Longship

This article is about Nordic sea-going ships of the Viking Age. For other uses, see Longship (disambiguation). For Dragonship, see Dragonship (disambiguation).

Longships (Old Norse: langskip) is a collective name for the Norse warships used during the Viking Age; being part of the Viking ship (Norse ship) family, they were single-masted clinker built ships. As the name suggests, they were long slender ships, intended for speed, with the ability to carry a large crew of warriors. They are sometimes called "dragonships" (Old Norse: drekaskip) due to a tradition that the fore and aft ends could be decorated with a raised dragonhead (Old Norse: drekahofud) and tail respectively, with the sail making up the "wing" of the dragon. The largest types were thus called "dragons" (dreki), while smaller types had names such as karve (karfi), snekke (snekkja), and skeid (skeið).^[1]

Schematic drawing of the longship type

One of the Bryggen runic sticks with graffiti of longships, some featuring dragon heads, or weather vanes, on the fore (late 13th c.)

Gokstad ship replica, "Lofotr"

Archaeological finds of longships from the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries have been made in Denmark, Norway and Germany.^[2] Originally invented and used by the Norsemen (commonly known as the Vikings) for commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age, many of the longships' characteristics were adopted by other cultures, including the Anglo-Saxons, and continued to influence shipbuilding for centuries.

The longship's design evolved over many centuries, and continued up until the 6th century with clinker-built ships like the Nydam. The character and appearance of these ships have been reflected in Scandinavian boat building traditions to the present day. The particular skills and methods employed in making longships are still used worldwide, often with modern adaptations. They were all made out of wood, with cloth sails (woven wool), and had various details and carvings on the hull.

History

The Stora Hammars I stone, Sweden showing armed warriors in a period longship

The Viking longships were powerful naval weapons in their time and were highly valued possessions. Archaeological finds show that the Viking ships were not standardized. Ships varied from designer to designer and place to place and often had regional characteristics. For example, the choice of material was mostly dictated by the regional forests, such as pine from Norway and Sweden, and oak from Denmark. Moreover, each Viking longship had particular features adjusted to the natural conditions under which it was sailed.^[3]

The Norse had a well-developed naval architecture, and during the early medieval period, they were advanced for their time.^[4][5] They were owned by coastal farmers, and under the leidang system, every section in the king's realm was required to build warships and to provide men to crew them,^[6] allowing the king to quickly assemble a large and powerful war fleet. While longships were used by the Norse in warfare, they were mostly used as troop transports, not warships. Their main purpose was to swiftly carry as many warriors as possible to a scene of conflict.^[6] In the 10th century, longships would sometimes be tied together in offshore battles to form a steady platform for infantry warfare. However, examples of more traditional naval combat also exist, such as the Battle of Svolder, were various projectiles and bow and arrow were used, naval boarding, and even an ironclad ship featuring a naval ram.

During the 9th-century peak of the Viking expansion, large fleets set out to attack the degrading Frankish empire by attacking navigable rivers such as the Rhine, the Seine, the Loire and others. Rouen was sacked in 841, the year after the death of Louis the Pious, a son of Charlemagne. Quentovic, near modern Étaples, was attacked in 842 and 600 Danish ships attacked Hamburg in 845. In the same year, 129 ships returned to attack the Seine.^[7] They were called "dragonships" by enemies such as the English^[8] because some had a dragon-shaped decoration atop the bow beam.

Types of longships

Longships can be classified into a number of different types, depending on size, construction details, and prestige. The most common way to classify longships is by the number of rowing positions on board.

Karve (karfi)

Main article: Karve (ship)

The Oseberg ship, a karve from around 834 AD.

