What Contributions Have Vikings Made To Sailing?

Viking boats, which were designed for speed, shallow draft, weight, capacity, maneuverability, and seaworthiness, were a significant advancement in shipbuilding and navigation. They were capable of sailing across long portages and withstand fierce ocean storms, and their square sail was developed alongside the individual hull size and type of ship. The Vikings’ ability to sail out of sight of land across the sea to new lands was astonished by their ability to navigate the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and North Atlantic, some of the world’s most difficult waters.

The Vikings were skilled shipbuilders, sailors, and navigators, allowing trade, travel, exploration, raiding, and expansion from the late 8th to the early 11th centuries. Their ships were powered by oars or wind, and had one large, square sail, likely made from wool or leather strips. Their maritime prowess had a profound influence on European seafaring practices, with advanced shipbuilding techniques, navigational skills, and the ability to reach America for the first time.

The Vikings’ ability to craft incredible vessels allowed them to control various regions of Northern Europe and contribute to trade and transport. Their ships are iconic for their unique style, allowing them to navigate both oceans and rivers, contributing to their ability to control various regions of Northern Europe and contribute to trade and transport.

Were Vikings skilled sailors?

1. The Vikings were skilled sailors and navigators. Their most dangerous weapon was their long ship which they used as fast and agile troop carriers.

What were the contributions of the Vikings?

Viking colonisation. The Vikings founded many cities and colonies, including Dublin in Ireland and the region of Normandy in France. Dublin was held as a significant settlement for more than three centuries. Between the years 879 and 920, Vikings colonised Iceland, which in turn became the springboard for the colonisation of Greenland. Remains of a Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland have been carbon dated to around the year 1000.

How could a small and scattered people conquer so much territory? The Norwegian Vikings are characterized by their courageous, fatalistic outlook which made them naturally born risk takers. The raiding groups seem to have had a fantastic ability to shrug off losses, whether in land battles or in dangerous sea expeditions. The number of deaths caused by war was sometimes shockingly high in relation to the total Viking population, but it did not satisfy their hunger for conquest and exploration for around 250years.

Peaceful tradesmen and meaddrinkers. The Vikings are mostly known for their relentless pillaging, and rightly so. At the same time, many of them lived peacefully as traders and farmers, and many expeditions were based on barter deals. Those who stayedhome supported their families through simple farming activities. Their daily life might have been tough and demanding, but was not without joy. The most well-known Viking drink is mead (mjødin Norwegian), an alcoholic beer-like brew sweetened with honey.

What did Vikings use for sails?

The sail. The Viking ship’ssailmade it possible to travellongdistances over the open sea. Weaving the sails and adjusting it to the specofic ship was a lot of work. The Vikings used different materials for their sails. The two most important were flax and wool – both has its advantages and disadvantages:

Flax, which is a plant fiber, provides a light and strong sail. But it is a big job to work the flax fibers and make them ready for weaving, and in addition it rots easily. A woolen sail is heavy but it’s alsomore elastic anddoes not rot, but is harder to treatand seal.

» Read about how the Viking Ship Museum reconstructs sail under the chapter ‘The weaver’…

The reconstruction of Viking Age and Early Medieval ship’s sails has proved a particular challenge for the Viking Ship Museum, as there are but few traces preserved in the archaeological record. It is therefore necessary to draw on information from comparable finds and ethnological evidence. Below is a summary of the general questions concerning the reconstruction of sail and rigging:

What made Viking ships good for exploration?

The long, narrow design also made the ships more stable in rough seas, which allowed the Vikings to navigate through storms and choppy waters.

Secondly, the longships had a shallow draft, which meant that they could navigate through shallow waters and rivers with ease.

This was particularly important for the Vikings, who often traveled up rivers to raid inland towns and villages.

The longships were also designed with a shallow keel, which made them incredibly fast and maneuverable.

Why were the Vikings so good at navigation?

North Star: Viking navigators relied on the North Star, also known as Polestar or Polaris, to chart the direction of their routes at night.

The North Star is the best way humans have of finding the location of the north celestial pole. Vikings could use it to measure the distance in degrees from north to south, which is called latitude. They did this by measuring how high the North Star was from the horizon and comparing it to the height of the North Star when they were home.

The North Star was only useful, however, when Vikings were in the northern hemisphere. As they moved toward the equator their view of the North Star lost accuracy and could no longer be used to locate the true distance to the north pole.

The Vikings created a number of tools that helped them used the sun to determine latitude during the day.

When did Vikings start sailing?

Sails started to be used from possibly the eighth century. The earliest had either plaited or chequered pattern, with narrow strips sewn together.

In the late eighth century, the Kvalsund ship was built. It is the first with a true keel. Its cross sectional shape was flatter on the bottom with less flare to the topsides. This shape is far more stable and able to handle rougher seas. It had the high prow of the later longships. After several centuries of evolution, the fully developed longship emerged some time in the middle of the ninth century. Its long, graceful, menacing head figure carved in the stern, such as the Oseburg ship, echoed the designs of its predecessors. The mast was now square in section and located toward the middle of the ship, and could be lowered and raised. The hull’s sides were fastened together to allow it to flex with the waves, combining lightness and ease of handling on land. The ships were large enough to carry cargo and passengers on long ocean voyages, but still maintained speed and agility, making the longship a versatile warship and cargo carrier.

The Viking shipbuilders had no written diagrams or standard written design plan. The shipbuilder pictured the longship before its construction, based on previous builds, and the ship was then built from the keel up. The keel and stems were made first. The shape of the stem was based on segments of circles of varying sizes. The keel was an inverted T shape to accept the garboard planks. In the longships the keel was made up of several sections spliced together and fastened with treenails. The next step was building the strakes—the lines of planks joined endwise from stem to stern. Nearly all longships were clinker (also known as lapstrake) built, meaning that each hull plank overlapped the next. Each plank was hewn from an oak tree so that the finished plank was about 25mm (1 inch) thick and tapered along each edge to a thickness of about 20mm (0.8 inches). The planks were riven (radially hewn) so that the grain is approximately at right angles to the surface of the plank. This provides maximum strength, an even bend and an even rate of expansion and contraction in water. This is called in modern terms quartersawn timber, and has the least natural shrinkage of any cut section of wood. The plank above the turn of the bilge, the meginhufr, was about 37mm (1.5 inches) thick on very long ships, but narrower to take the strain of the crossbeams. This was also the area subject to collisions. The planks overlapped by about 25–30mm (1.0–1.2in) and were joined by iron rivets. Each overlap was stuffed with wool or animal hair or sometimes hemp soaked in pine tar to ensure water tightness. Amidships, where the planks are straight, the rivets are about 170mm (6.7 inches) apart, but they were closer together as the planks sweep up to the curved bow and stern. There is considerable twist and bend in the end planks. This was achieved by use of both thinner (by 50%) and narrower planks. In more sophisticated builds, forward planks were cut from natural curved trees called reaction wood. Planks were installed unseasoned or wet. Partly worked stems and sterns have been located in bogs. It has been suggested that they were stored there over winter to stop the wood from drying and cracking. The moisture in wet planks allowed the builder to force the planks into a more acute bend, if need be; once dry it would stay in the forced position. At the bow and the stern builders were able to create hollow sections, or compound bends, at the waterline, making the entry point very fine. In less sophisticated ships short and nearly straight planks were used at the bow and stern. Where long timber was not available or the ship was very long, the planks were butt-joined, although overlapping scarf joints fixed with nails were also used.

As the planks reached the desired height, the interior frame (futtocks) and cross beams were added. Frames were placed close together, which is an enduring feature of thin planked ships, still used today on some lightweight wooden racing craft such as those designed by Bruce Farr. Viking boat builders used a spacing of about 850mm (33 inches). Part of the reason for this spacing was to achieve the correct distance between rowing stations and to create space for the chests used by Norse sailors as thwarts (seats). The bottom futtocks next to the keel were made from natural L-shaped crooks. The upper futtocks were usually not attached to the lower futtocks to allow some hull twist. The parts were held together with iron rivets, hammered in from the outside of the hull and fastened from the inside with a rove (washers). The surplus rivet was then cut off. A ship normally used about 700kg (1,500 pounds) of iron nails in a 18m (59 feet) long ship. In some ships the gap between the lower uneven futtock and the lapstrake planks was filled with a spacer block about 200mm (8 inches) long. In later ships spruce stringers were fastened lengthwise to the futtocks roughly parallel to the keel. Longships had about five rivets for each yard (90cm or 35 inches) of plank. In many early ships treenails (trenails, trunnels) were used to fasten large timbers. First, a hole about 20mm (0.8 inches) wide hole was drilled through two adjoining timbers, a wooden pegs inserted which was split and a thin wedge inserted to expand the peg. Some treenails have been found with traces of linseed oil suggesting that treenails were soaked before the pegs were inserted. When dried the oil would act as a semi-waterproof weak filler/glue.

How were Viking ships able to cross open waters?

Their most famous Viking ships, the longships, had a streamlined design and were capable of both sailing and rowing. Longships were also equipped with a square sail, and this is mostly what allowed them to make long journeys across the open sea.

What 2 skills were the Vikings famous for?

The Vikings were highly skilled craftspeople. They built seagoing ships and made their own weapons and armour. These skills increased their success in trade and, later, in the search for and conquest of new lands. The Vikings were expert shipbuilders with easy access to the timber of Scandinavia’s forests.

What did Vikings contribute to seafaring?

No history of Norway is complete without mention of the Vikings. The Vikings were Scandinavian seafarers who raided and traded goods across a wide swath of Europe from the 8th to the 11th century. Much of the Vikings’ ability to expand can be credited to their ships. Viking ships were used for transport, trade, and warfare.

Navigating Norway and the rest of Scandinavia required vessels that could handle a variety of different types of bodies of water. From lakes to rivers to fjords to the open sea, the Vikings built ships that could handle it all. Here are a few fascinating features and facts about the Vikings and their incredible vessels!

Early Viking Ships. Much of what we know about the earliest Viking ships was pieced together through the inspection of what remains of shipwrecks found in Norway’s Oslo Fjord. Some of the earliest ships discovered were the Oseberg, the Gokstad, and the Tune. These ships were not as specialized as the ships that would be created after them. So, it appears that they were used for everything from transport to battle.

By the end of the 9th century, specialization of the ships had begun. Around this time, the Vikings started to create warships. Warships were longer and slimmer than previous boats the Vikings had built, and although the name might inspire visions of epic sea battles, the warships were actually used for something altogether different. Due to their shape and size, these vessels were able to navigate sheltered waters where they would drop off the Vikings at a point of interest. From there, the Vikings could discreetly enter their target location. The warships were designed for a quick getaway once the Vikings had obtained the loot from their target location.

How did the Vikings contribute to early ocean exploration?

But at the same time, they were shrewd and accomplished traders, skilled explorers and navigators, superb shipbuilders andcraftsmen The ships that made this possible were among their greatest achievements. Built in many sizes for different uses,they were double-ended, clinker-built (overlapping planks) with a pronounced keel but shallow draft. Some were propelled byboth oars and sail. Vikings were remarkably skilled navigators although little is known of their methods. It is thought theykept to the coasts where they could, but offshore could draw on a deep knowledge of stars, clouds, winds, currents,temperatures, and bird and animal behaviour.

Viking ship in Norway. Image: Steinar Engeland, Unsplash.

Viking longboats were sometimes referred to as dragon ships, with fierce dragons carved on the prow to scare the enemies. Theoars are the dragon’s legs, and the boat’s square sail the dragon’s wings.

What did Vikings do when sailing?

How did the Vikings navigate?. 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. It’s very unlikely that they had a compass, although some Vikings may have used an instrument called a sun-shadow board to help them navigate.

Where did the Vikings travel?. 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.

What goods did they trade?. 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. All these natural products were traded for goods in different countries.

What made the Vikings such good sailors?

Viking longships (Children’s British History Encylopaedia, n.d.). Many Vikings were good sailors because they lived close to rivers and fjords (sea inlets). They grew up learning how to use ships for fishing and travelling.The Vikings built fast ships for raiding and war.In a raid, a ship could be hauled up on a beach and the men would jump out to fight. They could make a quick getaway if they were chased.A big Viking longship would be about 30 metres longand could carry 60 men.The men slept and ate on deck.When rowing, sailors sat on chests with their belongings in.They were made from planks of oak wood joined together.These overlapped each other, which made the ship very strong.

Norway excavates a Viking longship fit for a king (BBC, 2020, December 4). Pyramids, castles, palaces: symbols of power and status have taken many forms down the ages, and for the Vikings what really counted was the longship.In December 2020, Norwegian archaeologists hope to complete their excavation of a rare, buried longship at Gjellestad, an ancient site south-east of Oslo. It is the first such excavation in Norway for about a century. Most of the ocean-going ship has rotted away over the centuries, but archaeologist Dr Knut Paasche believes the layout of the iron nails will still enable a replica to be built eventually.

Secrets of Viking ships (PBS, 2000, May 9). For three turbulent centuries, the glimpse of a square sail and dragon-headed prow on the horizon struck terror into the hearts of medieval Europeans. Indeed, the Viking Age, from A.D. 800-1100, was the age of the sleek, speedy longship. Without this crucial advance in ship technology, the Vikings would never have become a dominant force in medieval warfare, politics, and trade. This article looks at the different types of Viking ships and what made them so successful.