But it is the third kind of burial that tells us as much about the Viking ship as the Brigg discovery taught us about the primitive dug-out. For instead of sending them out to sea there was also the custom of dragging the huge ship ashore, and placing the distinguished seaman’s body in the bow, a sepulchral chamber (clearly shown in Fig. 28) of wood was erected above. Together with his horse, his dogs, his weapons and other belongings he was left to sleep in peace. Finally over the whole boat a huge mound was raised towering to a great height, and the proceedings were completed. Now, within recent years some of these mounds have been excavated with results of remarkable historic value. Ever since the beginning of the nineteenth century the Norwegians have taken a real interest in their national antiquities, and these ancient craft have been treated with the care and reverence to which they have every right. But besides Norway these ships have been found elsewhere. Even in England relics of a Viking ship 48 feet long, 9 feet 9 inches wide, and 4 feet high were found near Snape in Suffolk during the year 1862. Viking remains have also been discovered in the Orkneys. In 1875 an enormous specimen was found at Botley, a charming little place up the river Hamble which flows out into Southampton Water opposite Calshot. This was probably a Danish ship and a relic of one of her nation’s incursions against our shores. She has been thought to belong to the year A.D. 871 when the Danes invaded Wessex. At any rate she was in length 130 feet while her upright timbers measured 14 feet 10 inches. The caulking was found to be of ferns and moss and indeed the impression of the leaves of the former was still visibly outlined on the wood. The timber was oak as far as could be discerned, and bore evidences of having been burned. Nowadays there is not enough water at Botley to float such a ship, but at high tide, and allowing for the silting up of the river it would have been as snug a place as ever could be found along the south coast, after the Vikings were wearied with fighting and the buffeting of the waves.

Of the other Viking ships discovered we shall give to each for convenience the name of the district where she was found. The Nydam ship was discovered in October, 1863, in the Nydam Moss to the north-east of Flensburg in the Duchy of Schleswig. Nydam is in a dale and was once part of a bay of Als Sound, and in former times was navigable. Systematic diggings were undertaken at the expense of the Danish Government and afterwards the ship was placed in the hands of an expert restorer. She is as usual built of oak, her lines being very similar to the Scotch fishing boats that flourished on our coasts up to the middle of the nineteenth century, and resembling the boat well known as a whaler. The rudder was placed on the starboard about 10 feet from the stern and was about 9½ feet in length. She is sharp at both ends with high stem and stern posts; 77 feet long, as much as 10 feet 10 inches across her midships, she was clinker-built of eleven oak planks. The keel is an inch deep and eight inches thick, being broad at the middle but diminishing gradually toward the sternpost. The planks were fastened with large iron nails and caulked, as was the custom, with some woollen stuff and pitch. She had twenty-eight oars, was flat-bottomed, and her date has been estimated as about the middle of the third century of our era. I admit she is not entitled to be called a sailing ship, but as she will be found to belong so closely to the sailing class we cannot afford to neglect her. With her was also found another similar ship but of fir and armed with a ram low down at each end. Remains of another boat were also discovered with her as well as bronze brooches, silver clasps, wooden boxes, bone combs, many shield boards or pavisses (also seen in the Gogstad ship, Fig. 28), 106 iron swords, spear shafts and heads, 36 wooden bows, iron bits still in the mouths of the skeleton horse-heads, pots, bowls, knives, axes, clubs, and thirty-four Roman coins, belonging to dates between 69 and 217 A.D.[42] These composed the personal property, already alluded to, that was always buried with the Viking. Professor Stephens (see note) was of the opinion that one or more of these three boats had been scuttled and sunk in order to avoid capture by the enemy, and goes on to refer to the fact that in the twelfth century the Wends and Slavs employed the same means when pursued. Their tactics included dragging the ship ashore, scuttling her and then decamping and seeking shelter.

