Longship

Longships or the bigger drakkar ship were boats used by the Scandinavian Vikings and the Saxons for their raids on coastal and inland settlements during the European Middle ages. They were the epitome of Scandinavian military power at that time, and they were highly valued as material possessions.

The longship was a long, narrow, light boat with shallow draft. They were fitted with oars along almost the entire length of the boat. Later versions sported a rectangular sail on a single mast which was used to augment the efforts of rowers, particularly during unusually long journeys. In combat, the variabilily of wind power made rowers the chief means of propulsion. Nearly all longships were clinker built and waterproofed by moss drenched in tar. The ship's low shallow draft allowed navigation in waters measuring as little as one metre deep, rapid beach landings, and its light weight allowed portages.

Construction

Our best evidence for longship construction comes from ship-burials. It was common in Viking society for kings to be buried under a long burial mound in a ship with rich possessions. The Oseberg ship burial in Norway and the Anglo Saxon longship of Sutton Hoo in England are both good examples.

Longships were extraordinarily narrow for their length compared to modern standards, which contributed to their considerable speed. The largest discovered longship (at Roskilde harbor) is 35m in length, and the longship from Hedeby harbour has the largest fineness ratio: 11.4:1. However, later longships, optimized for sailing, had lower ratios, often 7:1 or even 5:1.

In contrast, Scandinavian trade ships or knaars were built deeper and broader to accommodate bulkier cargo, and were more reliant on sails. A similar relationship may be seen in Mediterranean galleys, which are sometimes called longships as well, and their merchant vessels, which were roundships.

Vikings also introduced the side rudder, or steerboard (whence "starboard").

Rectangular sails made of wool strengthened by leather were introduced later. Under sail, longships were very fast, achieving speeds of 14 knots. They were also very seaworthy, but, being essentially open boats, not very habitable. However, this did not stop early Scandinavian explorers from discovering and settling in Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland (now part of Canada), around 1000, well before Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492.

Name origin

The Insular Celtic word for "ship", Old Irish long, Welsh llong is commonly assumed to be a loan from a term for these ships that the British population would have encountered during the Viking Age, such as Latin (navis) longa (see IEW p. 197). McCone (1993) however suggests that *longa is a genuine celtic word for "vessel", based on Gaulish epigraphical LOKAN (possibly "urn"), and the apparently common Insular Celtic *longesta (loinges, llynges) "fleet".

Types of longships

Longships can be classified into a number of different subclasses, depending on size, build details, and prestige.

Snekke (snekkja)

The Snekke was the smallest type that would still be considered a longship. A typical Snekke might have a length of 17 m, a width of 2.5 m, and a draught of only 0.5 m. It would carry a crew of about 25 men.

Snekkes were one of the most common type of ships. According to historical lore, Canute the Great used 1400 in Norway in 1028, and William the Conqueror used about 600 for the invasion of Britain in 1066.

The Norwegian Snekkes, designed for deep fjords and Atlantic weather, typically had more draught than the Danish model designed for low coasts and beaches. Snekkes were so light as to not have need of ports, they could be beached and potentially even portaged.

The Snekke continued to evolve after the end of the Viking age, with later Norwegian Snekkes becoming larger and heavier than Viking age ships.

Famous longships

Ormen Lange

The Ormen Lange was the most famous longship of Olaf Tryggvason.

Mora

The Mora was the ship given to William the Conqueror by his wife, Matilda, and used as the flag ship in the conquest of England.

External links

References

Kim McCone, Zisalpinisch-gallisch uenia und lokan in Festschrift Untermann, ed Heidermans et al., Innsbruck, 1993.