Viking ships

A modern replica of a Viking ship.

Viking 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. They might have had a dragon's head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern, for design, although this is only inferred from historical sources.

They ranged in the Baltic Sea and far from the Scandinavian home areas, to Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, the Mediterranean, and Africa.

The ships are normally divided into classes based on size and function.

Development

In recent generations, the war ship has become the cultural icon of the Vikings. This trend is not particularly shocking, as the ship functioned as the centerpiece of Scandinavian culture for centuries. In fact, the importance of the Viking ship is deeply rooted in Scandinavian culture, as the vessel served both pragmatic and religious purposes. Scandinavia is a region with relatively high inland mountain ranges and easy access to coastal ports. Consequently, trade routes primarily operated via shipping, as inland trading was both hazardous and cumbersome. Viking kingdoms thus developed into coastal cities, all of which were deeply dependent on the North Sea for survival and development. Control of the waterways was then of critical importance, and consequently the most advanced war ships were in high demand. In fact, because of their overwhelming importance, ships became a mainstay of the Viking pagan religion, as they evolved into symbols of power and prowess. Throughout the first millennia, respectable Viking chieftains and noblemen were commonly buried with an intact, luxurious ship to transport them to the afterlife. Furthermore, the Hedeby coins, among the earliest known Danish currency, have ships as emblems, showing the importance of naval vessels in the area. Through such cultural and practical significance, the Viking ship progressed into the most powerful, advanced naval vessel in Viking Age Europe.^[1]

Knarr

Main article: Knarr

The knarr is the Norse term for ships that were built for Atlantic voyages. They were cargo ships with a length of about 54 feet (21m), a beam of 15 feet (4.5m), and a hull capable of carrying up to 24 tons.^[2] Overall displacement: 50 tons. Knarrs routinely crossed the North Atlantic centuries ago carrying livestock and stores to Greenland. It was capable of sailing 75 miles within in one day and held a crew of about 20-30. This type of ship was used for longer voyages than the Gokstad type of ship and also hazardous trips. It is also shorter and sturdier than the Gokstad. It depended mostly on sail-power and used its oars only as auxiliaries if there was no wind on the open water. The vessel also influenced the design of the cog, used in the Baltic Sea by the Hanseatic League.

Karve

Karves were a type of small Viking ship similar to the knarr. They were used for human transport, the movement of livestock and other goods. Because they were able to navigate in very shallow water, they were also used for coasting. Karves had broad beams of approximately 17 feet (5.2 m).

Faering

A faering is an open boat with two pairs of oars, commonly found in most boat-building traditions in Western and Northern Scandinavia and dating back to Viking era Scandinavia.^[3]

Longship

The Gokstad ship, on display at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway.

Main article: Longship

Longships were naval vessels made and used by the Vikings from Scandinavia and Iceland for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. 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 average speed of Viking ships varied from ship to ship but lay in the range of 5–10 knots and the maximal speed of a longship under favorable conditions was around 15 knots.^[4]

Dragon head from Oseberg ship.

The long-ship 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 portages. 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 icebergs and sea ice 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.

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. Types ranged from the Karvi, with 13 rowing benches, to the Busse, one of which has been found with an estimated 34 rowing positions.

Longships were the epitome of Scandinavian 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^[5] because they had a dragon-shaped bow.

Construction

Viking ships varied from others of the period, being generally more seaworthy and lighter. This was achieved through use of clinker (lapstrake) construction. The planks from which Viking vessels were constructed were rived (split) from large, old-growth trees—especially oaks. A ship's hull could be as thin as one inch (2.5 CM), as a split plank is stronger than a sawed plank found in later craft.^{[citation needed]}

Working up from a stout oaken keel, the shipwrights would rivet the planks together using wrought iron rivets and roves. Ribs maintained the shape of the hull sides, but were not intended to provide strength to the hull. Each tier of planks overlapped the one below, and waterproof caulking was used between planks to create a strong but supple hull.