The Tune ship was found in Norway, near the town of Frederikstad in the year 1865. She is of especial interest to us as being the first specimen of a sailing craft that we have from the North. She was found under the funeral mound that had been raised over her, and measured 45½ feet long; her width is supposed to have been 14½ feet, for not the whole of the hull was rescued. Her height from keel to bulwark has been estimated as about four feet. Clinker-built of oak, there were found just abaft the mast the unburnt bones of a man and his horse. From internal evidence this ship has been thought to belong to the Iron Age, and is obviously a Viking ship.

About the year 1873 the Brosen ship was found near Danzig. She was 57 feet long, 16 feet wide, 5 feet high and pointed at both ends. Her planking was 1½ inches thick of oak and clinker-built. The caulking consisted of the hair of elk, bear, or some other wild animal, with an application of tar. The bottom was flat. In 1890 the Gloppen ship was found during excavations of a mound on the fjord of that name near to Bergen. I understand that the remains are preserved in the Bergen museum.

But far surpassing any of these we have already mentioned is the great Gogstad ship discovered in the year 1880 near to Sandefjord. The mound in which she lay was 18 feet above sea-level, and the prow was placed looking seaward, as if ready for a voyage again. The condition in which this fine old ship was found is nothing short of marvellous, and is attributable to the fact that the blue clay in which she was embedded had preserved her from the air. The upper part has unfortunately been damaged, owing (thinks Du Chaillu) to the clay being mixed with sand, and so allowing the air to penetrate. She is clinker-built, entirely of oak, and caulked with cow’s hair spun into a sort of cord. Her planking is of oak, 1¾ inches thick, and her length over all is 79 feet 4 inches, beam 16½ feet, and depth 6 feet amidships, but 8½ feet at the extremities. She weighs about twenty tons, displacing about 959 cubic feet. Her gunwale above water is amidships 2 feet 11 inches, while at bow and stern it rises to 6½ feet. Her draught is only 3 feet 7 inches. In many respects she resembles the Tune ship, but this is indeed a sailing vessel. There is a step for the mast, and thirty-two oars were carried—sixteen on either side—the oar-holes being provided with shutters so as to keep out the sea. Through the courtesy of the British Consul at Christiania I am enabled here to show two excellent photographs of the ship as she now lies in the keeping of the Royal Frederiks University, Christiania. Professor Gabriel Gustafson has been instrumental in preserving the ship from further decay, and the reader who desires a complete description of the Gogstad ship is referred to the latter’s publications concerning her. It is quite evident from her construction that her builders possessed the greatest experience and that her designer, whoever he may have been, thoroughly “understood the art, which was subsequently lost, to be revived in modern times, of shaping the underwater portion of the hull so as to reduce the resistance to the passage of the vessel through the water.”[43] It is the opinion of experts in naval architecture that for model and workmanship this vessel is a masterpiece, nor for beauty of lines and symmetrical proportions could she be surpassed to-day by any man connected with the art of designing or building ships.

As rebutting the statement of those who would limit the possibilities of these early ships to short voyages, it may not be out of place to mention that at the end of the nineteenth century an exact replica of this Gogstad ship was built, and sailed across the Atlantic on her own bottom. She proved to be a capital sea-boat and was for some time a source of great attraction at the Chicago exhibition. From the various articles of antiquarian interest that were found in the Gogstad ship, as well as from the style of carving with which the vessel was decorated, she has been given the date of somewhere between the years 700 and 1000 A.D. According to the Sagas such a ship as this would carry two or more boats propelled by from two to twelve oars. It is therefore interesting to remember that fragments of three were found within this mother ship.

