- Knarr
A knarr is a type of Norse
merchant ship famously used by theViking s. The knarr (also known as knorr or knörr) is of the same clinker-built method used to constructlongship s,karve s, andfaering s.The knarr was primarily used to transport trading goods like walrus
ivory , wool, timber, wheat, furs and pelts, armour, slaves, honey, and weapons. It was also used to supply food, drink, and weapons and armour to warriors and traders along their journeys across the Baltic, theMediterranean and other seas. Knarrer routinely crossed theNorth Atlantic carrying livestock and stores to Norse settlements inIceland andGreenland as well as trading goods to trading posts inthe British Isles ,Continental Europe and possiblythe Middle East .History of the Knarr
The only knarr found to be well preserved was in a shallow channel in
Roskilde Fjord inDenmark of1962 along with two warships, a Baltic trader, and a ferryboat. Archaeologists believe that the ships were placed there to block the channel against enemy raiders. Today, all five ships, known as theSkuldelev ships , are being restored at theViking Ship Museum in Roskilde .The knarr might have been in use in colonizing Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. It was possibly the same kind of sailing vessel that the first European colonists used to sail to North America.
External links
* [http://www.maritimewood.com/building-a-viking-ship-01.html The historical journey from Norway to Greenland in a replica Viking ship]
* [http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/ Roskilde Viking Ship Museum]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.