H35
Well-Known Member
Pictures from Tønsberg, Norway, May 23. 2017
Viking ships in Norway
- Thread starter H35
- Start date
Pictures from Tønsberg, Norway, May 23. 2017
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
There's also a copy of Skuldelev 1, a knarr. The first copy was called Saga Siglar; she was lost in a Mediterranean storm after a round the world journey; she has been replaced with a further copy which I have had the privilege of being aboard. Further details (translated from Norwegian) here: https://translate.google.co.uk/tran....org/wiki/%C2%ABSaga_Siglar%C2%BB&prev=search
JasonUnderwood
New Member
I have read that Viking ships were built for war and raiding. The Vikings were brilliant ship designers and builders, and designed different types of ships for different purposes. These ships were 'dragon-ships' or 'longships'. Evidence of the many Vikings ship types comes from randomly discovered ships in burial sites and from Viking ships which have wrecked.
AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
Longships (or Dragon ships) were war ships, primarily propelled by oar with auxiliary sail. Knarr were the vessels used for trading, with a fuller hull form, primarily propelled by sail and probably more seaworthy - though the longships were no slouch when it came to seaworthiness! A modern replica of a knarr has made a circumnavigation (Saga Siglar). Replicas of longships, mainly based on the Oseberg and Gokstad finds, have made Atlantic crossings several times since about 1890; |I remember recalling an account of the earliest such crossing and it made the point that the construction of a longship was very flexible (the only connection between the ribs and the keel is via the lowest strake of planks), so the ship literally snaked across the waves, twisting as the waves passed under it.