The karve, or karvi (Old Norse: karfi; Old Swedish: karve; Old East Slavic: корабль, korablĭ; also a Proto-Finnic form of Finnish: karvas, "small boat"),^[9] is the smallest vessel that is considered a longship. According to the 10-century Gulating Law, a ship with 13 rowing benches is the smallest ship suitable for military use. A ship with 6 to 16 benches would be classified as a Karvi. These ships were considered to be "general purpose" ships, mainly used for fishing and trade, but occasionally commissioned for military use. While most longships held a length to width ratio of 7:1, the Karvi ships were closer to 9:2.^{[citation needed]}

The Gokstad ship is a famous Karvi ship, built around the end of the 9th century, excavated in 1880 by Nicolay Nicolaysen. It was approximately 23 m (75 feet) long with 16 rowing positions.

Snekke (snekkja / snacc)

Replica of the snekke Skuldelev 5

A snekke (Old Norse: snekkja, Old Danish: snække, Old Swedish: snækkia, Old English: snacc) was typically the smallest longship used in warfare and was classified as a ship with at least 20 rowing benches. A typical snekkja might have a length of 17 m (56 feet), a width of 2.5 m (8.2 feet), and a draught of only 0.5 m (1.6 feet). It would carry a crew of around 41 men (40 oarsmen and one cox).

The snekkja was one of the most common types of ships. According to Viking lore, Canute the Great used 1,200 in Norway in 1028.^[10]

The Norwegian type snekkja typically had more draught than the Danish ships designed for low coasts and beaches. A snekkja was so light that it had no need of ports – it could simply be beached, and even carried across a portage.

The snekkja continued to evolve after the end of the Viking age, with later Norwegian examples becoming larger and heavier than Viking Age ships. The name survives for a smaller boat type in the Nordic countries; in Danish: snekke, Norwegian: snekke, Swedish: snäcka; also in German as Schnigge (Middle Low German: snicke, Low German: snick), and Dutch as snik (Old Saxon: snik, snikke, Middle Dutch: snicke); although in Swedish, it is today most commonly called "snipa", which has historically been translated as "gig".^[11][12]

Skeid (skeið / scegð)

The skeid Skuldelev 2

Skeid (Old Norse: skeið, Old English: scegð, Old East Slavic: скедии, skedii), meaning 'skid, slider, cleaver (of water)', with the connotation of "speeder", was a type of narrow and fast longship.^[13] These ships were larger warships, consisting of more than 30 rowing benches. Ships of this classification are some of the largest (see Busse) longships ever discovered. A group of these ships were discovered by Danish archaeologists in Roskilde during development in the harbour-area in 1962 and 1996–97. The ship discovered in 1962, Skuldelev 2 is an oak-built Skeid longship. It is believed to have been built in the Dublin area around 1042. Skuldelev 2 could carry a crew of some 70–80 and measured just under 30 m (98 feet) in length. It had around 30 rowing benches. In 1996–97 archaeologists discovered the remains of another ship in the harbor. This ship, called the Roskilde 6, is the longest Viking ship ever discovered and has been dated to around 1025.^[14] It was 36 m (118 feet) long and had a beam of 3.5 m (11 feet). The vessel drew about 1 m (3.3 feet) of water, and carried about 100 men, including 78 rowers.^[15] Skuldelev 2 was replicated as Seastallion from Glendalough at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde and launched in 2004.

Dragon (dreki / ormr)

The city seal of Bergen depicts a Viking longship—possibly a dreki.

The term "dragon" (Old West Norse: dreki, Old East Norse: draki; also Old Norse: ormr, "serpent = dragon")^[16][17][18] was used for ships with thirty rowing benches and upwards^[19] that are only known from historical sources, such as the 13th-century Göngu-Hrólfs saga. Here, the ships are described as most unusual, elegant, ornately decorated, and used by those who went raiding and plundering. These ships were likely skeids that differed only in the carvings of menacing beasts, such as dragons and snakes, carried on the prow of the ship.^[20] Judith Jesch, an expert in runic inscriptions, says, "The word dreki for a ship derives from this practice of placing carved dragonheads on ships... but there is no evidence that it was a technical term for any particular kind of ship."^[16]

