Longship
Encyclopedia
Longships were sea vessels made and used by the Vikings from the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
. The longship’s design evolved over many years, beginning in the Stone Age with the invention of the umiak and continuing up to the 9th century with the Nydam and Kvalsund ships. The longship appeared in its complete form between the 9th and 13th centuries. The character and appearance of these ships have been reflected in Scandinavian boat-building traditions until today.
The longship is characterized as a graceful, long, narrow, light, wooden boat with a shallow-draft hull designed for speed. The ship's shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only one metre deep and permitted beach landings, while its light weight enabled it to be carried over portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
s. Longships were also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without having to turn around; this trait proved particularly useful in northern latitudes where iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
s and sea ice
Sea ice
Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....
posed hazards to navigation. Longships were fitted with oars along almost the entire length of the boat itself. Later versions sported a rectangular sail on a single mast which was used to replace or augment the effort of the rowers, particularly during long journeys. The average speed of Viking ships varied from ship to ship but lay in the range of 5–10 knots and the maximum speed of a longship under favorable conditions was around 15 knots.
Longships were the epitome of Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n naval power at the time, and were highly valued possessions. They were often owned by coastal farmers and commissioned by the king in times of conflict, in order to build a powerful naval force. While longships were used by the Norse in warfare, they were troop transports, not warships. In the tenth century, these boats would sometimes be tied together in battle to form a steady platform for infantry warfare. They were called "dragonships" by enemies such as the English because they had a dragon-shaped bow. The Norse had a strong sense of naval architecture, and during the 8th–11th centuries they were advanced for their time, compared to other European nations (earlier shipbuilding techniques, for example those of Mediterranean peoples, such as ancient Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, were far more sophisticated and varied, especially in terms of joinery
Joinery
Joinery may refer to:* Woodworking joints or other types of mechanical joints * The work of the joiner, the fabrication and installation of fittings in buildings with materials such as wood and aluminum * In Australia and New Zealand, a joinery is also the generic term for a business which...
).
Types of longships
Longships can be classified into a number of different types, depending on size, construction details, and prestige. The most common way to classify longships is by the number of rowing positions on board.
Karvi
The Karvi are the smallest vessel that is considered a longship. According to the 10th century Gulating LawGulating
Gulaþing is both the name of one of the first Norwegian legislative assemblies or Þing and one of the present day law courts of western Norway.-History:...
, a ship with 13 rowing benches is the smallest ship suitable for military use. A ship with between 6 and 16 benches would be classified as a Karvi. These ships were considered to be “general purpose” ships, mainly used for fishing and trade, but occasionally were commissioned for military use. While most longships held a length to width ratio of 7:1, the Karvi ships were closer to 4.5:1.
The Gokstad Ship
Gokstad ship
The Gokstad ship is a Viking ship found in a burial mound at Gokstad farm in Sandar, Sandefjord, Vestfold, Norway.-Discovery:The place where the boat was found, situated on arable land, had long been named Gokstadhaugen or Kongshaugen , although the relevance of its name had been discounted as...
is a famous Karvi ship, built around the end of the 9th century, excavated in 1880 by Nicolay Nicolyasen. It was approximately 23 metres (75.5 ft) long with 16 rowing positions. It is believed that while its main purpose was coastal voyages, it was capable of safely crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Snekkja
Snekkjas were one of the most common types of ship. According to Viking lore, Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
used 1400 in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in 1028, and William the Conqueror used about 600 for the invasion of Britain in 1066.
The Norwegian snekkjas, designed for deep fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
s and Atlantic weather, typically had more draught than the Danish model designed for low coasts and beaches. Snekkjas were so light that they had no need of ports – they could simply be beached, and potentially even carried across a portage.
The snekkjas continued to evolve after the end of the Viking age, with later Norwegian examples becoming larger and heavier than Viking age ships.
Skei
Skei, meaning ‘that which cuts through water,’ ships were larger warships, consisting of more than 30 rowing benches. Ships of this classification are some of the largest (see Busse) longships ever discovered.A group of these ships was discovered by Danish archaeologists in Roskilde
Roskilde
Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....
during development in the harbor-area in 1962 and 1996/7. The ship discovered in 1962, Skuldelev 2 is an oak-built Skei longship. It is believe to be built in the Dublin area around 1042. Skuldelev 2 could carry a crew of some 70–80 and measures just fewer than 30 metres (98.4 ft) in length. In 1996/7 archaeologists discovered the remains of another ship in the harbor. This ship, called the Roskilde 6, has not yet been fully investigated and full details are not available. It is however thought to be around 36 metres (118.1 ft) long, and has been dated to the mid-11th century
Drekar
See article DrekarDrekar are known from historical sources, such as the 13th century Göngu-Hrólfs Saga (the Saga of Rollo
Rollo
Rollo has multiple meanings. It may mean:a first name*Rollo Armstrong, member of British dance act Faithless* Rollo May, American psychologist...
