The Northmen pre-eminently a seafaring people—Figurative names given to ships—Classification and names of ships of war—Ironclads—Swift cruisers—Transport vessels—Foreign ships—Different parts of a war-ship—Oars—Ship’s boats—Tents—Ship’s moorings—Sheds—Launching—Ornamentations—Beautiful sails—Colour of war-ships—Standards—Ornamentation of ship’s sides with shields—The port of Jomsburgh—Size of ships—The Tuneship—Shipbuilding—Crews—Description of a storm.

One of the most important features in the life of the Viking Age was the ships in which the hardy Norsemen were able to rove over the seas of Europe, and conquer and plunder the lands around them. In the Eddas and Sagas these ships are often minutely described, so that we are able to form a fair idea of the shipbuilding art of those days.

The ships were called by figurative and most poetical names, and from many of these we see that speed was valued very highly:—

The general name for all ships was skip, but these were classified under different appellations. The war-ships were also classified under several names, viz: Dreki (dragon), Skeid, Snekkja, SkÚta, Buza, Karfi. The herskip (host or war-ship), also called the langskip (long ship), was their most powerful ship of war. The Dragon was the finest and largest vessel of the North, and derived its name from the prow and stern being ornamented respectively with the head and tail of one or more dragons.

The most celebrated for its beautiful proportions was the Ormrinn Langi (the long serpent), which, long afterwards, even during the time of Harald Hardradi and Sigurd JÓrsalafari, served as a model (11th and 12th centuries).

The skeid (swift sailer) was another kind of long ship, which held from twenty to thirty or more rowers’ benches, and was occasionally as large as a dragon-ship. The largest skeid mentioned is that of Erling Skjalgsson, which had thirty-two rowers’ benches, and carried two hundred and forty or more men. He used it on viking expeditions, or when he was summoned to participate in war.

“Erling SkjÁlgsson, the king’s brother-in-law, had his large skeid; it had thirty rooms, and was well manned” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 105).

“It was then told to the king that Erling SkjÁlgsson had many men gathered in Jadar. His skeid lay fully equipped near the shore, and many other ships owned by the boendr, such as skutas, lagnarskip (fishing ships) and large rodrar-ferjas (rowing ferries)” (St. Olaf, c. 184).

The snekkja was a somewhat smaller long-ship, of which frequent mention is made; but sometimes it must have been as large as a dragon-ship.

“Erling had prepared a twenty-seated snekkja, a fifteen-seated skuta, and a vistabyrding (store-ship)” (Magnus Erlingsson’s Saga, c. 25.)^[123]

The Skuta^[124] was a small vessel, much used and often mentioned, containing probably fifteen seats. In it the upper part of the gunwale was so built that the crew could easily step on it, and more easily board the enemy.

“In the spring Eirik obtained men, and Thorleif (Eirik’s foster-father) gave him a skuta, with fifteen rowers’ seats and complete equipment, tents, and provisions” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 20).

This vessel was manned in time of peace by about thirty men.

“Egil had his ship afloat and the cargo on board before he departed for the Thing. When they left ArinbjÖrn they went to Steinsund to their ship, which was floating in the harbour with the tents up. The skuta was floating with its rudder on between the shore and the ship, with the oars in their rowlocks. In the morning, near dawn, the watchmen saw that some ships were rowing towards them. Egil saw that these were enemies, and bade his men leap into the skuta. They all quickly seized their weapons, and Egil took the chests of silver which King Adalstein gave him. They rowed between the land and the snekkja nearest to it, which was that of King Eirik, but in the hurry, and as it was rather dark, the ships passed each other. When the lyptings^[125] were near, Egil flung a spear, which hit Ketil HÖd in the waist, who was sitting at the helm, and killed him instantly. King Eirik called to his men to row after him, but as they passed the trading ship the King’s men leapt upon it. Those of Egil’s men who had not gone into the skuta, and were caught, were all killed; but some jumped ashore. Ten of his men were killed there. Some of the ships rowed after Egil, while others plundered the trading ship; all the goods on board were taken, and the ship burnt. Those who pursued Egil and his men rowed violently, two taking one oar and rowing in turns. They had many men on board, but Egil had few: they were eighteen in the skuta. The space between them grew less, but inside the island there was a somewhat shallow fording-sound between it and another island, and the tide was ebbing. Egil sailed with the skuta into the shallow sound; but the snekkjas could not float there, and there they parted”^[126] (Egil’s Saga, c. 58).

The Buza and the Dreki must have been somewhat similar in size, for a buza-ship, built on the model of the long snake is mentioned in the Sagas.

“When Thorir’s messengers returned, he had made ready a long-ship, a large buza which he owned; he manned it with his huskarls, nearly eighty men” (St. Olaf, c. 143).

“King Harald (Hardradi) had a buza-ship built at Eyrar during the winter. It was made as large as the long serpent, and as good as could be in every way. It had a dragon’s head on its prow and a tail in its stern, and the beaks (svini) were ornamented with gold all over. It had thirty-five rooms, was large in proportion thereto, and very fine. The King was very careful about its outfit, sails, rigging, anchors, and ropes” (Harald Hardradi, c. 61).