Fig. 28 shows the bakbordi or port side looking forward from the stern. The dark triangular erection towards the bows is the sepulchral chamber in which the old sea-chief was laid. The unfortunate break in the ship’s side below was evidently the work of thieves bent on stealing some of the articles of value while the ship was under the mound. The wooden shields, or pavisado to protect the oarsmen from the enemy, are much in evidence, and the beautiful lines of her stern cannot fail to be admired. She has a somewhat flat floor amidships for greater stability, but the general sweep of her lines is exquisite. Fig. 29 is even more interesting still as showing the stjornbordi or starboard side looking forward. The height of the stern, and the planking, are here clearly discerned: but especially claiming our attention is the rudder. Here it is now a fixture, having developed like the Mediterranean ships from a loose oar at the side. It remained as we see it here until the beginning of the fourteenth century. In this Gogstad ship the rudder is fixed to a projection of solid wood, on which it is pivoted. Into the neck of the rudder a tiller was fitted, which we shall see quite clearly in the illustration of the seal of Winchelsea in the following chapter. Even nowadays, while in the modern Scandinavian ships the rudder is at the end and not at the side of the ship, the steering helm comes round at the side so as to avoid the high sternpost. Figs. 30 and 31, which have been sketched from modern Norwegian and Russian ships, will show not merely how wonderfully has this Viking type prevailed up till to-day, but how the tiller also has altered only very slightly. From the stern of the Gogstad ship will be noticed the rope for pulling up the rudder clear of the water-line (as in St Paul’s ship) so as to avoid damage when beaching. The steering side was of course always the starboard, whence this word originates. On this side the reader will notice the oar-holes mentioned above. The class to which this Gogstad ship belongs is that of the skuta, which was extensively used in Norway. Such craft as these, though they were not the biggest of the Viking ships, were nevertheless of great speed. The actual word skuta indicates “to shoot,” in the sense of passing speedily. No doubt the familiar Dutch craft schuyt is, at least in name, derived from this.

Being an open ship it was customary to stretch a tent, called a tjald, over the vessel under which the crew could sleep at night or shelter in bad weather. This was extended by means of cords and wooden stretchers. A pair of these latter have been found in the Gogstad ship with carved figureheads. Very similar to the ships depicted in the Bayeux tapestry, as we shall presently see, the Gogstad ship may be regarded as a typical Viking ship, such as we are accustomed to read of in the literature of the Sagas.

Since this last ship was unearthed there has also been found another Viking ship, which we shall refer to by the name of Oseberg. This was discovered on the western side of the Christiania Fjord, in the district of Vestfold, in the year 1903. Its resting place was, as usual, deep down in a mound. Happily the work of excavation was put into scientific hands, and the University of Christiania sent Professor Gabriel Gustafson to Oseberg to superintend the digging, which proceeded with great care, and about Christmas, 1904, the whole ship was fully disclosed. The various pieces were subsequently put on board a lighter and brought to Christiania, where for the present at any rate they are stored in the military arsenal of Akershus, each piece having previously been numbered so as to facilitate reconstruction. She is of similar dimensions to the Gogstad ship though a little shorter, but unfortunately she has not been so well preserved. She has in fact suffered severely by the earth pressing up from beneath while her own weight, together with that of the mound above her, have damaged her frames considerably. In ornamentation she is indeed superior to the Gogstad ship and some detailed carving at the ends of the ship runs along the gunwale. However the wonderful collection of personal property found in her has not yet been surpassed. Although she also had suffered at the hands of thieves, there were discovered in her:—a loom with a tapestry full of small pictures resembling those on the Bayeux tapestry, implements of various kinds, a carriage but no weapons, which latter had probably been stolen unless we suppose that his wife and not the sea-chief himself had lain buried here.

With regard to the internal arrangements and fittings of the Viking ships, the rowing benches were placed at either side of the ship with a gangway running down the centre. In calm weather the ship was of course propelled with her oars. In the centre of the gangway, fitted to the keelson, was placed the step—stalbr—for the mast, room being left so that the mast could conveniently be raised and lowered. Like those of their ancestors in the Mediterranean, the masts of these ships were lowered by means of a tackle on the forestay before going into battle, and also when compelled to resort to oars on meeting with a head wind. Stays supported the mast from the top to the high stem-post, as well as shrouds on each side. The halyards passed through a hole below where the shrouds met. Wooden parrals called rakki were used to hold the yard to the mast, and these are clearly seen in old manuscripts of English ships of mediæval times. Braces came down from the extremities of the yards, leading away aft.