). Here, the ships are described as elegant and ornately decorated, and used by those who went raiding and plundering. According to the historical sources the ships' prows carried carvings of menacing beasts, such as dragons and snakes, allegedly to protect the ship and crew, and to ward off the terrible sea monsters of Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
. It is however likely that the carvings, like those on the Oseberg ship, might have had a ritual purpose, or that the purported effect was to frighten enemies and townspeople. No true dragon ship, as defined by the sagas, has been found by archaeological excavation.
Recent discovery
On September 10, 2007, Professor Stephen HardingStephen Harding
Saint Stephen Harding is a Christian saint and abbot, one of the founders of the Cistercian Order.-Life:Stephen Harding was born in Dorset, England. He was placed in Sherborne Abbey at a young age, but eventually put aside the cowl and became a travelling scholar. He eventually moved to Molesme...
, University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, used ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment to pinpoint the location of a 1,000-year-old Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
longship (Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
clinker
Clinker (boat building)
Clinker building is a method of constructing hulls of boats and ships by fixing wooden planks and, in the early nineteenth century, iron plates to each other so that the planks overlap along their edges. The overlapping joint is called a land. In any but a very small boat, the individual planks...
design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
) beneath 6–10 feet (2–3 meters) of clay in Meols
Meols
Meols is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the larger town of Hoylake, situated immediately to the west. Formerly, Meols was in the county of Cheshire, although since 1 April 1974 it has been a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in the...
, Wirral
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...
, (a well-known settling place of Vikings). The ship had been previously uncovered in 1938 during excavation of a car park. Workers at the time covered the ship over again so as not to delay construction.
Construction
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Keel, stems and hull
The Viking shipbuilders had no written diagrams or standard written design plan. The shipbuilder pictured the longship before its construction, and the ship was then built from the ground up. The keel and stems were made first. The shape of the stem was based on segments of circles of varying sizes. The next step was building the strakes – the lines of planks joined endwise from stern to stern. Nearly all longships were clinkerClinker
Clinker may refer to:* Clinker , construction method for wooden boats* Clinker , waste from industrial processes* Clinker , a kilned then quenched cement product* Clinker brick, rough dark coloured bricks...
built, meaning that each hull plank overlapped the next
As the strakes reached the desired height, the interior frame and cross beams were added. The parts were held together with iron rivets, as well as spruce strips that were fastened to the ribs inside of the keel. Longships had about five rivets for each yard of plank.
The longships’ wider hulls provided strength beneath the waterline which gave more stability, making the longship less likely to tip or bring in water. The hull was waterproofed with moss drenched in tar. In the autumn the ships would be tarred and then left in a boathouse over the winter to allow time for the tar to dry. To keep the sea out, wooden disks were put into the oar holes. These could be shut from the inside when the oars were not in use.
Sail and mast
Even though no longship sail has been found, accounts verify that longships had square sails. Sails measured perhaps 35 to 40 feet (12.2 m) across, and were made of rough wool clothWadmal
Wadmal is a coarse, dense, usually undyed wool fabric woven in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, and the Orkney, Faroe and Shetland Islands from the Middle Ages into the 18th century...
. Unlike the knarrs
Knaar
A knarr is a type of Norse merchant ship famously used by the Vikings. Knarr is of the same clinker-built method used to construct longships, karves, and faerings.-History:...
, the longship sail was not stitched.
The sail was held in place by the mast. The mast was supported by a large block of wood called kerling ("Old Woman" in Old Norse). (Trent) The kerling was made of oak, and was as tall as a Viking man. The kerling lay across the two ribs and ran width-wise along the keel. The kerling also had a companion: the "mast fish," a wooden piece above the kerling that provided extra help in keeping the mast erect.
Navigation
Astrolabe
An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
and used the stars to plot their course.
The Danish archaeologist Thorkild Ramskou suggested in 1967 that the "sun-stones" referred to in some sagas might have been natural crystals capable of polarizing skylight. The mineral cordierite
Cordierite
Cordierite or iolite is a magnesium iron aluminium cyclosilicate. Iron is almost always present and a solid solution exists between Mg-rich cordierite and Fe-rich sekaninaite with a series formula: 2 to 2...
occurring in Norway has the local name "Viking's Compass." Its changes in colour would allow determining the sun's position (azimuth) even through an overcast or foggy horizon. See here.