The Karfi seems to have been a vessel of the size of a skuta.

“To Ketil of Hringunes, King Olaf gave a fifteen-seated karfi” (St. Olaf, c. 50).

“Thorfinn, who dwelt at Hamarsey, was the son of Kar the old, who had long resided there; he was a great chief. When it got light the men were seen on the islet, and Thorfinn was told of it. He quickly got ready and pushed out a karfi which he owned; twenty men rowed it on each side” (Gretti’s Saga, c. 20).

“BjÖrn and Thorolf had a karfi, the crew of which consisted of nearly thirty men, twelve or thirteen rowing on each side. They had acquired that ship in the summer on a Viking expedition. It was painted nearly everywhere above the water-line, and was very handsome. When they came to Thorir they were well received, and stayed there for a while; the ship floated, tented over in front of the farm. One day Thorolf and BjÖrn went down and saw that Eirik, the king’s son, was there; he sometimes went out on the ship and was sometimes ashore. As he stood looking at it, Bjorn said to Thorolf: ‘The King’s son admires the ship very much, and thou must offer it to him, for I think it will be a great help for us with the King if Eirik pleads with him. I have heard that he is angry with thee on account of thy father’s deeds.’ Thorolf thought this good advice; they went down to the ship, and Thorolf said: ‘Thou lookest closely at the ship, King’s son; how dost thou like it?’ ‘Well,’ he answered, ‘the ship is very fine.’ ‘Then I will give it to thee, if thou wilt accept it,’ added Thorolf. ‘I will,’ replied Eirik; ‘but thou wilt think the return is small, for I can only promise thee my friendship’” (Egil’s Saga, c. 36).

Strange as it may seem, ironclad vessels which were used as battering rams were known and used by the Vikings. At the famous battle between Hakon Jarl and the Jomsvikings, Eirik Jarl, his son, had a Jarnbardi (one of the most formidable vessels at the battle of Svold was probably the same ship): the upper part of the vessel, which seems to have been a ramming ship, was provided with a skegg (beard),^[127] which apparently consisted of iron spikes.

The brothers Thorstein and Thorolf were going on an expedition.

“Thorstein asked his father to tell him of a Viking with whom he might fight, and either fall or gain some fame. His father answered: ‘Ljot, the pale, is east in the SvÍa-skerries (Swedish islets); he has fifteen ships, and a dragon covered with iron above the sea; it sails through every ship; he calls it Jarnbardi’” (SvarfdÆla, c. 4).

“Thorstein (father of Fridthjof) had a ship called Ellidi; fifteen men rowed on each side of it. It had a carved prow and stern, and it was strong like a seagoing ship, and its sides were sheathed with iron” (Fridthjof’s Saga, c. 1).

The smaller and most easily managed ships of the Northmen were called Askar.

“Arngrim’s sons drew their swords and bit in the shield-brims (borders); then they turned to the ships, and six men went up on each Ask”^[128] (Hervarar Saga, c. 5).

Some ships were specially built for speed. Among them we find long ships—skeid and skuta. The fast-sailing skutas were called lettiskuta (light skuta), and hleypiskuta (running ships), a kind of yacht.

“Eyvind went quickly with a few men on a lettiskuta” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 83).

“Geirmund went with a hleypiskuta and some men with him” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 41).^[129]

The Knerrir (sing. Knorr) or merchant vessels must sometimes have been large, and were occasionally used as war or transport vessels. We infer from the Sagas that they could stand heavy seas better than the long ships.

“King Olaf left behind in England the longships, and went thence with two Knerrir, on which he had 220 picked men, fully armed” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 27).

“Sigmund told Hakon Jarl that he wanted to leave off warfare and go to the Faroes; he said he no longer wished to hear that he had not avenged his father and be upbraided for it; he asked the Jarl to aid him, and advise him how to manage it. Hakon answered that the sea to the islands was hard to cross, and the breakers strong; ‘you cannot go on longships thither, but I will have two knerrir made for you, and get a crew to man them’” (Foereyinga Saga, c. 23).

Among vessels of other nationalities mentioned are Galeid (galley) and DrÓmund (war-ship), both as sailing in the Mediterranean.

“Harald went to the galeids of the VÆringjar and took two on which they rowed into Sjavidarsund. When they came to where iron chains were stretched across the Sound, Harald told his men to sit down at the oars on both galeids, and those who did not row to go aft with their hammocks (used for holding baggage and for beds) in their arms. The galeids were thus run up on the chains; but, as soon as they got fast and slackened speed, Harald ordered all the men to run towards the prow. The galeid on which Harald was then turned down and slid off the chains, but the other burst asunder as she rode on the chain. Many were there drowned, but some swam and were picked up” (Harald Hardradi’s Saga, c. 15).

“RÖgnvald Jarl and Erling met a drÓmund on the sea and attacked it with their nine ships” (Ingi’s Saga, c. 17).

From the Sagas we infer that ships had but one mast.

Sometimes they had a HÚn-Kas’ali (knob castle), or crow’s-nest, at the masthead, large enough to hold several warriors, who from such a height could throw missiles at their enemies.

King Hakon Herdibreid was going to battle against King Ingi.

