I'm reading an interesting book by Stephen Pollington called The English Warrior ffrom earliest times to 1066, Anglo-Saxon Books, Norfolk England, 1996. In it, he identifies many different grave finds and bog deposits in northern Europe. One section in particular is very interesting. The bog deposits in Scandianvia, the Danish islands and Jutland, dating from the 5th century AD on, have been found to contain warriors and their weaponry in the following percentages:

Bows: 13%
Javelins, Spears and Shields 60%
Swords, Javelins, Spears and Sheilds 23%
Mounted warriors with Javelins, Spears and Shields 4%

Now on the face of it, the author acknowledges that these 'sacrifices' are thought to be the captured equipment of defeated foes (pg. 59). Yet, even so, they do give us a very good look into the armament of the northern warriors at this time. This is an interesting basis upon which to base army list numbers.

In another section of the book, the author describes the use of the 'wedge' according to the 11th century writings of Saxo Grammaticus. The wedge was, according to the source, made up of a vanguard, or 'foremost' men, followed by youths with throwing spears while the older veteran warriors made up the rear ranks providing support, advice and able to take advantage of an enemy mistake (pg. 32).

I'm enjoying this well-researched work as it solidifies some conclusions from my own research into battle during this period...always a helpful addition for my new book!