Icelandic Commonwealth - Warfare

Warfare

The followers of the goðar owed them military service. They were organized into platoons or companies based on their social status and equipment, and these formed expeditionary armies or leiðangrs. Icelandic military tradition of the time closely followed developments in Norway. No organized cavalry formations or formations of troops equipped with projectile weapons are recorded: instead the bulk of the forces were formed in units of light, medium and heavy infantry, with bowmen or slingers distributed among the infantry units operating as light support skirmishers. Before the end of the Commonwealth at least 21 fortresses and castles had been built in Iceland. During the Age of the Sturlungs the average battle involved fewer than 1000 men, with an average casualty rate of only 15%. This low casualty rate has been attributed to the blood-feud mentality that permeated Icelandic society, which meant that the defeated army could not be slaughtered honourably to a man. – Birgir Loftsson op.cit.