“He (Hakon) had two east-journey Knerrir, which lay outside his ships. On them, and also in the prows of both, were hÚnkastalis” (c. 5, Hakon Herdibreid).

“They (Hakon’s men) prepare themselves for pouring down stones and shots from the hunkastalis on board the trading-ships” (c. 9, Hakon Herdibreid).

The different parts of a ship were the lypting^[130] an elevated place, where the commander stood and steered, and from which he could survey the whole scene of battle; stafn (prow); rausn (forecastle); fyrir-rum (foreroom), so called, probably, on account of its being before the mast; and krapparum, the third room from the stern.

The place in which the weapons were kept was called the hasoetis-kista, or high-seat chest.

“The King went down into the foreroom, opened the hasoetis-kista, and took out many sharp swords, which he gave to the men” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 117).

“In the foreroom were also sleeping-places. The men in this and the stafnbuar were called fyrir-rumsmenn. Those before the mast were all called frambyggjar (bow-sitters)” (Harald Fairhair, c. 11).

The ship was highest forward and aft, and was pointed at both ends.

As the largest ships were lofty, they required a deck (thiljur), but decks are very seldom mentioned.

Thorir sailed westward to England, to Knut the Great, with his valuable skins.

“Thorir Hund went on board of his ship; Finn with many men followed him thither, and went along the ship. He had taken up the deck, and under the planks near the mast they saw two barrels, so large that they wondered at them. In the barrels there was an inner bottom close to the outer one, between which was the drink; but the barrel itself was filled with grey skins, beaver and sable” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 149).

Oars.—In calm weather ships were generally propelled with oars, which were fastened with a strap attached to the tholes, or openings made as in the Gokstad ship and Nydam boat. The oars had to be strong, and each was generally manned by two, three, or four men, heavy or large ships being with difficulty propelled by oars.

Sometimes men were so strong that they could, on the smaller vessels, ply an oar alone, but this was an exception.

“King Hakon (Herdibreid) lay in the harbour with fourteen ships. He himself and his men were at some games upon the island, while his lendir men sat on a mound. They saw a boat rowing towards the south of the island; two men were in it, and they pulled the oars so hard that they bent themselves to the bottom of the boat” (Magnus Erlingsson’s Saga, c. 6 (Heimskringla)).

Only in one instance is the length of the oars given—those of the Ellidi—which are said to have been 26 feet long. The largest ship must have had oars still longer than those of the Ellidi, which was not a large vessel.

They were called by the figurative names of The long arms; The feet of the horse of the sea; The wave sweeper; The feet of the ship, &c.

Among the numerous fragments of oars of the Gokstad ship, four were found in tolerable preservation, and only one well-preserved, measuring nearly sixteen feet. The oar tholes were protected inside by round oaken shutters to prevent the water from running in. The large ones found show that no single man could row with one for a long time together; and the oars which propelled the large dragon-ship must have been very heavy.

Every large ship had its boats, sometimes two or more.

“Sigurd took two barkis^[131] and dragged them up on the rock above the door of the cave, and fastened thick ropes around the ribs of the ship under the stem and stern” (Sigurd Jorsalafari,^[132] c. 6).

Fragments of three small boats made of oak were found on board the Gokstad ship, which apparently had been destroyed intentionally. They were clinker built, and had rowlocks, not two of which were alike, fastened to the gunwale instead of holes for the oars. These boats were so broken that no part could be put together again, except their keels, the longest of which measured over twenty-one feet, and the shortest twelve feet. Two had carried masts.

“They drifted north off Ireland, and the ship was broken into fragments on an unsettled island; while they were there Thorodd the Icelander met them as he sailed from Dublin. The men of the jarl called on the traders to help them. Thorodd had a boat put out and went in it himself” (Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 29).

The rudder, called styri, was on the right side, stjÓrnbordi (starboard); the opposite side being called bakbordi (larboard).

The helmsman, who held the tiller, was generally commander of the ship, and his position at the helm seems sometimes to have been below the rudder head, with a view to being protected from the continual shower of missiles to which he was subjected; the great purpose of the enemy being to disable the ship’s commander.

When Magnus Barefoot made warfare in Scotland and Ireland:

“Then men went between him and Melkolm (Malcolm) Skota-king, and they made an agreement (treaty) between themselves. Magnus was to become owner of all the islands west of Scotland, between which and the mainland a ship with its rudder on could go. When King Magnus came from the south to Satiri (Cantire), he had a skuta dragged across the isthmus (Mull of Oantire) with its rudder placed in position. The king himself sat on the lypting and had hold of the tiller, and thus got the land lying on the larboard. Satiri is large and better than the best of the Hebrides except MÖn. A narrow neck of land joins it with the mainland, and longships are often dragged across there” (Magnus Barefoot’s Saga, c. 11).^[133]

Tents.—When the ship was lying still, especially for the night, tents were stretched over it. Sometimes they were put up on the shore, and in the latter case were taken on board the ship when they sailed away.

“When they came up on the islets, they saw a dragon-head, which looked like gold. They saw that twelve ships were there with the dragon, with black tents over them; light was under the tents; men sat there drinking” (SvarfdÆla, c. 4).

