JJVIKLONGSHIP10 Viking Longship

Viking Longship

Without the Viking ships, there would be no Viking Age. Norse sagas, skaldic poems and contemporary foreign sources describe the Viking ships as marvelous at sea: The Vikings sailed over vast distances with these ships, from America in the west to Asia Minor in the east, and perhaps even farther.  It was the seaworthiness of the Viking ships, together with the Norsemen's knowledge of navigation and seamanship, which made it possible for them to conquer the ocean.

The Vikings' understanding of the sea is also reflected in the Old Norse language that has about 150 words for waves. During the Viking Age (900-1200 AD) Vikings were the dominant seafarers of the North Atlantic. One of the keys to their success was the ability to navigate skillfully across the open waters. The Vikings were experts in judging speed and wind direction, and in knowing the current and when to expect high and low tides. 

Viking navigational techniques are not well understood, but historians postulate that the Vikings probably had some sort of primitive astrolabe and used the stars to plot their course. Longships were a type of specialized Scandinavian warship, documented from at least the fourth Century BC. Originally developed and designed by the Norsemen (Vikings) for commerce, exploration, and warfare.

Many of the Longship's characteristics were adopted by other cultures, such as the Anglo-Saxons, and continued to influence shipbuilding for centuries. The Longship's designs evolved over many centuries, and continuing up until the 6th century with clinker built ships like Nydam and Kvalsund. 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 to the present day. The particular skills and methods employed in making longships are still used worldwide, often with modern adaptations.  They were all made out of wood, with cloth sails (woven wool) and had several details and carvings on the hull. The Longships were characterized as graceful, long, narrow and light, with a shallow draft hull designed for speed.

The ships's shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only one meter deep and permitted arbitrary beach landings, whilst its light weight enabled it to be carried over portages or used bottom up for shelter in camps Longships were also double ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without a turn around. This trait proved particularly useful at 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 had 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 (9-18 km/h) and the maximum speed of a longship under favourable conditions was around 15 knots (28km/h) The leidang (leiðangr) was a system that organized a coastal fleet with the aim of defense, coerced trade, or aggressive wars. All free men were obliged to take part in or contribute to the leidang. The entire leidang was called to arms when invading forces threatened the land. The leidang could also be called out to participate abroad. The leidang divided the coastal districts into different regions called skipreiða. In times of strife, those living in these regions had to provide a certain number of ships and also equip themselves with men and weapons.The law required every man to arm himself, at a minimum, with an axe or a sword in addition to spear and shield, and for every rowing bench to have a bow and 24 arrows.

Ancient Norse sources reveal that this Norwegian defence fleet could mobilise at least 310 ships when danger threatened. We do not know whether the full quota of ships was ever mobilised. In addition, a warning system consisting of hilltop cairns was created and when enemies approached, these cairns were lit one after the other to warn the people so that they could prepare themselves. In this way the levy fleet along the Norwegian coast could gather in a few days. Haakon the Good gets the honor of having formed the leidang system around 950, but similar arrangements may have existed long before this time as a defense of petty kingdoms.