Infopanel 36

Viking ships

When we admire the elegant shape of Viking longships today, we must not forget that the principle of clinker-built ships – i.e. with overlapping planks – and with a pointed bow and stern is only a small part of the two and a half millennia of development in Scandinavian shipbuilding, even if it is the aesthetic highlight.

As early as the oldest Germanic Iron Age around 350 BC, the discovery of the Hjortspring boat on the Danish island of Alsen proves that the essential features of this construction method were already in place – even if this 19-meter-long war canoe made of lime wood was still paddled. It had been sunk in a bog as an offering, just like the Nydam ship sacrificed in southern Jutland around 340 AD, which was built much more solidly from oak and measured almost 23 m. Although this ship was never sailed, but only rowed, the Angles and Saxons are likely to have set sail for Britain in such ships in the 4th century. Incidentally, today's Anglo-Saxons owe their name to these joint voyages!

While the Romans had reached southern Scandinavia with sailing ships almost a millennium earlier, the Scandinavians only learned to sail shortly before the Viking Age – why is uncertain. What is certain is that the Vikings quickly achieved perfection in sailing, which also allowed them to tack against the wind and travel particularly fast.

With the advance of the Hanseatic League, which placed great importance on high cargo capacities, both the elegance of the ships and the knowledge of effective sailing were lost. This also marked the end of the ingenious design of the rudder, which had already been proven on the Nydam ship. From then on, ships were fitted with a vulnerable and difficult-to-operate stern rudder at the rear, which was very prone to failure due to the way it was attached.

Only on the smaller fishing and trading vessels in Scandinavian coastal shipping did the clinker-built, pointed double-ended type remain in use. This was then revived in a modern form in the 19th century by boat builders who were concerned with reliability and safety. The famous Colin Archer-type lifeboats were constructed in this way. In addition, recreational boats – from sailing yachts to motorboats – are still built in Scandinavia according to these designs, although rarely from wood.