“As soon as Karli came on board, he took down the tents, threw off the fastenings, hoisted the sail, and the ship went quickly out to sea” (St. Olaf, c. 143).^[134]

The men on board seem to have slept in leather bags, hÚdfat, and to have taken them ashore when they camped out in tents.

“They carried their leather bags from the ship and made booths. Then they resolved to live there that winter, and built there large houses, &c.” (Flateyjarbok, i.).

When in harbour the ships were tied with fastenings communicating with the shore by means of bridges or gangways.

“They rowed in search of the ship, and, when they found it, turned towards the shore. Hallvard and his men had tented it over and then laid themselves down to sleep. When Kveldulf and Skallagrim came upon them the watchmen at the end of the gangway jumped up and shouted to the ship, telling the men to rise, saying that an enemy was at hand, Hallvard and his men rushed for their weapons. Kveldulf reached the end of the gangway and got on board by the stern gangway, while Skallagrim went to the fore-gangway” (Egil’s Saga, 27).

The chiefs seem to have been very particular as to the berths of their ships when in harbour, so that the tents should be pitched ashore, places being allotted to the ships according to the rank of their owners. If there were several of equal rank, lots were drawn to decide who should have the best place.

“One summer, when Hakon Jarl had a levy out, Thorleif the Wise steered one of his ships. Eirik, who was ten or eleven winters old, was also with him on the journey. When they went at night into harbour, Eirik was not pleased unless his ship was next to that of the Jarl. On arriving southward at MÆri, his brother-in-law Skopti came to him with a well-manned longship. When he rowed to the fleet, he called out to Thorleif to make room for him and change his position, but Eirik at once told Skopti to take another position himself.

“As soon as Hakon Jarl heard that his son Eirik thought himself so great a man that he would not yield to Skopti, he at once bade him take another place, or otherwise it would be worse for them, as they might be thrashed. Thorleif then ordered his men to take the ship from the fastenings, which was done. Then Skopti occupied the position he was wont to have, nearest to the Jarl’s ship” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 20).

“Once Harald (Hardradi) with the Varangians had pitched their tents on a well-situated place. Gyrgir, the chief of the Greek host, wanted to pitch tents on the same spot, and they quarrelled over it. The wisest man intervened, and they consulted together. At this meeting they all agreed to throw lots into the skirts of a cloak, and thus decide which should go into harbour or choose ground for their tents first; both were to abide by the decision of the lot when the lots were made and marked” (Harald Hardradi’s Saga (Heimskringla), c. 4).

When not being used, the ships were kept in sheds; and while they were there everything loose was taken out, even the planks of the deck and the dragon-heads.

“King Eystein also had ship-sheds made in Nidaros, so large that they were famous, and built with the best materials and with great skill” (Sigurd Jorsalafari, c. 27).

“They rowed hard towards the ship-shed of Thorfinn. When the ship touched the bottom, the men jumped overboard. Grettir counted twelve of them. They did not seem to him to be on an errand of peace. They lifted up their ship and dragged it out of the water. They ran to the shed, where the large karfi of Thorfinn stood, which he never launched with less than thirty men, but they at once dragged it down on the beach. Afterwards they lifted up their own ship and carried it into the shed” (Gretti’s Saga, c. 19).

“After Yule Thorfinn made ready to go home, and sent his guests away with many good gifts. Then he went with his men till he came near his ship-shed. They saw that a ship lay on the sand, and soon knew that it was his large karfi. Thorfinn had not then heard of the Vikings. He asked them to make haste to get ashore, ‘for I expect,’ said he, ‘that friends have not done this.’ Thorfinn was first ashore, and went at once to the ship-shed. He saw a ship standing there, and knew that it was the ship of the Berserks” (Gretti’s Saga, c. 20).

When the ships were ready to go to sea, or when being built, they had rollers under them, over which they were pushed up to the shore or into the sea.

Eirek and Agnar, Ragnar’s sons, were going on an expedition to Sweden:—

“They gathered many men, and made their ships ready; they thought it important that the launching of ships should be successful. Now when Agnar’s ship ran down from the rollers a man was struck by it and died, and they called it hlunnrod (roller-reddening). This they did not think a good beginning, but would not let it stop their voyage” (Ragnar Lodbrok’s Saga, c. 9).

Harald Hardradi had a large ship launched into the river Nid, and then had the dragon heads put on. Then sang ThjÓdÓlf the scald:

When the Norsemen came to a harbour, or to a coast without one, they often dragged their ships on to the shore, when rollers, which no doubt belonged to the equipment, had to be used.

“Hakon Jarl, after a battle with King Ragnfred, drew his ships ashore so that his foes could not take them” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 17).

After the ship had been launched into the sea the equipment was put on board.

“After Easter King Olaf had his ships launched and equipment and oars carried to them, and decks placed in them, and tents put over them, and then let them float at the bridges” (St. Olaf, c. 115).

“AsbjÖrn owned a longship which was a twenty-seated snekkja, which stood in a large naust (ship-shed). After Candlemas he had it pushed forward, the equipments carried on board, and everything made ready. He then summoned his friends, and had nearly ninety men, all well armed” (St. Olaf, c. 24).