An ingenious navigation method is detailed in Viking Navigation Using the Sunstone, Polarized Light and the Horizon Board by Leif K. Karlsen. To derive a course to steer relative to the sun direction, he uses a sun-stone (Solarsteinn) made of Iceland spar (optical calcite or Silfurberg), and a "horizon-board." The author constructed the latter from an Icelandic saga source, and describes an experiment performed to determine its accuracy. Karlsen also discusses why on North Atlantic trips the Vikings might have preferred to navigate by the sun rather than by stars. (Think high latitudes in summer: long days, short to no nights.)
A Viking named Stjerner Oddi compiled a chart showing the direction of sunrise and sunset, which enabled navigators to sail longships from place to place with ease. Almgren, an earlier Viking, told of another method: "All the measurements of angles were made with what was called a 'half wheel' (a kind of half sun-diameter which corresponds to about sixteen minutes of arc). This was something that was known to every skipper at that time, or to the long-voyage pilot or kendtmand ('man who knows the way') who sometimes went along on voyages... When the sun was in the sky, it was not, therefore, difficult to find the four points of the compass, and determining latitude did not cause any problems either." (Algrem)
Birds provided a helpful guide to finding land. A Viking legend states that Vikings used to take caged crows aboard ships and let them loose if they got lost. The crows would instinctively head for land, giving the sailors a course to steer. Little is known about Viking compasses, but remains have been found of Viking sun compasses. which use the direction of the sun to find which direction is North.
Propulsion
The longships had two methods of propulsion: oars and sail. At sea, the sail enabled longships to travel faster than by oar and to cover long distances overseas. Sails could be raised or lowered quickly. Oars were used when near the coast or in a river, to gain speed quickly, and when there was an adverse (or insufficient) wind. In combat, the variability of wind power made rowing the chief means of propulsion.Longships were not fitted with benches. When rowing, the crew sat on sea chests (chests containing their personal possessions) that would otherwise take up space. The chests were made the same size and were the perfect height for a Viking to sit on and row. Longships had hooks for oars to fit into, but smaller oars were also used, with crooks or bends to be used as oarlocks. If there were no holes then a loop of rope kept the oars in place.
An innovation that improved the sail's performance was the beitass
Beitass
A beitass, or stretching pole, is a wooden spar used on Viking ships that was fitted into a pocket at the lower corner of the sail. This innovation was used to stiffen and hold the edge of the sail when sailing close to the wind....
, or stretching pole – a wooden spar stiffening the sail.
Legacy
The Vikings were major contributors to the shipbuilding technology of their day. Their shipbuilding methods spread through extensive contact with other cultures, and ships from the 11th and 12th centuries are known to borrow many of the longships’ design features, despite the passing of many centuries. The Lancha PoveiraPoveiro (boat)
The Poveiro is a genre of fishing vessel, for coastal and deep sea fishing, mostly used in Northern Portugal from the Douro river till Galicia by the people of Póvoa de Varzim, its fisher colonies along the coast, and related communities in Northern Portugal....
, a boat from Póvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city in the Norte Region and sub-region of Greater Porto, with a 2011 estimated population of 63,364. According to the 2001 census, there were 63,470 inhabitants with 42,396 living in the city proper. The urban area expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
is one of the last remnants from the longship, keeping all the longboat features but without a long stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
and bow, and with a Mediterranean sail. It was used until the 1950s. Today there is just one boat: Fé em Deus.
The longship was a master of all trades. It was wide and stable, yet light, fast, and nimble. With all these qualities combined in one ship, the longship was unrivaled for centuries, until the arrival of the great Cog
Cog (ship)
A cog is a type of ship that first appeared in the 10th century, and was widely used from around the 12th century on. Cogs were generally built of oak, which was an abundant timber in the Baltic region of Prussia. This vessel was fitted with a single mast and a square-rigged single sail...
.
In Scandinavia, the longship was the usual vessel for war even with the introduction of cogs in the 12th–13th centuries. Leidang
Leidang
The institution known as leiðangr , leidang , leding, , ledung , expeditio or sometimes lething , was a public levy of free farmers typical for medieval Scandinavians. It was a form of conscription to organise coastal fleets for seasonal excursions and in defence of the realm...
fleet-levy laws remained in place for most of the Middle Ages, demanding that the freemen should build, man and furnish ships for war if demanded by the king—ships with at least 20 or 25 oar-pairs (40–50+ rowers). However, by the late 14th century, these low-boarded vessels were at a disadvantage against newer, taller vessels – when the Victual Brothers
Victual Brothers
The Victual Brothers were a companionship of privateers who later turned to piracy. They were hired in 1392 by the Dukes of Mecklenburg to fight against Denmark, because the Danish Queen Margaret I had imprisoned Albrecht of Mecklenburg and his son in order to subdue the kingdom of Sweden...
, in the employee of the Hansa
Hansa
The Hanseatic League, known as Hansa or Hanse in various Germanic languages, was a 13th–17th century alliance of European trading cities...