The earliest mentioned dreki was the ship of unstated size owned by Harald Fairhair in the 10th century. Short says that warships were measured by the number of rúm, "rooms", they contained, a room being the space between the crossbeams, a little less than 1 meter (39 in). A room could accommodate two oars, one on each side of the ship.^[21] According to N.A.M. Rodger, ships of 30 room or more were very unusual. The first drekki ship whose size is known was Olav Tryggvason's 30 room Tranin (Crane), built at Nidaros in 995. His later ship Ormrinn langi (Long Serpent) of 34 room (assumed to be 45 meters long) built during the winter of 999 to 1000, was the most well-known of such ships in this period.^[19] The common word for dragon in old Germanic languages, such as Old Norse, was not dragon (dreki), but rather serpent, specifically "worm" (Old Norse: ormr, Old English: wyrm, Old High German: wurm), which is mirrored in the name "Long Serpent" (Ormrinn langi), ie, "Long Dragon".

The city seal of Bergen, Norway, created in 1299,^[16] depicts a ship with a dragon's head at either end, which might^[22] be intended to represent a dreki ship.

Propulsion

The modern longship Draken Harald Hårfagre in hazy weather

The longships had two methods of propulsion: oars and sail. At sea, the sail enabled longships to travel faster than by oar and to cover long distances overseas with far less manual effort. Sails could be raised or lowered quickly. In a modern facsimile the mast can be lowered in 90 seconds. Oars were used when near the coast or in a river, to gain speed quickly, and when there was an adverse (or insufficient) wind. In combat, the variability of wind power made rowing the chief means of propulsion. The ship was steered by a vertical flat blade with a short round handle, at right angles, mounted over the starboard side of the aft gunwale.

Longship deck, showing the sea chests used as rowing benches

Longships were not fitted with benches. When rowing, the crew sat on sea chests (chests containing their personal possessions) that would otherwise take up space. The chests were made the same size and were the perfect height for a Viking to sit on and row. Longships had hooks for oars to fit into, but smaller oars were also used, with crooks or bends to be used as oarlocks. If there were no holes then a loop of rope kept the oars in place.

An innovation that improved the sail's performance was the beitaass, or stretching pole—a wooden spar stiffening the sail. The windward performance of the ship was poor by modern standards as there was no centreboard, deep keel or leeboard. To assist in tacking the beitaass kept the luff taut. Bracing lines were attached to the luff and led through holes on the forward gunwale. Such holes were often reinforced with short sections of timber about 500 to 700 mm (1.6 to 2.3 feet) long on the outside of the hull.

Navigation

During the Viking Age (900–1200 AD) Vikings were the dominant seafarers of the North Atlantic. One of the keys to their success was the ability to navigate skillfully across the open waters.^[23] The Vikings were experts in judging speed and wind direction, and in knowing the current and when to expect high and low tides. Viking navigational techniques are not well understood, but historians postulate that the Vikings probably had some sort of primitive astrolabe and used the stars to plot their course.

Sundials

Three-dimensional drawing of the Viking sundial (stamp illustration) with a conical vertical gnomon and its shadow, the endpoint of which touches the hyperbola scratched into the horizontal wooden disc

During an excavation of a Viking Age farm in southern Greenland part of a circular disk with carvings was recovered. The discovery of the so-called Viking Sundial suggested a hypothesis that it was used as a compass. Archaeologists found a piece of stone and a fragment of wooden disk both featuring straight and hyperbolic carvings. It turned out that the two items had been parts of sundials used by the Vikings as a compass during their sea-crossings along latitude 61 degrees North.^[23]

Archaeologists have found two devices which they interpret as navigation instruments. Both appear to be sundials with gnomon curves etched on a flat surface. The devices are small enough to be held flat in the hand at 70 mm (2.8 inches) diameter. A wooden version dated to about 1000 AD was found in Greenland. A stone version was also found at Vatnahverfi, Greenland. By looking at the place where the shadow from the rod falls on a carved curve, a navigator is able to sail along a line of latitude. Both gnomon curve devices show the curve for 61° north very prominently. This was the approximate latitude that the Vikings would have sailed along to get to Greenland from Scandinavia. The wooden device also has north marked and had 32 arrow heads around the edge that may be the points of a compass. Other lines are interpreted as the solstice and equinox curves. The device was tested successfully, as a sun compass, during a 1984 reenactment when a longship sailed across the North Atlantic. It was accurate to within ±5°.^[24]

