The sea howls, and the wave
Dashes the bright foam against the red wood,
While the roller-bison (ship) gapes
With the gold-ornamented mouth.
Fair woman, I saw a skeid
Launched into Nid (the river) out to sea;
Look where the long hull
Of the proud dragon rides near the shore;
The bright manes of the serpent glitter,
For it has been launched off the rollers;
The ornamented necks
Carried burnt gold.
The warriors’ Baldr (Harald) takes down
His long tent on laugardag,[141]
When beautiful women look out
From the town on the serpent’s hull;
The young all-wielder (king) is just steering
His new skeid out of Nid westward,
While the oars of warriors
Fall into the sea.
The host of the king can rightly
Tear the oars out of the water;
Woman stands wondering at
The marvellous oar’s stroke.
The Northmen row on the nailed serpent,
Along the hail-stricken stream;
It seems to the woman she sees
An eagle-wing of iron.
(Harald Hardradi, c. 62.)

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).

Fig. 938.—From Bayeux tapestry. Ship with dragon’s head, striped sails, and carrying horses.

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.

Fig. 939.—Ship lined with shields, striped sails, and men pulling with oars.

“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).

Fig. 940.—⅓ real size.

Fig. 941.

Fig. 942.—Shield. ⅙ real size.

Fig. 943.—Shield. ⅙ real size.

Carved pieces of wood and shield from the Gokstad ship.

Fig. 944.

Fig. 945.

Fig. 946.

Fig. 947.

Fig. 948.—Scoop for baling water. ⅙ real size.

Fig. 949.

Fig. 950.

Scoop for baling water. ¼ real size.

Fig. 951.

Fig. 952.

Part of wooden chair, probably high-seat of a chief.

Fig. 953.

Fig. 954.

Fig. 955.

½ real size.
From Gokstad Ship.

Fig. 956.

Fig. 957.

Fig. 958.

Fig. 959.—1
20 real size.

Fig. 960.

Heads of animals carved at the end of thick planks, the use of which cannot be ascertained; the lines are painted in various colours. ⅒ real size.

Fig. 961.—1
20 real size.

Fig. 962.—½ real size.

Fig. 963.—½ real size.

Fig. 964.—1
20 real size.

Fig. 965.—½ real size.

Fig. 966.—¼ real size.

Fig. 967.—¼ real size.

Fig. 968.—½ real size.

Fig. 969.

Fig. 970.

Fig. 971.

Fig. 972.

⅓ real size.

Fig. 973.—½ real size.

Fig. 974.—½ real size.

Fig. 975.—½ real size.

Fig. 976.

Fig. 977.

Fig. 978.—½ real size.

Fig. 979.

Fig. 980.—¼ real size.

Fig. 981.—⅓ real size.

Fig. 982.—⅙ real size

Fig. 983.—⅙ real size.

Fig. 984.—1
40 real size.

Fig. 985.—½ real size.

Fig. 986.—⅓ real size.

Fig. 987.

Fig. 988.

Fig. 989.

⅓ real size.

Fig. 990.

Fig. 991.

⅛ real size.

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.

Fig. 992.

Fig. 993.—⅕ real size.

Fragments of wood from Gokstad ship.

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 ⅕ of its length, and that of the Gokstad boat being nearly ⅕ 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.

The Tune Ship.

Fig. 994.

Tune ship (viewed from above), with heavy oak-log or block, with square hole for making fast the mast, more than 2 feet in diameter—a stump of the mast still remained in its place; discovered in a mound, the lower part of which consisted of heavy blue clay, the upper of sand and earth. The length of keel is about 45 feet (from stem to stern it must, however, have been over 70 feet), the width amidships about 13 feet, and depth about 4½ feet. Stem and stern are alike, and pointed. The sponts were attached to the planks by bast ropes. They were not fastened to the keel plank, which has only been attached by the few nails which held it together with the bottom planks. The planks, of which there have been ten to twelve on each side, are from 18 to 30 inches in width. Tune parish, where the remains of the boat and the stone with old Northern runes have been found, is especially rich in mementoes from the past. All over the parish many mounds and bautarstones of large size are seen.

Fig. 995.

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.

Fig. 996.—½ real size.

Fig. 997.—⅔ real size.

Rivets or clinch nails for ships.

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:

The sea begins to swell much,
The clouds are now struck,
Old witchcraft causes
That the sea moves;
I will not fight Ægir
In the gale;
Let the Solundir
Shelter the men.

“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:

We, the renowned warriors of chiefs,
Have come out on the deep;
We cannot see the waves
On account of the witch-storm.
The Solundir (isles) are out of sight,
And all the eighteen men
That defend Ellidi
Stand baling.

“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:

The waves cannot be seen;
We have come westward in the sea;
All the sea looks
As if one saw embers;[144]
The breakers tumble down,
The swan-tops make mounds;[145]
Now Ellidi is overrun
By a high billow.

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

The soft-mouthed maiden
East on the swan-slope
Where the clothes lay bleaching
Will drink if I sink.

“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:

It is not like when a maiden
Wants to drink to thee,
A bright ring-wearing one
That asks thee to come nearer;
Salt is in my eyes;
They are bathed;
My strong arms fail;
My eyelids are smarting.

“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.

Here was it rough round the mast
When the sea fell on the ship;
I with eight men
Had to work on board;
Easier was it to carry
A meal to women in their room (dyngja)
Than to bale Ellidi
On the high wave.

“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:

Both the bows were smashed
In the great wave of the sea;
Four warriors sank
Down into the deep”
(Fridthjof’s Saga, c. 6).