warfare, so we should focus on that, and I believe they would have used it in the most effective way possible, similar to how Roland suggests.

Wonderful vidoe, many good points.

This is Thrand!!! excellent Video!!! Ja!!!!

Great, the best history video I found today on the Internet...!

great video!!

it was. For thousands of years the only truly affective weapons were swords, spears, bows, crossbows etc. All of which can be very tiring to use for long periods of time. Couple that with the fact that battles back then were usually 7-13 hours of nonstop fighting and you get a number of people dying of exhaustion after battle.

Bravo guter Mann !

This is a great video. I love how Roland keeps stopping himself from saying the German words, like schwert etc...

Learnt quite a few things from these guys.. cheers for the upload!

amazing information and very well displayed. Thanks to the uploader.

Nicely done. Very clear and precise.

but but but, hollywood says they are, like, these really awesome and invulnerable fighters no one except ninjas can defeat

4:11....There are eye witness account's from the 19th century here out on the plain's, of Rawhide shield's,(made from the tough hide on a buffalo's back), that stopped musket ball's! And that's rawhide by itself, no wooden base! You had to heat the shield over a fire to harden it up. They were the size of a typical Highlander's shield.

first class presentation guys. great job. i might show this at class!

A wondeful explanation Roland. Great video.

Man this takes me back. Wish I could afford to go back to class...

They're historians. They preserve knowledge from the past. Fencing, Kendo, and Forza are also excellent exercise and difficult sports. And who knows, maybe one day it'll be important again. Besides, it's quite fun. Oh, btw, the "protrusion" is called the shield boss. It's used to deflect strikes, while the rest is used to catch strikes. It also allows the shield to be used as a punching weapon (as opposed to just bashing with the edge or shoving against the body).