It was not always the custom to have cooks on board ship, it being the habit of traders to dispense with their services, and to draw lots among the crew every day to decide who should prepare the food.

“He (Thorleif) took passage in the summer with the traders, who prepared to go from Straumfjord, and was with the steersmen. It was then the custom of traders not to have cooks, but the messmates drew lots to see which of them should do the cooking day by day. All shipmates also had to drink together, and a tub with a lid over it stood near the mast for this purpose, but some drank from the casks which supplied the tub” (Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 39).

The people, and especially the chiefs, took great pride in the appearance of their ships, both in regard to ornamentation and sails, and kept them well painted. We may form an idea of the labour bestowed on their embellishment, from the carved pieces of wood found on board of the Gokstad ship;^[135] what, then, must it have been on such ships as the long serpent and others mentioned in the Sagas?

Insignificant objects are adorned with exquisite and tasteful designs. Some of them seem to have been designed without the aid of mechanical appliances, and others before being engraved must have had their drawings traced with compasses, &c.

The dragons were gilt, both on the stem and stern, or covered with thin sheets of gold, thus presenting a magnificent appearance as they sailed with the sun shining upon them. These and other ornaments which were placed on a ship were not fixed on till it had left the rollers and was in the water.

“Olaf had a ship made in the winter, called Visund (the bison-ox), which was larger than any other. On its prow there was the head of a bison, gilt” (St. Olaf, c. 154).

“King Olaf had a ship called KarlhÖfdi (man’s head); on its prow was a king’s head, which he himself had carved. That head was for a long time afterwards used in Norway on ships steered by chiefs” (St. Olaf, c. 45).

“Rand had a large dragon, with a gold-ornamented head, which had thirty large rooms” (Olaf Tryggvason’s Saga, c. 85).^[136]

On the top of the belfry (clock-tower) in Ghent is found the figure of a dragon, of which a woodcut is here given (p. 152). It consists of gilded copper-plates, nailed on a kind of iron skeleton. The back between the wings is open.^[137]

As King Sigurd was ready to go home, we read—

“Thereupon King Sigurd made ready for his journey homeward. He gave the Emperor all his ships, and there were gold ornamented heads on the ship which the king had steered; they were put on Peter’s church. There they may be yet (i.e. 1220–1240‘)”’ (Sigurd Jorsalafari’s Saga, c. iii., Heimskringla’s text).

The date here given is that of Norri Sturluson.

Beautiful sails were highly prized; these were generally made of vadmal, or coarse woollen stuff. The Sagas often mention that they were striped, of different colours, red, blue and green,^[138] being sometimes embroidered and beautifully lined with fur; but some were as white as the newly-fallen snow. They were square, and consequently good speed could only be attained with fair wind.

The following poetical names were given to sails:—The cloak of the wind; the tapestry of the masthead; the sheet spun by women; the cloth of the wind; the beard of the yard; the fine shirt of the tree (mast).

“When the King on his return from Jerusalem wished to sail to Mikligard (Constantinople), he lay still for half a month with his entire fleet, although every day it blew a good stern-wind; but he waited for a side-wind, so that the sails could be set lengthways on the ships. The sails were mostly covered with pell (a sort of velvet) on both sides, as those in stem and stern wanted to see an equally handsome side. When he came into Mikligard, he sailed close to the shore, from which could be seen the whole width of the sails, which were so slightly separated that they resembled a continuous wall. All the people were out to see how Sigurd sailed” (Sigurd Jorsalafari, ch. 11).

“One autumn, as King Magnus the Good was on board his fleet off Scania, they saw one day a ship, sailing eastward off the land. It was ornamented all over with gold above the water, and fine dragon-heads were on it, but the sail was of twofold pell most splendidly woven. All wondered at this strange sight. This ship was painted with red, purple, and gold. All the weathervanes looked as if they were of gold, as well as the beaks of the dragon-heads; inside these were valiant men dressed in costly garments and pell. King Magnus instantly sent a ship from the port to meet them, and wanted to know where they were going; as the messengers met them, they turned towards the shore and lowered the sail. They rowed towards the King’s fleet, and came up with that fine beautiful ship to the King. It was then found to be the ship of Harald Sigurdsson (Harald Hardradi), the King’s uncle” (Flateyjarbok, iii.).

Sails were given as valuable gifts to powerful chieftains.

When Harald Hardradi and Eystein were sailing together, Harald said:—

“‘Where didst thou, Eystein, get so fine a sail?’ Eystein answered: ‘This is the sail, lord, which you would not receive from Thorvard.’ The king said: ‘I never saw a finer sail, and I have refused a costly thing.’ Eystein replied: ‘... take whichever of the two sails thou likest best; it is good that thou knowest what thou didst refuse.’ The king thanked him and took the sail of Thorvard, and it was thought precious, though it would scarcely fit the king’s large ship in sailing-matches” (Harald Hardradi, Fornmanna SÖgur, vi. c. 100).

Ships of war were apparently always painted; dark blue ships are mentioned, but the colours were often more variegated. The ships of Knut and Hakon Jarl were painted above the water-line. AsbjÖrn Selsbani’s ship was painted above the water-line, in red and white colours.