Sun-stone hypothesis

The Danish archaeologist Thorkild Ramskou suggested in 1967 that the "sun-stones" referred to in some sagas might have been natural crystals capable of polarizing skylight. The mineral cordierite occurring in Norway has the local name "Viking's Compass." Its changes in colour would allow determining the sun's position (azimuth) even through an overcast or foggy horizon.^[25] The sunstones are doubly refracting, meaning that objects viewed through them can be seen as double because of positively charged calcium ions and negatively charged carbonate ions. When looking at the sun the stone, it will project two overlapping shadows on the crystal. The opacities of these shadows will vary depending on the sunstone's direction to the sun. When the two projected shapes have exactly the same opacity, it means the stone's long side is facing directly toward the sun. Since the stone uses light polarization, it works the best when the sun is at lower altitudes, or closer to the horizon. It makes sense that Norsemen were able to make use of sunstones, since much of the area they travelled and explored was near polar,^[26] where the sun is very close to the horizon for a good amount of the year.^[27] For example, in the Vinland sagas we see long voyages to North America, the majority sailed at over 61 degrees north.^[23]

An ingenious navigation method is detailed in Viking Navigation Using the Sunstone, Polarized Light and the Horizon Board by Leif K. Karlsen.^[28] To derive a course to steer relative to the sun direction, he uses a sun-stone (solarsteinn) made of Iceland spar (optical calcite or silfurberg), and a "horizon-board." The author constructed the latter from an Icelandic saga source, and describes an experiment performed to determine its accuracy. Karlsen also discusses why on North Atlantic trips the Vikings might have preferred to navigate by the sun rather than by stars, as at high latitudes in summer the days are long and the nights short.

A Viking named Stjerner Oddi compiled a chart showing the direction of sunrise and sunset, which enabled navigators to sail longships from place to place with ease. Swedish archaeologist Bertil Almgren describes another method:

All the measurements of angles were made with what was called a 'half wheel' (a kind of half sun-diameter which corresponds to about sixteen minutes of arc). This was something that was known to every skipper at that time, or to the long-voyage pilot or kendtmand ('man who knows the way') who sometimes went along on voyages ... When the sun was in the sky, it was not, therefore, difficult to find the four points of the compass, and determining latitude did not cause any problems either.^[29]

Construction

Characteristics

The longships were characterized as graceful, long, narrow, and light, with a shallow-draft hull designed for speed. The ship's shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only one meter deep and permitted arbitrary beach landings, while its light weight enabled it to be carried over portages or used bottom-up for shelter in camps. Longships were fitted with oars along almost the entire length of the hull. Later versions had a rectangular sail on a single mast, which was used to replace or augment the effort of the rowers, particularly during long journeys.^[30] The average speed of Viking ships varied from ship to ship, but lay in the range of 5–10 knots (9–19 km/h) and the maximum speed of a longship under favorable conditions was around 15 knots (28 km/h).^[31] The Viking Ship Museum in Oslo houses the remains of three such ships, the Oseberg, the Gokstad and the Tune ship.^[32]

Development

Proto-longships on the Hemsta petroglyphs [sv]

The origin of the longship design can be traced back to the Nordic Bronze Age, as various ships of similar principle can be found on period petroglyphs around Sweden, such as the Rock Carvings in Tanum (since 1994, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), spanning about 600 panels dated to between 1800 and 500 BC. Such show various features later found on longships, such as having raised prows fore and aft, sometimes decorated with what appear to be animal heads.

Reconstruction of the Hjortspring boat.