The sail was square and was not practicable for tacking, consequently it frequently meant waiting for a fair wind or resorting to oars. We learn from the Sagas that Harald Sigurdson wishing to visit Constantinople, on his return from Jerusalem, waited with his fleet a whole month and a half for a side wind to enable him to display his magnificent sails all glorious with rich velvet. The sail was much wider at the foot than on the yard, and exceeded the breadth of the ship. Fig. 30, as we have already remarked, represents a modern and practically an ancient Scandinavian ship—so little have these craft altered in the march of time. It will be noticed that she has no boom. However, the Russian ship in Fig. 31 is correctly shown with one. That, in fact, is the characterising difference between the ships of these two peoples. That a tacking-boom or beiti-ass was in use we know from the Ynglinga Saga. It is said to have reached so far beyond the gunwale that it could knock a man overboard from a boat when sailing too close past.[44] This boom was probably used when wishing to sail fairly close to the wind. Apparently when the beiti-ass was not in use the braces were called sheets.

The sail itself was made of home-spun until with civilisation came the cultivation of flax. It was strengthened with a hem of rope, and was frequently striped. Sometimes it was embroidered or decked with pall. It is perfectly clear that the Vikings did know of the art of tacking for we find the word in the Norse which means this—beita. The portions of the sail were sewed together with thread, rings being attached to the leach in such a place that the sheets could be conveniently made fast when the vessel had need to shorten sail. Small ropes or reefing points were also affixed to the sail. We shall see this quite easily when we come to consider similar ships in the next chapter. Mention has just been made of Sigurdson’s sails of velvet. Very highly did the Vikings respect their wings. Gorgeous sails were worked by their women folk, with cunning designs and beautiful embroidery, even historic incidents being included. White sails were sometimes striped with red and with blue, whilst others of double velvet were made gay with exquisitely woven patterns in red, purple and gold. As is the case in regard to many other details this custom of decorating the sail was passed on to the English, and it is a matter for regret that our seas do not still witness these picturesque spots of warm colour flitting over the cold green waves.

Very poetic, too, are the phrases in which we find, from the Sagas, the Norsemen referred to their sail. Thus such happy expressions as “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,” are found. With a shipload of thirty or fifty lusty Norsemen singing and swinging to their oars, with a sail above bellowing out its purple and gold over their flaxen heads, with their red and white striped hull, and their standards and gay weather-vanes waving at her extremities—what a feast of colour, what a sight for mortals she must have made as she came sliding down the billows towards the unprotected yellow shore!

There were three distinct classes of ships possessed by these Northerners. Firstly, the warships, including the Dragon type, so called from the figurehead at her stem; the Snekkja, named after the Long Serpent or Snake ship; the Skuta or swift, “shooting” ship, to which the Gogstad and the Nydam craft belong, the Buza resembling the Skuta; and finally the longship, or, to give her the native word, langskip. But far and away the largest of this class was the Dragon, whilst the most celebrated for beauty of design was the not inaptly named “Long Serpent.” Indeed, right until the twelfth century this vessel dominated the design of most other ships built around the North Sea and English Channel.

Secondly there were the ships of burthen, modifications of the warships: and finally the small boats, also fitted with mast and sail, which were carried on board the bigger craft.