“When Knut the Great left the country he had a great host and exceeding large ships. He himself had a dragon so large that it had sixty rooms; on it were heads ornamented with gold. Hakon Jarl^[139] had another with forty rooms, which also had gilt heads, and the sails of both were striped with blue, red, and green. Both were painted above the water. They had many other ships, large and well equipped” (Flateyjarbok, ii.).

Standards and weathervanes, not only on land, but at sea, are frequently mentioned.

“Odd gave to Gudmund and Sigurd the dragon of SÓti. He had the dragon of HÁlfdÁn painted all over, and both the dragon-heads and the vane^[140] he had ornamented with gold” (Orvar Odd’s Saga, c. 8).

The standard-bearer stood by the prow of the ship, and the pennant seems to have been carried at the masthead.

“The pennant, spun by women, played at the masthead of the reindeer of the rollers” (Knutsdrapa).

“When Eirik blÓdÖx (blood-axe) got the kingship, he had feasts in Hordaland and Firda Fylki. He took hirdmen with him. One spring he made ready to go to Bjarmaland, and selected men for the journey. Thorolf went with him, and was placed in the prow of his ship, and carried his standard. Thorolf was then taller and stronger than other men, and therein like his father” (Egil’s Saga, c. 37).

When Helgi came with his ships to make war at Frekastein he had a golden standard.

The ships as they came into harbour were often lined with shields, showing by this that they were ships of war. These shields added not a little to the appearance of the ships under sail, as the sun shone on them. When the warriors were numerous, they must have been very cumbersome, and on that account were often stationed all round the bulwark or gunwales.

In the Gokstad ship the shields were hung along the outer sides of the ship, and all seem to have been of the same size. They were placed somewhat ahead of the first oar, and a little behind the last one. They overlapped each other, the outer edge of each touching the boss of the other. They were painted either yellow or black, so that the contrast must have been picturesque.

“Then he, Olaf Tryggvason, made his ships and men ready and sailed east from Gardar out into Eystrasalt (the Baltic). The ships were lined with shields on both sides, they were swift-sailing, and went well before the wind” (Fornmanna SÖgur, vol. i. p. 100).

“Hella BjÖrn, the son of Herfinn and Halla, was a great viking, he was generally the enemy of King Harald; he went to Iceland, and entered Bjarnarfjord with a ship covered all over with shields” (Landnama, xi. 31).

“On Yule-eve the weather was bright and calm. Gretti was that day out of doors most of the time, looking at the ships that went south and north along the shore; for everybody was going to the Yule-feast. As the day declined Gretti saw that a ship rowed towards the island. It was not large, but the gunwales were covered with shields from prow to stern, and it was painted above water” (Gretti’s Saga, c. 19).

“They saw no fewer than ten ships coming southwards off a cape. They were rowed fast and steered towards them; they were completely covered with shields, and at the mast of the foremost one there stood a man who had on a silk jacket and a gilt helmet” (Njala, c. 84).

Some of the scattered pieces of poetry give a good idea of the appearance of these ships.

As a rule, merchant ships were not kept in as good order as the war-ships. The Northern chief Harek saved his life, after the battle of the river Helga, by the following subterfuge. King Olaf went by land to Norway, while the fleet of Knut the Great remained in the Sound.

“Harek did as he had said, waited for fair wind and then sailed westward past SkÁni, till he came off the HÓlar in the evening, during a strong gale. He had the sail lowered, and the mast and weather-vane taken down, and the vessel above water wrapped with grey cloth. He had a few rowers in rooms fore and aft, while most of his men sat very low in the ship. King Knut’s watchmen saw the ship, and talked among themselves about what kind of ship it might be. They thought it was loaded with salt or herrings, for they saw that the men were few and rowing badly, and the ship looked grey, and not tarred and dried in the sun. They also saw it was deep in the water. But when Harek got well forward in the Sound past the host, he raised the mast, hoisted the sail, and set up the gilt weather-vane. The sail was white as new-fallen snow, and striped with blue and red” (St. Olaf, c. 168).

Some of the harbours built by the Northmen must have been very spacious.

PÁlnatÓki, jarl of FjÓn, who also had a jarldom in Bretland (Wales), made one summer warfare in Vindland. The king, BÚrislaf, sent a message that he desired friendship and peace with him, and invited him to come and see him.

“Further, with this invitation he offered to give him a fylki or riki in his land, called JÓm, in order that he should settle there, and he would give it him on condition that he should be bound to defend the land with him. This PÁlnatÓki and his men accepted. He quickly had a large and strong sea-burgh made, since called JÓmsburgh. He also had a harbour made within the burgh, in which 300 longships could lie at the same time, all being locked in the burgh. The entrance to the harbour was constructed with great skill. It was like a gate with a large stone arch above, and shut with iron doors locked from inside the harbour. Upon the arch was built a strong tower (kastali) in which were catapults (valslÖngva). Part of the burgh stood out in the sea (water), and the burghs built thus are called sea-burghs, and thus the harbour came to be within it” (Jomsvikinga Saga, ch. 24).

The size of a ship was recognised by the number of its benches, or of oars by which it was propelled; so a vessel is often described as a fifteen, twenty, thirty-seater, or more, without having its proper appellation given to it, and the length can only be approximately given.