A descendant of the boats in these depictions has been found in a Danish bog, known as the Hjortspring boat, dating to the 4th century BC.^[33] It was fastened with cord, not nailed, and paddled, not rowed. It had rounded cross sections and although 20 m (65 feet) long was only 2 m (6 feet) wide. The rounded sections gave maximum displacement for the lowest wetted surface area, similar to a modern narrow rowing skiff, so it was very fast but had little carrying capacity. The shape suggests mainly river use. Unlike later boats, it had a low bow and stern. A distinctive feature is the two-prong cutaway bow section.

The earliest rowed true longship that has been found is the Nydam ship, built in Denmark around 350 AD. It also had very rounded underwater sections but had more pronounced flare in the topsides, giving it more stability as well as keeping more water out of the boat at speed or in waves. It had no sail. It was of lapstrake construction fastened with iron nails. The bow and stern were slightly elevated. The keel was a flattened plank about twice as thick as a normal strake plank but still not strong enough to withstand the downwards thrust of a mast.

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  Nydam ship prow, archeological drawing
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  Nydam ship profile, archeological drawing
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  Nydam ship, archeological drawing
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  Nydam ship, archeological

Sails were used on longships beginning from possibly the 8th century. The earliest had either plaited or chequered pattern, with narrow strips sewn together.^[34]

In the late 8th century, the Kvalsund ship was built.^[35] It is the first with a true keel. Its cross sectional shape was flatter on the bottom with less flare to the topsides. This shape is far more stable and able to handle rougher seas. It had the high prow of the later longships. After several centuries of evolution, the fully developed longship emerged some time in the middle of the 9th century. Its long, graceful, menacing head figure carved in the stern, such as the Oseburg ship, echoed the designs of its predecessors. The mast was now square in section and located toward the middle of the ship, and could be lowered and raised. The hull's sides were fastened together to allow it to flex with the waves, combining lightness and ease of handling on land. The ships were large enough to carry cargo and passengers on long ocean voyages, but still maintained speed and agility, making the longship a versatile warship and cargo carrier.

Keel, stems and hull

Schematic drawing of a longship construction representing the Sebbe Als ship. It is a reconstructed snekke from Denmark.

Construction of the 35 m long Skeid longship Draken Harald Hårfagre

The ships' design gave both strength, agility and versatility. They could navigate the open ocean, coastal waters, fjords and many rivers and could be landed on a beach. The pictured ship is the reconstructed Imme Gram.

Timber

Analysis of timber samples from Viking long boats shows that a variety of timbers were used, but there was strong preference for oak, a tree associated with Thor in Viking mythology. Oak is a heavy, durable timber that can be easily worked by adze and axe when green (wet/unseasoned). Generally large and prestigious ships were made from oak. Other timber used were ash, elm, pine, spruce and larch. Spruce is light and seems to have been more common in later designs for internal hull battens (stringers). Although it is used for spars in modern times there is as yet no evidence the Vikings used spruce for masts. All timber was used unseasoned. The bark was removed by a bark spade. This consisted of a 1.2-metre long (3.9 ft) wooden handle with a T crossbar at the upper end, fitted with a broad chisel-like cutting edge of iron. The cutting edge was 60 mm (2.4 inches) wide and 80 mm (3.1 inches) long with a 120-millimetre long (4.7 in) neck where the handle was inserted. It appears that in cold winters wood work stopped and partly completed timber work was buried in mud to prevent it drying out. Timber was worked with iron adzes and axes. Most of the smoothing was done with a side axe. Other tools used in woodwork were hammers, wedges, drawknives, planes and saws. Iron saws were probably very rare.

Sail and mast

Even though no longship sail has been found, accounts and depictions verify that longships had square sails. Sails measured perhaps 11 to 12 m (35 to 40 feet) across, and were made of rough wool cloth.

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  Smiss I picture stone, showing the rigging of a longship
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  Hunninge Image Stone, showing the rigging of a longship
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  Tjängvide image stone, showing the rigging of a longship

Rudder

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  Ardre VIII picture stone, showing a longship with rudder
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  GP 280 När Smiss I picture stone, showing a longship with rudder
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  Stora Hammars I picture stone, showing a longship with rudder

Anchors

Longships for the most part used two different kinds of anchors.