In almost every case there was but a single row of oarsmen on each side, protected by the overlapping wooden shields from both arrows and waves, whilst the name given to the rope surrounding the ship so as to guard against the shock of ramming was the viggyrdil. Whilst the dragon’s head was on the stem-post and the tail of the dragon ornamented the stern, the tiller, and, as we know from the Gogstad ship, the handles of the oars were also decorated. We have a relic of this custom in the beautifully carved dogs’ heads so often found on yachts and other craft before iron helms came so much into practice. With regard to the nomenclatures of these old vessels we find such figurative terms as “Deer of the Surf,” “Snake of the Sea,” “Lion of the Waves,” applied to them: but it is not without interest to remark that not until about the time of the introduction of Christianity is frequent mention made of the naming of a ship at launching. They carried with them, on board somewhere, rollers wherewith to beach and launch their ships. These are referred to in the early accounts of the Viking burials and launchings.

In building a vessel there were three chief classes of shipwrights employed. There was the head-smith, the stem-smith, who was responsible for the construction of her framework, and finally the strake-smith. Besides these came also the joiners, nail-makers, blacksmiths and other workmen.

When making a passage every oarsman kept his weapons underneath his seat in a chest, and when the fight began, the ships—following the practice of the early Mediterranean galleys—of the aggressor and the enemy were locked together so that the warfare resembled a land battle. This custom naturally was handed on to the English, and there are not wanting in old manuscripts illustrations showing this method of warfare. The prow had its raised deck and the stern likewise. In between, but considerably lower, was the maindeck. At the poop, in his historical position, stood the commander. Here, too, immediately below him was the ship’s arsenal for whenever fresh arms had to be served out. Each ship had five compartments, two being in the stern as just described—the commander’s room called the lofting, and the fore-room used for the next in rank as well as for the arms. We have also mentioned the central space of the ship where the mast and rowers were placed. And forward beyond that were quartered the important men who were responsible for defending the stem and who also bore the standard, this bow section being divided into two sections. One can readily understand how essential it was that only picked men should be in this part, for when once the bow end had been stormed, it would be with difficulty that the enemy, coming aboard, could be repelled from the rest of the ship.

As to the navigating methods of the Vikings, although they understood the cardinal points of north, south, east, and west long before the loadstone was invented, yet their voyages mostly consisted of coasting from shore to shore like the ancient Greeks. But as to how they were able to make such long voyages as to Iceland, and thence across to what are now the New England states of America without compass or sextant, I offer no explanation, beyond attributing success to that wonderful additional sense and intuition which seamen possess and which is, we find all round our coasts, developed in a high degree in fishermen unlettered and untutored. Of course they had the rising and setting of the sun to enable them to distinguish east from west, and the stars, too, would be for their assistance, but with such slender aids to navigation and in spite of being blown off their course as such shallow ships must frequently have been, they very rarely got wrong in their bearings. But perhaps we ought to admit that usually the Vikings were wise enough not to fight against nature wantonly; for they confined their sailing seasons, following the example again of the Mediterraneans, to spring and summer. Except when they were in some country too far distant, the Vikings always returned home about the autumnal equinox and “brought their ships to the roller.”

Because the Vikings coasted as a rule instead of making a passage across the Ocean, they were frequently able to go ashore at nights to sleep. But whether they slept ashore or afloat each man turned-in in a leather sleeping-bag. Under that awning and on board such able ships the possibilities of comfort were perhaps not so limited as one might imagine at first. The cooking could only be done on land, so this was an additional reason for hugging the shore. In fact a municipal law of Bergen in the year 1276 assumed this, for it enacts that the mate shall, whenever the ship lies at anchor in harbour, cause the crew to be put on shore and brought back on board once a day: but the cook is to be allowed ashore three times—once to take in water and twice to take in food. Bronze cooking vessels belonging to the ships have also been found.

Thus we conclude our investigation of these eternally fascinating sailing ships of the land of pines and fjords, of glacier and keen biting air. We leave them with reluctance, but our regret is tempered with the knowledge that henceforth wherever we discuss the sailing ships of our English nation, we shall know that either obvious or concealed there is the Viking influence lurking in her design, her manner of construction or her sail and rigging.