Stranded on a peninsula with cold temperatures and infertile land, the Scandinavians needed the sea to survive. Scandinavian ships sailed the seas first to fish, then to trade and finally to plunder.
The scarcity of resources, the poor agricultural yield of crops due to the infertile and frozen lands of the area, and overpopulation were the causes that historians consider to explain the beginning of the looting of the so-called "Viking Age."
In some cases, the Vikings established colonies on the plundered lands, while in others they simply plundered everything and returned home.
Thanks to advanced boat design and new navigation techniques, Scandinavians went from fishing for herring and cod to mastering the waters. Canoes and skin boats (small, rudimentary boats for primary survival activities) gave way to wooden vessels never before seen.
The Scandinavians became the best navigators and explorers of the High Middle Ages. They sailed into the Mediterranean as far as the Byzantine Empire. But they also ventured into the open sea, and colonised territories such as Iceland, Greenland, and as far as present-day Canada.
Viking ships were essential to the development of trade and the military rise of the Scandinavians. Without them, the “Viking Age” would never have happened.
In the history of Nordic ships we find a turning point around the 7th century . It was then that the Scandinavians began to implement sails in their vessels. Probably through contact with the Frisians, a people who inhabited the coastal area of northern Germany and Holland.
Thus, the first references to Viking attack ships with sails are found in funerary steles from the end of the 6th century. Until then, the Vikings used oars to propel themselves. This primitive resource continued to be used when there was no wind, but logically the sail allowed longer and faster journeys . This is when expeditions across the North Atlantic began to be possible. Let us remember that the “Viking Age” began in the year 793 Em, when the attack and sacking of the Lindisfarne monastery (north of present-day England) took place.
Over the centuries, the design and construction of Viking ships was refined. Not only that, but new navigation techniques were also experimented with.
But the Scandinavians were not only pioneers in venturing into the open sea. They were also specialists in sailing along rivers to attack inland cities. To do this, the Viking ship had to be highly manoeuvrable and of suitable dimensions. The Drakkar and Snekkar were long but narrow, with little weight and draught (depth). This allowed them to follow the course of rivers and skirt the coasts with precision. In addition, they could push their ships overland when necessary.
The great navigability of their ships allowed them to establish trade routes throughout Europe and plan attacks and looting of remote towns. To cite a few examples, the Vikings attacked Seville by sailing up the Guadalquivir, and also reached Paris by sailing up the Seine River.
When talking about the typology of Viking ships, we must be clear that there were different types depending on the functions they had, with sizes and characteristics appropriate to each purpose.
On the one hand, we must mention the ships intended for trade and the transport of goods. On the other hand, we have the merchant ships. In all cases, the Viking ship was a vessel with a lattice hull: That is, the planks that make up the hull are superimposed on each other instead of being kept at the same level. Thus, ancient Nordic ships did not use frames. To weld the joints, the builders used moss soaked in tar.
The most famous Viking warships were the Drakkar and the Snekkar, which literally mean "dragons" and "serpents." These vessels terrorized the North Atlantic for centuries.
The Drakkar, also known as the Långskip , is the Viking ship that best displayed the naval power of the Scandinavians. It was used both in coastal and inland attacks. The word Drakkar , which means “dragons”, refers to the monstrous figureheads that these Viking ships sported on their prow. In addition to aesthetics, the function of these figures was to intimidate.
The Drakkars were decorated with plant and animal motifs. They were light, fast and narrow. They had such a shallow draft that they could navigate waters one metre deep . They were, therefore, the perfect means for carrying out incursions upriver and disembarking warriors. If necessary, the boat could even be transported by land. The sides were traversed by oars. Sails were the propulsion method used on long journeys, but in combat they had to resort to the strength of the rowers .
Being narrow boats, they were not exactly habitable. However, the Vikings managed to cross the Atlantic Ocean in them. Their speed reached 14 knots , quite a feat for the time.
Curiously, in the Lofoten Islands (Norway) fishing boats are still built using the same construction techniques as drakkars.
The Snekke, plural Snekkar, was one of the largest warships built by the Scandinavians. It had a greater draft than the drakkars, as it was designed to sail the North Atlantic. In terms of dimensions, these ships could reach 30 meters in length, with space for 40 oars. They provided capacity for 90 warriors. Likewise, the snekkars were designed to be light, and could be transported by land when necessary.
As for merchant ships, we have the Knarr, also called Knorr or Knörr. Let us not forget that trade was one of the main activities of the Scandinavians. They were robust and slow ships, with space to hold furs, slaves or dairy products. They reached 16 metres in length and had a capacity of up to 24 tonnes of cargo. During the “Viking Age”, the Knarr regularly crossed the North Atlantic, exchanging goods between the Scandinavian colonies and the main trading centres such as Birka or Gotland.
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