The most common was a natural wood yoke formed from a tree branch. The weight was supplied by a stone passing laterally through the U of the yoke. The top of the yoke was closed by either a length of hardwood or a curved iron head, which kept the stone in place. One side of the head stuck out so it could dig into mud or sand.

Anchor from the Ladby ship

In the Ladby ship burial in Denmark, a unique iron anchor has been found, resembling the modern fisherman's anchor but without the crossbar. The cross bar may have rusted away. This anchor—made of Norwegian iron—has a long iron chain to which the hemp warp was attached. This construction has several advantages when anchored in deep waters or in rough seas.^[36]

Ship builders' toolkit

At the height of Viking expansion into Dublin and Jorvik in 875–954 AD, the longship reached a peak of development – for example, the Gokstad ship built in 890. Archaeological discoveries from this period at Coppergate, in York, show the shipwright had a large range of sophisticated woodwork tools. As well as the heavy adze, broad axe, wooden mallets and wedges, the craftsman had steel tools such as anvils, files, snips, awls, augers, gouges, draw knife, knives, including folding knives, chisels and small 300 mm (12 inches) long bow saws with antler handles. Edged tools were kept sharp with sharpening stones from Norway. One of the most sophisticated tools was a 25 mm (1 inch) diameter twist drill bit, perfect for drilling holes for treenails. Simple mechanical pole wood lathes were used to make cups and bowls.

Legacy

Image from the Bayeux Tapestry showing Harold Godwinson's ship approaching a beach, probably in the Somme Estuary^[37]

The Vikings were major contributors to the shipbuilding technology of their day. Their shipbuilding methods spread through extensive contact with other cultures, and ships from the 11th and 12th centuries are known to borrow many of the longships' design features, despite the passing of many centuries.

Many historians, archaeologists and adventurers have reconstructed longships in an attempt to understand how they worked.^[38] These re-creators have been able to identify many of the advances that the Vikings implemented in order to make the longship a superior vessel. The longship was light, fast, and nimble. The true Viking warships, or langskips, were long and narrow, frequently with a length-breadth ratio of 7:1; they were very fast under sail or propelled by warriors who served as oarsmen.^[6] In Scandinavia, the longship was the usual vessel for war until the 12th–13th centuries. Leidang fleet-levy laws remained in place for most of the Middle Ages, demanding that the freemen should build, man, and furnish ships for war if demanded by the king—ships with at least 20 or 25 oar-pairs (40–50+ rowers). By the late 14th century, these low-boarded vessels were at a disadvantage against newer, taller vessels—when the Victual Brothers, in the employ of the Hansa, attacked Bergen in late 1393, the "great ships" of the pirates could not be boarded by the Norwegian levy ships called out by Margaret I of Denmark, and the raiders were able to sack the town with impunity. While earlier times had seen larger and taller longships in service, by this time the authorities had also gone over to other types of ships for warfare. The last Viking longship was defeated in 1429.

Notable longships

Preserved originals

The Nydam ship in Germany

Several of the original longships built in the Viking Age have been excavated by archaeologists. A selection of vessels that has been particularly important to our understanding of the longships design and construction, comprise the following:

• The Nydam ship (c. 310–320 AD) is a burial ship from Denmark. This oaken vessel is 24 m (80 feet) long and was propelled by oars only. No mast is attached, as it was a later addition to the longship design. The Nydam ship shows a combination of building styles and is important to our understanding of the evolution of the early Viking ships.
• "Puck 2" is the name given to a longship found in the Bay of Gdansk in Poland in 1977. It has been dated to the first half of the 10th century and was 19 to 20 metres (62 to 66 ft) long in its day. It is peculiar and important because it was constructed by Western Slavic craftsmen, not Scandinavian. The design only differs very slightly from the Scandinavian built longships.^[39]
• Hedeby 1 is the name given to a longship found in the harbour of Hedeby in 1953. At nearly 31 metres (102 ft) long, it is of the Skeid type, built around 985 AD. With a maximum width of just 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) it has a width-to-length ratio of more than 11, making it the slimmest longship ever discovered. It is made of oaken wood and its construction would have required a very high level of craftsmanship.^[40]
• The Oseberg ship and the Gokstad ship – both from Vestfold in Norway. They both represent the longship design of the later Viking Age.
• Roskilde 6 [da] is the name given to the longest longship ever found at approximately 37.4 metres (123 ft). It was discovered in 1996–97 at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark. The ship was constructed around 1025.^[41]
• The Gjellestad ship, built in Norway around 732, was discovered in 2018. Excavations were completed in December 2022, and the remains of the keel are undergoing preservation.^[42][43]

