Academic literature on the topic 'Langskibe'

On board Viking Age longshipsAnalysing crew organisation and communicationBy analysing the relations between man, ship and sea it is possible to gain a fundamental understanding of the sea voyages undertaken by Scandinavians during the Viking Age. This article examines crew organisation and communication on board Viking Age longships. Archaeological and written sources relating to Viking Age Scandinavian seafaring are scrutinised and combined with experience gained from sailing trials and voyages employing full-scale reconstructions of Viking Age longships: Conditions on board Viking Age longships and the seamanship of the period are investigated afresh (figs. 1-3).It is argued that sailing and rowing experiments are important components in the analysis of archaeological finds of ships and ship-related materials. These experiments function as catalysts for processes that may lead to new interpretations of the source material (fig. 4). The practical approach represented by participating as crew on a reconstruction of an archaeologically-found ship offers possibilities for examining aspects like the flexibility of the hull, the seaworthiness and speed of the vessel under different weather conditions and logistical limitations, as well as human factors such as the physical abilities and nautical skills required of the crew. This article presents examples of how sailing trials and voyages with the Viking Ship Museum’s Skuldelev 2 reconstruction The Sea Stallion from Glendalough have led to a new understanding of the hull flexibility and strength of Viking Age longships. It is also argued that studies of crew organisation and communication on board The Sea Stallion from Glendalough provide a fundamental insight into conditions on board Viking Age longships (figs. 5-8).A middleman is proposed as a key element in the communication on board a longship. The middleman is located close to the mast and is responsible for relaying commands and messages from the skipper, situated in the aft of the ship, towards the bow of the vessel, as well as relaying the look-out’s observations back to the skipper. In relation to this, it is interesting that sailing scenes depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry often highlight three people on board the vessels: One aft (the skipper or helmsman?), one amidships, close to the mast (the middleman?), and one close to the bow (the look-out?). These three people seem to communicate with each other, either verbally or using gestures (figs. 9-10).In conclusion, based on the experience gained from the sailing trails and voyages employing full scale reconstructions of Viking Age longships, it is evident that the large crew and limited space on board calls for a well-defined organisation with a clear and unambiguous command structure. When combined with the need to trust and protect each other while at sea in an open boat, this creates close-knit communities of practice, as also seen among soldiers in military units. It seems likely that the practices and living conditions on board the longships contributed greatly to the creation of the Vikings’ notoriously efficient and coherent military units (fig. 11).Morten RavnVikingeskibsmuseet i Roskilde

Roskilde 6 – a long-ship from VikenProvenance and dateDuring works on construction of the Museum Island in Roskilde in 1996-97, ten historical shipwrecks were discovered, all built primarily of oak. Preliminary dendrochronological investigations revealed that these represented ships ranging in date from the beginning of the 11th century to the beginning of the 15th century AD, i.e. a period during which Roskilde was one of the most important towns in the Danish Kingdom. One of the wrecks, termed ‘Roskilde 6’, stands out from the rest. It is the oldest of the ten vessels and also the largest Viking ship found to date. It belongs to the group of the Late Viking Age long, narrow warships and would have had a crew of more than a hundred. Seen in the light of documentary sources there is reason to believe that this was a warship which belonged to a person of very high rank. The dendrochronological dates fix the time of the ship’s construction at AD 1025-26 and the investigations also revealed that the ship was built using oak trees that grew in the areas around Oslo Fjord, probably in Vestfold. The ship was probably actually built in Vestfold. It was constructed at a time when hostilities culminated between Norwegian Olaf Haraldsson (the Holy), who imposed royal power on areas of Danish interest around Oslo Fjord, and the Danish king, Canute the Great, who tempted to hold together his so-called North Sea Empire. ‘Roskilde 6’ was very probably involved in the battle at the mouth of the river Helgeå, on the east coast of Scania, which took place in AD 1026. According to documentary sources, the battle between the army of Olaf Haraldsson and the Swedish king Anund Jacob, on one side, and Canute the Great’s army, on the other, ended more or less undecided. Whether this is correct is impossible to ascertain. One thing is, however, certain: the battle marked the beginning of Olaf’s decline. We cannot know on which side ‘Roskilde 6’ took part, but the vessel continued in use for a further c. 20-30 years before it ended up on the shore meadows below Roskilde.Niels BondeNationalmuseetFrans-Arne StylegarVest-Agder FylkeskommuneKristiansand

This chapter emphasizes the book's focus — the Vikings and their activities inside Scandinavia. It highlights that the succeeding texts will look at some key aspects in Scandinavia's formation during the Viking Age: politics, social networks, conspicuous consumption, warrior mentality, social stratification, religion, farms, and power centers. The chapter provides the context that the Danish kings dominated politics in Scandinavia. It describes the two types of Viking Age friendships — the vertical relationship between chieftains and householders and the horizontal connections between chieftains and kings. The chapter then discusses the Scandinavian Viking Age society as a showy society, characterized by conspicuous consumption. It also points out that the coexistence of a warrior mentality and presumed peacefulness within Scandinavia did not create a contradiction — in other words, the majority of violence took place outside Scandinavia. The chapter also gives a glimpse of social stratification and Norse religion. Then it discusses farms as the basic building block of Scandinavian society during the Viking Age, both socially and economically. The production of food was also the focus of the entire society. Viking Age society lived hand-to-mouth, and there was no form of food storage that could be relied on in the event of a crisis. The chapter explains why the kings' and chieftains' farms were the power centers of society. It also introduces the two main types of Viking ships: the langskip, a warship, and the knarr, a merchant vessel.