The Hjaðningavíg
Army Lists for 'Hordes of the Things'
By Ruarigh Dale

I was reading an article on Sorla þáttr in the bath last night when it struck me that there was the basis for another Viking HOTT army in it. The article was "Sorla þáttr: the literary adaptation of myth and legend" by Elizabeth Ashman Rowe if any pedants want to check the source material.

It concerns the Hjaðningavíg, wherein two jolly Vikings, Heðinn and Høgni are doomed to fight for all eternity until either a Christian man stops the fight, or Ragnarok happens. The basic story is that Heðinn and Høgni were good friends until Heðinn abducted Høgni's daughter, although it seems that the daughter, Hilda, was not unwilling. Naturally, Høgni chased after Heðinn to get his daughter back and caught up with the pair of them on Hoy in Orkney. Heðinn attempts reconciliation but is rebuffed. Snorra Edda has Hilda attempting reconciliation first, but in such a manner that Høgni will never agree to it. Make of that what you will. After this, they proceed to fight. Each night the dead are brought back to life to continue fighting the next day. The battle continues for 143 years until Olaf Tryggvason lands at the island and one of his retainers, Ívarr ljómi, who is a Christian, goes ashore and is asked by Heðinn to slay all the combatants. He does so and the battle is over. Alternatively, Snorra Edda has the combatants fighting until Ragnarok.

Now this gives an interesting option for an evening's gaming. Both armies should be Viking armies, thus primarily Blades with a smattering of other types. My suggestions are:

Høgni's army

Hero general (Høgni. He has a magic sword, Dáinsleif, whose attribute is that once drawn it will always be the death of a man and any wound caused by it will not heal.) @ 4AP

1

Blades (Warriors) @ 2AP

7

Shooter (Archers) @ 2AP

1

Behemoth (Berserkers) @ 4AP

1

Heðinn's army

Blade general (Heðinn. He is not described as having any magical
attributes, at least, not in the article) @ 2AP

1

Blades (Warriors) @ 2AP

8

Shooter (Archers) @ 2AP

1

Behemoth (Berserkers) @ 4AP

1

The battle is supposed to have been fought on Hoy, so terrain should be mostly flat with the sea on one edge and a hill, which pretty much sums up my impression of Hoy from when I was in Orkney. You could add stone circle or burial mound for light relief.

The rules are simple. Each player takes the same army and fights as many games as possible until one player or other gets bored. At this time, that player declares that they are bored and both players fight a game using the Norse Myth lists in the back of the rulebook. Alternatively, one player finally gets bored and fields a Christian Viking army. When this one wins, the whole battle is over.

Hjaðningavíg 2
Gesta Danorum and Snorra Edda both describe Hilda reviving the slain each night. To this end, you could model the armies as follows:

Høgni's army

Hero general (Høgni with magic sword) @ 4AP

1

Hordes (Warriors) @ 2AP

14

Shooter (Archers) @ 2AP

1

Behemoth (Berserkers) @ 2AP

1

Heðinn's army

Blade general (Heðinn and Hilda. Hilda is not described as doing anything but resurrecting the dead warriors so she is more a decorative element on this stand than anything else) @ 2AP

1

Hordes (Warriors) @ 2AP

16

Shooter (Archers ) @ 2AP

1

Behemoth (Berserkers) @ 4AP

1

Options: Heðinn's army can replace 2 AP (but not the general) with a single Blade element that represents Ívarr ljómi. Both armies may replace the Shooter or Behemoth with Hordes.

Alternative:

For a non-Viking version, there exists an Irish version of this motif, the earliest recorded version being found in the sixteenth-century Eachtra Chonaill Ghulban. In this version, the hero discovers that he has been fighting against men he had already killed in the battle the previous day so he waits on the battlefield after dark and spies a monstrous hag with a vessel of balsam, a lamp and a sword. She applies the balsam to the dead and they revive. So, the hero bravely kills her and the men she has resurrected. End of battle. Apparently, with this version of the motif, only one side's warriors are revived. I am not sure about armies for this one as I don't know much about the Irish source material but they might appear as follows:

The Hero's side

Based on Norse-Irish and/or Scots-Irish, sort of):

Hero @ 4AP

1

Warband General @ 2AP

1

Warband or Beasts (Irish infantry) @ 2AP

1

Lurkers (young warriors with bow or sling) @ 2AP

1

Alternatives: 1 Rider General in light chariot, Riders in light chariot, Beasts (war dogs), Blades (Viking allies). The Hero is the only compulsory element here.

The Hag's side

Pick a nasty raiding-type army for these; oh, you mean Vikings would fit the bill? OK, then.

Blade General (the hag) @ 2AP

1

Hordes (Warriors) @ 1AP

20

Lurkers (Warriors) @ 1AP

2

Alternatives: 1 Shooter, 1 Behemoth (Berserkers), 2 Blades (Huscarles). There should be a minimum of 12 to 16 hordes in this army to fit with the basic folklore motif.

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