Historical examples

A selection of important longships known only from written sources includes:

• The Ormen Lange ("The Long Serpent") was the most famous longship of Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason.
• The Járnbarðinn ("The Iron Barde/The Iron Clad") was Jarl Eirik's ironclad dragonship, being armor plated and featuring a ram.
• The Mora was the ship given to William the Conqueror by his wife, Matilda, and used as the flagship in the Norman conquest of England. It is said to be of the dreki type.^{[citation needed]}
• The Mariasuda, the large flagship of Norwegian king Sverre at the Battle of Fimreite, originally had 32 rúm (compartments) before its length was extended by 12 alnar (approximately 6.6 meters). It was significantly taller than any other ship in the battle and carried 320 men.^[44] The ship was later burned in Bergen by king Sverre's enemies.^[45]

Replicas

Main article: Viking ship replica

A replica of the Gokstad ship, named Viking, sailed across the Atlantic to the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.

Replica of the Ladby ship, "Imme Gram"

The modern longship Draken Harald Hårfagre raising its sail

There are many replicas of Viking ships – including longships – in existence. Some are just inspired by the longship design in general, while others are intricate works of experimental archaeology, trying to replicate the originals as accurately as possible. Replicas important to our understanding of the original longships design and construction include:

• Viking, the very first Viking ship replica, was built by the Rødsverven shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway, modelled after the Gokstad ship. In 1893, it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Chicago in the United States for the World's Columbian Exposition.
• The Skuldelev replicas. All the five Skuldelev ships have been replicated, some of them several times. They are each of a different design and only Skuldelev 1, 2 and 5 are longships.
• The Sea Stallion is a replica of the Skuldelev 2 ship, constructed by authentic methods. At 30 m (98 feet), it is the second longest Viking ship replica ever made. Skuldelev 2 was originally built near Dublin around 1042, and was rediscovered in Roskilde, Denmark in 1962. The Sea Stallion sailed from Roskilde to Dublin in mid-2007, to commemorate the voyage of the original.^[38] In late 2007 and early 2008, the ship was exhibited outside the National Museum in Dublin. In mid-2008, it returned to Roskilde on a sea route south of England.
• The Íslendingur (Icelander) is a 22 m (72-foot) replica of the Gokstad ship that was built using traditional building techniques. In 2000, it was sailed from Iceland to L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, to participate in the 1000th anniversary of Leif Erikson's discovery of America.^[46]
• The Munin is a half-sized replica of the Gokstad ship. Berthed at the Vancouver Maritime Museum, built at the Scandinavian Community Centre, Burnaby, British Columbia and launched in 2001.^[47][48]
• The Myklebust Ship is a 30 m (100 ft) replica of the original ship of the same name found in Nordfjordeid, Norway. The replica is in the Sagastad knowledge center, and is the largest replica based on an original find. The replica was christened in 2019, as part of the opening of Sagastad.
• Draken Harald Hårfagre is the largest longship built in modern times at 35 m (115 feet). The ship is not a replica of any original longship, since ships resembling it never existed—it was built by boatbuilders skilled in the modern Norwegian clinker-built tradition, but scaled up to dimensions not used during Viking or Medieval times.^[49] It was constructed in Haugesund, Norway and launched in 2012.

See also

• Birlinn
• Hugin (longship)
• Leidang
• Medieval ships
• Nordland (boat)
• Sutton Hoo ship burial
• Viking ship