longship

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longship, a Norse or Viking galley, used mainly for raiding and for war purposes approximately between the years ad 600 to ad 1000. The largest longships pulled up to 80 oars, the smallest about 40 or 50. They also carried a mast, housed in a step, which was always lowered aft when they were under oars. A single square sail was hoisted on a yard, and by using bowlines and a beitass to brace the yard it was possible to use the sail for working to windward as well as for running free. As longships had neither deck nor keel, they gave no protection to their crews and also were poor seaboats, and normally did not operate in the winter when rough seas might be expected. The usual practice was to haul them up on shore during the autumn for launching again the following spring. Yet they made many remarkable voyages, sailing as far west as Vinland and as far south as the Mediterranean Sea.

Researches by J. Hornell during the 1930s revealed that the longship design was not confined to the northern hemisphere, for he found that similar vessels were used in the Pacific region. Not only did the two designs look alike, but they used identical methods of construction. So complex were these that it seems impossible they could have emerged independently, though no explanation could be found. See also sepulchral ships.

longship A VIKING ship, especially a warship. They were built usually of fir planks, and differed from the vessels of the Angles, Saxons, and Frisians in having a massive vertical keel of oak instead of a shallow horizontal one; this enabled them to carry a mast and sail. The clinker-built construction of overlapping planks secured by clench nails conferred great strength with flexibility, and the hulls were waterproofed with tar, seams between the planks being caulked with wool and hair. Later examples were over 46 m (150 feet) long and could carry hundreds of warriors who were also rowers. Longships were of extremely seaworthy design, and the addition of sails made very long voyages feasible, while the shallow draught meant that raiders could penetrate far inland by river. The violent expansion of the Norse peoples was dependent on the skilful use of such vessels.