Whenever we think about Vikings we think about ships. The Vikings' homelands were covered with mountains and marshes, so it made sense to travel by and live near water. When winter ended, the men began to build and repair their ships ready for the summer voyages of trade, discovery, piracy and raiding.
The Vikings built many kinds of ship, but the most well known are the long ships, built for warfare. They could be up to 55 metre long, and the Vikings gave them terrifying names like “The Long Serpent” and” Raven of the Wind”.
The prow was often beautifully decorated with carvings or a beast. The ships could be powered by sail or oar and had a shallow shape. They could reach far up rivers to explore new trading opportunities or launch surprise raids!
Long sea voyages must have been uncomfortable, there was no below deck, so all living was done on the deck of the ship. The Vikings did not have compasses, and must have relied on shared knowledge of routes, landmarks, wind and tide and used the stars to help guide them. Despite this the Vikings were notable explorers, reaching the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East and North America.
Archaeologists know a lot about the design of ships because some well-preserved ones have been discovered buried in graves. The 1000-year-old Oseberg ship found in Norway contained beautiful carved posts sledge, beds and wagons.
Images:
Viking Ship Lofotr licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Cover Image)
Viking ship (reconstruction) by Steiner Engeland on Unsplash
The Gokstad Ship in Oslo (Preserved) by Karamell. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.
References:
Peterborough Museum Exhibition
The Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price, Allen Lane, 2020
Vikings life and legend Edited by Williams, Gareth, Pentz, Peter, Wemhoff, Matthias. The British Museum Press, 2014