In no Saga are we told the length of a ship, and only in one instance, that of the Long Serpent of Olaf Tryggvason, is it partially given. Fortunately, from the Nydam, Gokstad, and Tune boats we can approximate the distance between each rower’s seat, but the space varied according to the size of the ship; and the larger the ship, the wider the space, as the oars became longer and required more room to ply them.

The Nydam vessel is a fourteen-seater and about 76 feet in length: of this about 46 feet are taken up by the rowers’ seats, the remaining 30 feet being the spaces fore and aft. The space between each oar thole is 3 feet 2 inches.

The length of the twenty-seater must have been about 110 feet; that of the twenty-five seater, about 130 feet; of the thirty-seater, about 155 feet; and of the thirty-four seater, the Long Serpent of Olaf Tryggvason, about 180 feet. Taking the rise from the keel to stem and to stern, this cannot, in a vessel of that size, have been less than 15 feet at each end, and thus we arrive at the same result, or 180 feet.

The largest ship of which we have any record is that of Knut the Great.

His dragon had sixty pairs of oars, and therefore, according to the same calculation, must have had a length of about 300 feet. The above measurements are given without making allowance for larger spaces between the benches than those of the Nydam and Gokstad ships, which were necessary in order to give more space for the plying of the longer oars.

The width of the ship is still more difficult to determine; but, taking for example the Serpent, where it is said that each half-room held eight men, or sixteen in the whole width of the vessel, its breadth between the gunwales could not have been less than 32 feet, probably more, if we judge by the proportions of the other vessels, the Nydam boat’s width being ? of its length, and that of the Gokstad boat being nearly ? of its length.

The depth of the ships is nowhere mentioned, but, as we find a deck-planking (thiljur) mentioned, it must have been at least, in cases of seagoing ships, 10 feet or more.

Looking at the Gokstad ship and its beautiful shape, we can form an idea how advanced the art of shipbuilding was in the North. The vessel had no deck, the bottom boards resting over the frames were loose, and were made fast to the frames by notches cut in them. The fragments which remain of the tent or tents show the material to have been red and white striped wool, and the numerous pieces of rope were made of bast.

The Tune vessel probably had ten to twelve pairs of oars, to judge from the number of ribs and rowing benches; but as the gunwale is destroyed, the oar tholes are missing. The vessel was iron, clinch built, with the wood work almost entirely of oak; only the ribs and the wooden nails were of fir. The planks were fastened to the frame by such clamps as those described in the Nydam boat and Gokstad ship.

The ponderous beam shows that the mast, which was set in an opening made in a large oak block, could be lowered at will, a fact sometimes mentioned in the Sagas.

Though several centuries had probably elapsed between the construction of the Nydam and that of the Tune and Gokstad boats, we find the same principle of construction and of joining the planks by rivets used in each case.

The clinch nails here represented were discovered not far from Upsala, in the decayed remains of a small ship buried in the Ultuna mound. They were from 1½ to 2 inches in length, and still remained in their places, holding the planks together. The exact size of the vessel could not be ascertained, as the mound had been disturbed before the systematic researches by competent authorities had been undertaken. There were besides a double-edged sword with hilt of gilt bronze, with fragments of its wooden scabbard, a bundle of 19 arrow-points, 3 dice, 36 checkers, parts of two horses, skeleton on the prow of the ship, and a gridiron, etc., etc.

The following passages are the only ones in the whole literature of the North which describe the building of a ship:—

“Next winter, after King Olaf came from HÁlogaland, he had a large ship built at Hladhamrar; it was far larger than the other ships in the country, and the stocks on which it was built may still be seen (in Snorri’s time). It was 148 feet long, touching the grass (i.e., at the keel). Thorberg SkafhÖgg (blow-scraper) was stem-smith (made stem and stern) for the ship; many others were engaged in the work, some to fell trees, others to shape wood, others to nail, others to carry wood. Everything used was most carefully selected. The ship was long and broad, with high gunwales and large timbers. While the bulwarks were rising, Thorberg was obliged to go home to his farm, and was away a long time, and when he came back the bulwarks were completed. The same evening the king, together with Thorberg, went to see how the ship looked, and every man said he had never seen an equally large or fine longship. The king returned to the town. Early next morning the king and Thorberg went down to the ship; all the smiths had arrived, and stood there doing no work. The king asked why they did this. They said the ship was spoiled, and that a man had walked from the stem to the lypting and made cuts into the gunwale, the one after the other. The king looked at it and saw it was true. He swore that if he knew who had spoiled the ship from envy, that man should die, but the one who could tell him should get great reward from him. Thorberg said, ‘I can tell you, king, who did this.’ The king answered, ‘Thou wast the likeliest man to be so lucky as to ascertain this and tell me.’ ‘I will tell the king who has done it,’ he said: ‘I have done it.’ The king answered, ‘Thou shalt repair it so that it is as good as it was before, or else lose thy life.’ Thorberg shaped the gunwale so that all the cuts disappeared. The king and every one said that the ship was much better on the side which Thorberg had shaped. The king asked him to do the same on the other side, and thanked him well for it. Thereafter Thorberg was the chief smith of the ship till it was finished. It was a dragon made in the shape of the serpent which he brought from HÁlogaland, and belonged to Raud, but much larger and in every respect more carefully built. He called it the Long Serpent, while the other was the Short Serpent. The Long Serpent had 34 rooms. Its beaks and the dragon-tail were all ornamented with gold; its gunwales were as high as those on seagoing ships. No better or costlier ship has been built in Norway” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 95).