Remarkably large vessels could be constructed using traditional clinker construction. Dragon-ships carrying 100 warriors were not uncommon.^{[citation needed]}

Furthermore, during the early Viking Age, oar ports replaced rowlocks, allowing oars to be stored while the ship was at sail and to provide better angles for rowing. The largest ships of the era could travel five to six knots using oar power and a hasty ten knots with the sail erect.^[6]

Navigation

With such vast technological improvements, the Vikings began making increasingly more ocean voyages, as their ships were infinitely more sea worthy. In order to sail in ocean waters, the Vikings needed to develop methods of relatively precise navigation. Most commonly, a ship was piloted using ancestral knowledge. Essentially, the Vikings simply used prior familiarity with tides, sailing times, and landmarks in order to route courses. In fact, scholars contest that the mere position of a whale allowed the Vikings to determine their direction. Whales feed in highly nutritious waters, commonly found in regions where landmasses have pushed deep-water currents towards shallower areas. The sighting of a whale consequently functioned as a signal land was near. However, some academics also argue that the Vikings developed more tangible means of navigation. Many claim the Vikings used a sun compass to show their direction. A wooden half-disc found on the shores of Narsarsuaq, Greenland seems to initially lend credibility to this belief. However, upon investigation of the object, scholars found that the slits circumnavigating the disc are disproportionately spaced, casting severe doubts about its role as an accurate compass. Many now hold that the instrument is a “confession disc,” used by priests to count the number of confessions in their parish.^[7] In a similar sense, researchers and historians continually debate the use of sunstone in Viking navigation. Recent studies identify the sunstone, with its ability to polarize light, as a plausible method for determining direction. The sunstone effectively has the potential to show the positioning of the sun, even if obscured by clouds, by showing which direction light waves are oscillating. The stone will become a certain color based on the direction of the waves, but the process is only possible if the object is held in an area with direct sunlight. Thus, most scholars debate the reliability and the plausibility of using a navigational tool that can only determine direction in such limited conditions.^[8]

Viking sagas routinely tells of voyages where vikings suffer from being "hafvilla" (bewildered): voyages beset by fog or bad weather where they completely lost their sense of direction. This description suggests they did not use a sunstone to aid them when the sun was obscured. Also, they would experience hafvilla when the wind died, implying they relied on prevailing winds to navigate, further supporting the use of ancestral knowledge for piloting. ^[9]

Culture and traditions

One Viking custom was to bury dead lords in their ships. The dead man’s body would be carefully prepared and dressed in his best clothes. After this preparation, the body would be transported to the burial-place in a wagon drawn by horses. The lord’s favorite horses and often, a faithful hunting-dog, were killed to be buried with the deceased man. The man would be placed on his ship, along with many of his most prized possessions. The Viking firmly believed that the dead man would sail to the after-life in his ship, a belief similar to that of the ancient Egyptians.

Preserved ships

The preserved remains of the Oseberg Ship, now located in the Viking Ship Museum (Oslo).

Only a few Viking ships have been excavated and preserved, the most famous of these are:

• Gokstad ship: overall length- approximately 76.5 feet
• Oseberg ship: overall length- approximately 70.8 feet
• Tune ship
• Skuldelev ships

See also

• birlinn
• cog (ship)
• galley
• Viking ship replica

External links

• Recreating a Viking voyage - BBC
• The Vikingship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark
• Web page about the Gokstad ship excavation
• The Oslo Viking Ship Museum
• Gaia, the Gokstad Ship copy
• Munin, a Gokstad replica in Vancouver, BC
• Comparison between Viking and Egyptian Ships
• Dreknor Project, Normandy
• Leif Ericson Viking Ship LEVS is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit educational organization dedicated to the study, education and promotion of the fact that Leif Ericson was the first European to set foot upon and explore the North American Continent and of Vikings in general, their times and travels throughout the world.
• Rebuilding and sailing a Viking Knarr ship
• History of vikings
• Francis Miltoun: Ships & shipping, London, Alexander Moring Ltd., 1903
• The Mariner's Museum: Age of exploration
• New Oseberg Ship Foundation

References

1. ^ Peter Sawyer (ed.),The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (New York, 1997), 182.
2. ^ Peter Sawyer, (1975) The Oxford Illustrated history of the Vikings. Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0-19-285434-6 ISBN 0-19-285434-8
3. ^ What is a norse færing? (Vikingskip.com)
4. ^ http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/index.php?id=1404&L=1
5. ^ Ervan G. Garrison: . A history of engineering and technology: artful methods, p 111
6. ^ Richard Hall, The World of the Vikings (New York, 2007), 55.
7. ^ Hall, The World of the Vikings, 54.
8. ^ Oscar Noel and Sue Ann Bowling, “Polar Navigation and the Sky Compass: Article #865,” Alaska Science Forum, March 21, 1988, http://www.gi.alaska.edu/S cienceForum/ASF8/865.html (accessed November 24, 2010).
9. ^ Hafvilla: A Note on Norse Navigation, G. J. Marcus, Speculum, Vol. 30, No. 4 (Oct., 1955), pp. 601-605, Published by: Medieval Academy of America, URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2849616 (accessed November 02, 2011).