Long, narrow and flat, longships were fast, durable and capable of navigating both choppy seas and shallow rivers.
They were also light enough to be carried over land. The design principles that led to the Viking longship can be traced back to the beginning of the Stone Age and the umiak, a large open skin boat used by Yupik and Inuit people as long as 2, years ago. Spaces between planks were then filled with tarred wool and animal hair, ensuring a watertight ship. A shallow draft allowed navigation in waters as shallow as one metre and made beach landings possible.
Skilfully carved animal heads often featured as figureheads at the front of longships. These heads — those of dragons and snakes were popular — were designed to provoke fear in the spirits of whichever land the Vikings were raiding.
A steering oar or 'steerboard' was used to steer the ships. It was fastened to the right-hand side of the ship at the stern back. There was no shelter on these vessels. At night, Vikings might pull them up on land. Food would have been dried or salted meat or fish.
It could only be cooked if the crew were able to land. The hardship of life on board, especially in rough seas, meant that Vikings did not make voyages in the winter but waited until spring. Vikings did not use maps. They had lots of different ways of working out where they were and which direction to travel in. They looked at the position of the sun and the stars. They looked at the colour of the sea, the way the waves were moving and the way the wind was blowing.
They looked out for birds and could smell if they were near land. Viking traders travelled around the coast of Europe to trade. By sailing south along the lakes and rivers of Russia and Germany they were able to meet up with traders from Arab and Eastern countries. The Vikings made much longer journeys when seeking lands to settle, travelling to Iceland, Greenland, Canada and North America. Products that the Vikings exported from Scandinavia included walrus ivory, whalebone, and the furs and skins of animals such as fox, bear, beaver and otter.
They also carried amber, a fossilized resin that was cut and polished to make beads, pendants and brooches. Longships were also double ended, this meant they didn't have to turn around, they could just reverse.
This was much more manoeuvrable. We found the following book very handy in researching this article. If you'd like to learn more about the Vikings then it's well worth a look. Vikings would hang their shields on the side of the boat to protect the hull and save space aboard the deck.
Plus, it would make the Longship nice and colourful - Vikings liked bright colours - and all the symbols of the scary animals and creatures on the shields would help scare the enemy.
Vikings would sleep on the deck of the ship, beneath the stars. There were no cabins, if it was raining then Vikings would just get wet! Longship or Longboat:. Always Longships! Ships are big, carry lots of people and sail out to sea. Boats are small, carry only one or two people and sail close to land.
So, it's a Longship, never a Longboat. Are you a teacher? Then you'll definitely want Imagining History to bring their 'How to be a Viking God' Interactive workshop to your school.
Our Award-Winning sessions combine role-play, storytelling, demonstrations and drama and performance to bring history to life for your students. Find out more here! That means if you buy something through the links above, we will earn a few quid at no extra cost to you.
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