“The same autumn King Olaf had a large longship built on the shore of the river Nid. It was a snekkja; he employed many smiths on it. In the beginning of winter it was finished; it had thirty rooms, high stems, but was not large. The king called it the Trani (crane)” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 79).

Crews.—The crew of the ships no doubt varied in number considerably, according to the power of the chiefs who manned them; crews of one hundred and twenty men are often mentioned; sometimes the crew consisted of seven hundred men.^[142]

“When spring came, and snow and ice thawed, Thorolf had a large longship which he owned launched, and made ready and manned with more than 100 (120) of huskarls; they were very fine and well-armed warriors. When a fair wind came he sailed southward along the coast.... No one knew about Thorolf’s journey. He had fair winds southward to Denmark, and then to Austrveg (East of Baltic); he ravaged there that summer, but got little property. In the autumn he went back to Denmark when the Eyrarfloti (the trading-fleet of Eyrarsund) was leaving. That summer many ships from Norway had been there as usual” (Egil’s Saga, c. 19).^[143]

The division between each rower’s bench was called room (rum), and this was subdivided into half-rooms, in which many of the combatants were stationed: hence the fighting strength of a ship, as well as its size, was known by the number of its rooms or benches.

On expeditions, when the men were landed to fight, we generally find that one-third of the crew remained on board to guard the ship. This is corroborated by the Frankish chronicles, which mention that the Northmen arrived before Paris with seven hundred large ships, besides smaller ones, and landed forty thousand men. The Long Serpent had thirty-four rooms; eight men were in each half room, or sixteen in each room, making five hundred and forty-four. Then thirty men were in the foreroom, thus making five hundred and seventy-four. We have also the warriors in the prows, forecastle, and other parts of the ship, making in all probably seven hundred men.

From the laws we find that people could refuse to sail on unseaworthy ships.

“The ship which has to be baled three times in two days is reckoned, according to the right Bjarkey-rett, to be unseaworthy, unless the crew like to run the risk” (Bjarkey Law, 170).

The following is the only detailed description of a storm at sea in the Sagas; it was encountered by Fridthjof on his way to the Orkneys. There are many references to ships being lost at sea, and their crews drowned.

“When Fridthjof got out of Sogn (fjord) a strong gale and a heavy storm came upon them, and the waves were very great. The ship sailed very fast, for it was swift and one of the best for the sea.

“They were driven (by the storm) northward into the sounds near to the islands called Solundir; the wind was then at its hardest. Fridthjof sang:

“They laid the ship under the Solundir in order to wait there. At once the wind fell. They then sailed out from the island in good hope, for they had a fair wind for awhile. Then the wind grew stronger. When they (Fridthjof and his foster-brother BjÖrn) were a long way out at sea, the sea began to move fearfully again, and such a snowstorm arose that the men in the stern and the stem could not see the other, and the ship was so filled with water that they had to bale it all the time. Fridthjof sang:

“BjÖrn said: ‘The one who travels widely must meet good and evil.’ ‘That is certain, foster-brother,’ said Fridthjof.

“Fridthjof said this was the time to try good men, though it was easier to sit in Baldrshagi. They made themselves ready with boldness, for valiant men were in the ship, and it was the best ship which has been in the northern lands. Fridthjof sang:

“Then great waves dashed over the ship so that they stood all baling.

“BjÖrn said: ‘Thinkest thou the maidens of Sogn will weep much over thee?’ Fridthjof said: ‘Surely, that is in my mind.’ Then the waves rose at the stem so that they rushed into the ship; but the ship was good, and hardy men were in it. BjÖrn sang:

“Ásmund said: ‘It matters not though you try your arms (baling, rowing), for you did not excuse us when we rose so early in Baldrshagi (sacred grove of Baldr), and we rubbed our eyes.’ ‘Why doest thou not sing, Ásmund?’ asked Fridthjof. ‘I will,’ said Ásmund.

“Fridthjof said with laughter: ‘Thou callest not thy help less than it is, though thy thrall-kin did appear now as thou didst wish to carry food.’ Then the wind grew stronger again, so that the white sea-drifts^[146] which burst on the ship from all sides were more like mountains and mountain-peaks than waves.

“BjÖrn: ‘Now thou art afraid, foster-brother, and there is fear in thy words; it is bad of a good warrior like thee.’ Fridthjof answered: ‘It is neither fear nor fright, though our journeys of merriment are sung, but it may be they are mentioned oftener than is needed; most men would think death likelier than life if they were situated as we are now.’

“BjÖrn: ‘We must take this, foster-brother, as it is.’ Then came a wave dashing so strongly that it carried away the gunwales and part of the bows, and flung four men overboard who were all lost. Fridthjof sang: