Human beings are endowed with the ability to seek freedom and adventures. When reasoning came to our minds and when we started to use tools - that's also the time we began exploring the world around us. Very soon, the world around us was not enough - we wanted to see to where the horizon expands. We decided to use water as a means of getting to the horizon.
Ships and vessels are the oldest means of transport (together with horses) - cars, trains and airplanes were developed in late 19th and in the 20th century. Whereas the first ship remnants - and who knows if there weren't even older - date back to 2900 BC. So that means we have travelled on water for almost 5000 years!
The Egyptians, these pioneers of civilization, built big ships with at least 40 oars and only one square sail. The mast was uniquely designed to support the big sail, it looked like a sling - its official name is bipod (V-shaped, from two big logs). The steering device consisted usually of 2 big oars from both sides. With some convenient innovations, these ships were turned into war-ships (additional deck for archers, planks like shields to guard the rowers, wider sails for faster speed, etc).
The first people whose lifestyle was completely involved and dependent on the oceans - a way to find food, a medium for military action and endless horizons for new territories to conquer - were the Vikings. There is a whole period in the European history, generally dated between 790s to 1066, the Norman Conquest of England. The name "Vikings" literally translated means "northern warriors" - these people were famous for their military skills but mostly for their greatest naval abilities.
The Vikings joined the late part of the Great Migration of Peoples. The lands which they occupied included not only the Scandinavian (Denmark, southern Norway and Sweden), but also Scotland, Isle of Man, Ireland. The Byzantine Empire lived securely and in peace with the Vikings.
Everybody thinks that Christopher Columbus discovered America, but this is not the case, serious historians prove. Around 1000 AD a small Viking expedition reached Newfoundland. They also coasted near Shetland, Faroe Islands, Icelands, Greenland, Orkney and a couple of others northern destinations.
During the three centuries of their heyday, Vikings increased their population and appeared not only as traders, but also as settlers. All of the northern languages stem from one common called Old Norse language.
The most famous symbol we associate wit the Vikings is the long ships. They are called longships, langskip or "drakkar". This wonderful creation of design thought were narrow, long with oars all along the hole length of the boat. Later a rectangular sail on a single mast was introduced to help the rowers, especially during longer cruises and raids. Nearly all the longships were waterproofed by moss drenched in tar, which was a very clever innovation. The ship's light weight and shallow keel (the draught was only between 1 and 2 m!) made these ships very fast, relatively stabile - they could land even on beeches, and could be moved easily ashore. One of the most interesting things about the Viking culture is that they actually buried their ships. Egyptians built huge pyramids for their pharaohs as tombs, the Thracians buried their rulers with all their horses, wife, precious possessions. When a Viking king died, he was buried under a long burial mounds in a ship with riches. Thus they were well preserved for us to see the wondrous culture of the Vikings. Good examples of such burials are The Oseberg burial in Norway and the Sutton Hoo ship in England. Vikings' ships are different from Scandinavian trade ships (knarrs), which are deeper and broader, so that they can carry bulkier cargo - clearly because they are not military ships. Mediterranean ships, sometimes also called longhips, were similar (their true name is galleys).
Firstly, Vikings used woolen sails, and then leather ones. The longships were surprisingly fast - 14 knots under sail. Longships can be classified into a number of a different subclasses according to size, ornaments and prestige. The two most important are snekke (snekkja) and the famous dragon ships.
So, snekke - the smallest type, and still it is considered a longship - it was 17 m, width of 2.5 m, and a draught of only 0.5! It could carry a crew of 25 men, which were very well prepared warriors. The famous king Canute the Great used 1400 of those ships in Norway in 1028, and William the Conqueror used 600 for his invasion of the British Isles. The Norwegian types of snekkes waded deeper, because they were designed for fjords. They can be beached (to beach is a beautiful verb meaning a ship landing on a beach and being pulled ashore by the crew).
Later Snekkes were modified into larger and heavier.
The Dragon ships (Drakkar) were rather prestigious, luxury ships. For the keel, Vikings used one long piece of oak wood; the dimensions could vary. The most famous ship, which is in the Viking Ship Museum has the following measures: 30 m length, draught: 1 m; 121 m - two people at an oar, and one who beat the drum. The two most famous ships were "Ormen Lange" - which belonged to Olaf Tryggvason. The other was "Mora" - it was given to William the Conqueror by his wife Matilda.
