The Viking Longship: How They Were Invented, Built and Used

At the dawn of the 9th century, the Viking Age had begun. Coastal towns and monasteries across Western Europe fell victim to brutal raids, their treasures plundered and people carried off as slaves. This age of war and trade would last for the next 300 years, and the key to Nordic success was the viking longship.

The speed, maneuvrability and shallow draught of these predatory vessels allowed the vikings to navigate coastal waters, and run their ships on to isolated beaches, from which to launch surprise attacks on nearby settlements. Before any local force could organize and retaliate, the vikings were long gone. These ships carried mighty invasions that carved out new Kingdoms across the British isles. They plundered as far as France and Italy. However, the longship was used for other purposes. Viking traders were able to navigate the rivers and lakes of Russia, reaching as far as Byzantium. The longships carried settlers that colonized the North Sea Islands, even a temporary colony in North America.

However, these waves of expansion and trade were nothing new. Scandinavia had traded with the Mediterranean since the bronze age. Warlike peoples such as the Cimbrians, Goths and Saxons all ventured out of Scandinavia to establish new realms across Europe. The viking age didn't come out of nowhere - neither did their ships. Thus, to understand the viking longship, we'll have to start from the beginning.

Sources
The Viking Longship - Osprey Publishing
The Vikings - Osprey Publishing
Ship and Society: Maritime Ideology in Late Iron Age Sweden - Gunilla Larsson
Den Långa Medeltiden - Fredrik Charpentier Ljungqvist

Image sources:

0:00 Introduction
4:50 Construction
11:32 Karvi
13:29 Longships
16:52 Knarr
18:20 Conclusion
19:26 help

#history #shipbuilding #vikings #vikingage #ironage #ships

[derredc]

I love finding a great history channel for a new perspective, and it's even better when I find one that is just in its infancy. From the UK, so much of our own history is impacted by the vikings, but it was never really covered much in school. Really happy to learn more about how these people impacted our countries and cultures, and about their own growth and development as a people.

Important stuff! Looking forward to thje next one

Sincerely, Derredc

[PeterPan-izkk]

3:12 - No, you're a little wrong here. The way of clinker building was found out long before iron was used to join the planks. That is why any iron rivet used for clinker building, even today, is called a "seam", or a "boat seam", and not a "nail" or a "rivet". In the beginning the planks were actually sewn together, and we find evidence of this in Bronze age constructions, early Iron age ships (like Halsnøybåten, 450 AD), as well as in Saami built craft of a much later date, even up to our own time. The planks of a boat or ship of this construction were originally joined together with strong, slender roots, or with sinews, horse hair, or long fragments of whale bards. This made the hulls more flexible, and so, more seaworthy, and the building technique was exactly the same: One plank overlapping the other, and with some swelling material to keep the joint watertight, as you mention. The iron rivets, however, came much later, and has indeed given the name to the building technique, clinker built, as we call it today. So, in that you're right. But that was, as I've said before, several hundreds of years later. Originally the planks were seamed, or lashed, together, not clinked with iron. Just for your - and other's - information. 🙂

[tomsitzman]

One fiber that is no longer talked about is Linen. Linen fiber has been used for thousands of years. Linen is my go-to fabric on a hot day. It is tough and strong. One of the few fibers that is stronger when wet. It is good UV protection and Transports body moisture away from the core, cooling the body. Linen does not cling to the body. It naturally wrinkles creating air spaces creating ventilation. It can be blended with wool a fabric called Linzy woolzy.

[levimark]

Amazing video as always, real and in-depth information without the BS. Thank you

[peterhoulihan]

Great video!

One detail I always found interesting about these ships was their choice of ballast: Small round stones. Normally this would be a concern in that if the ship heels too far the ballast could shift and help capsise her, but the explanation I've heard is that they were deliberately small so they could be easily flung overboard to raise freeboard in an emergency and if the ship did capsise they would roll overboard, hopefully allowing the ship to right itself again.

I'm sceptical this would happen before the ship flooded but that's the theory I heard.

[oliverliddell]

In my opinion History continues to underestimate the impact that Scandinavian Culture had on the World. There is nothing more beautiful nor deadly than a Viking Longship.

[noahwail]

Very good video, thank you for that. There was a big differerence between the danish, norse and swedish ships, the danes and the norse were mainly for deep seas, and the swedes for rivers and inland travel. And they went very far..
I am quite priveleged where I live, 5 km north of here, is a sailing replica of an iron age warship, build by the methodes and with the tools from back then, and 15 km south of here, is the longship "Seppe Als" They are both used to teach people of what i took to travel back then.

[TheSlyngel]

Great content as always. Very much looking forward to your next video.

[danc]

Great video, excellent illustrations and content ! Wished they had your videos when l attended school 45 years ago . Thank you !

[prop]

love big much, time. very enjoy and alo inform. Big thank and smil from Norway viewer :)

[cybair]

Thanks for this great video on technology history.

[MaximusOfTheMeadow]

I'm looking forward to your video!

[emilysandstrom]

He omits several things. The wood was from a tree that grew where they were, and not in other places. But mainly, the curve of the boat comes from putting the boards underground with fire and leaves that steamed the wood and bent all the pieces into the same shape. Ships were designed to hydroplane so it would go fast with far less effort.

[lumikkihusu]

About the sails being striped: This may in fact not have been only due to dyeing or overlay ropes, but from spinning the yarns.

When making yarn, twist keeps the fibers together. Almost all modern commercial yarn is S-twisted. You can probably see the effect in your bed linen, the way the whole sheet twists slightly so that it's very difficult to get the corners to match up exactly.

In the iron age fabrics were sometimes woven alternating S- and Z-twisted yarns, to avoid or at least lessen this skewing. As far as I know we don't have big pieces of preserved sailcloth to prove this, but the technique was known in clothing fabric and it would make sense to use it here. The different directions of yarn twist create a pattern that becomes clearly visible in light, even when the colours are the same.

A checker pattern would naturally come from a diamond twill weave, in addition to those reinforcement ropes. In fact, it would make sense to me to purposefully weave a diamond twill sail, because this would provide "guidelines" in the fabric for getting those ropes straight!

[beakhammer]

Great video. I learned a lot. From Ireland.

[geckoman]

This might be the best video on the topic I've found. Good overview

[merafirewing]

Did remember watching a video of a replica viking longship travelling across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Norway.

[jamesellsworth]

From Charlottesville, Virginia, USA: Thanks for sourcing and condensing this history! I have five percent of Scandinavian DNA and 3 percent of Norwegian DNA, so I feel at least some connection to this culture and its past.

[williamrobinson]

European shipbuilding owes so much to Norse innovation. Adding the use of copper nails instead of iron really settled the matter, more or less, for hundreds of years.. Nice one! ⭐👍

[silentbullet]

Thanks for the content bro. Hope your channel grows rapidly.