, attacked Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
in the autumn of 1393, the "great ships" of the pirates could not be boarded by the Norwegian levy ships called out by Margaret I of Denmark
Margaret I of Denmark
Margaret I was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and founder of the Kalmar Union, which united the Scandinavian countries for over a century. Although she acted as queen regnant, the laws of contemporary Danish succession denied her formal queenship. Her title in Denmark was derived from her...
and the raiders were able to sack the town with impunity. While earlier times had seen larger and taller longships in service, by this time the authorities had also gone over to other types of ships for warfare. The last Viking longship was defeated in 1429.
Famous longships
- The Oseberg shipOseberg shipThe Oseberg ship is a well-preserved Viking ship discovered in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway.-Burial mound:...
and the Gokstad shipGokstad shipThe Gokstad ship is a Viking ship found in a burial mound at Gokstad farm in Sandar, Sandefjord, Vestfold, Norway.-Discovery:The place where the boat was found, situated on arable land, had long been named Gokstadhaugen or Kongshaugen , although the relevance of its name had been discounted as...
– both from Vestfold in Norway. - The Ormen LangeOrmen Lange (longship)Ormen Lange was one of the most famous of the Viking longships. It was built for the Norwegian King Olav Tryggvason, and was the largest and most powerful longship of its day. In the late 990s King Olav was on a "Crusade" around the country to bring Christianity to Norway...
("The Long Serpent") was the most famous longship of Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason. - The Mora was the ship given to William the ConquerorWilliam I of EnglandWilliam I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
by his wife, MatildaMatilda of FlandersMatilda of Flanders was the wife of William the Conqueror and, as such, Queen consort of the Kingdom of England. She bore William nine/ten children, including two kings, William II and Henry I.-Marriage:...
, and used as the flagship in the Norman conquest of EnglandNorman conquest of EnglandThe Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
. - The Sea Stallion, the largest Viking ship replica ever made, is a new 30 metres (98.4 ft) replica of the Skuldelev 2, and sailed from Roskilde, Denmark to Dublin in summer 2007 to commemorate the voyage of the original. In the winter 2007/2008 The Sea Stallion has been exhibited outside the National Museum in Dublin. In the summer 2008 the Sea Stallion returned to Roskilde on a route going south of England.
- The Nydam ship (c. 350–400) is a burial ship from Denmark. This vessel is 80 feet (24.4 m) long and may have had its mast and sail removed for burial. The ship shows a combination of building styles and was propelled by oars.
See also the listing of Viking ship replica
Viking ship replica
Viking ship replicas are one of the more common types of ship replica. Viking, the very first Viking ship replica, was built by the Rødsverven shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway. In 1893 it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Chicago in The United States for the World's Columbian Exposition...
s.
See also
- Dragon Harald Fairhair (ship)Dragon Harald Fairhair (ship)The Dragon Harald Fairhair is a large replica Viking longship under production in the municipality of Haugesund, Norway. When finished, the Dragon Harald Fairhair will bring the seafaring qualities of a warship from the old Norse sagas to life...
- BirlinnBirlinnThe birlinn was a type of boat used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle Ages. The Birlinn is a Norse-Gaelic variant on the Norse longship. Variants of the name in English and Lowland Scots include "berlin" and "birling". It probably derives ultimately from the...
- Hugin (longship)Hugin (longship)The Hugin is a reconstructed Viking longship that is located at Pegwell Bay in Ramsgate, Kent, England. The boat was built in Denmark from where it was sailed by 53 Danes to England in 1949. The ship landed at Viking Bay in Kent, before being moved to its current site...
- KnarrKnarrThe Knarr is a Bermuda rigged, long keeled, sailing yacht designed in 1943 by Norwegian Erling L. Kristofersen. Knarrer were traditionally built in wood, with the hull upside down on a fixed frame, then attaching the iron keel after the hull was completed. The hull planks were manufactured with...
- LeidangLeidangThe institution known as leiðangr , leidang , leding, , ledung , expeditio or sometimes lething , was a public levy of free farmers typical for medieval Scandinavians. It was a form of conscription to organise coastal fleets for seasonal excursions and in defence of the realm...
- Nordland (boat)Nordland (boat)The Nordland boat , is a type of fishing boat that has been used for centuries in northern counties of Nordland, Troms and Finmark of Norway and derives its name from Nordland county where it has a long history...
- Viking shipViking shipViking ships were vessels used during the Viking Age in Northern Europe. Scandinavian tradition of shipbuilding during the Viking Age was characterized by slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel. They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together...
- Medieval shipsMedieval shipsThe ships of Medieval Europe were powered by sail or oar, or both. There were a large variety, mostly based in much older conservative design. Although wider and more frequent communications within Europe meant exposure to a variety of improvements, experimental failures were costly and rarely...