Boat Viking

The boat Viking is a Scandinavian boat of the Middle Ages, used for the trade and the transport of the soldiers.

Characteristics

The boat Viking has a rudder, which is one of the features characteristic of the drakkars. This rudder was consisted a kind of short blade oar very broad, fixed by leather fasteners at back starboard (starboard comes from the Norrois styr edge , side of the rudder). It was indeed possible to raise it very quickly so that it does not scrape the bottom, the boat which can pass in currents far from deep because of sound very weak draft. The hull consisted of superimposed boards which contributed to its flexibility and its solidity. Although being able to be general-purpose, the drakkar has a characteristic; the skjaldrim , a special bordering where to place the shields of the oarsmen to be used as protections against the projectiles. The skeid is an alternative.

If these boats present many similarities (in particular method of construction with covering joints, lengthened skittle, veil…), there exist various types. Among the commercial boats, one counts the skúta (small ship of pitch-stirrer), the eptirbátr (boat), the karfi whose most known representative is the Gokstad, and the knørr intended for the big wide.

The warships or herskip are divided into snekkja with twenty benches of stroke, the skeið which held the role of heavy cruiser, the dreki equipped with poop and figureheads (the prestigious warship par excellence).

Drakkar

The name of “drakkar” under which the ships Vikings are commonly known, whatever they is, is a barbarism built at the 19th century, inspired by the modern Swedish term “drake” (dragon) - and not “dreki” in norrois - to which double “K” was added to accentuate the exotic aspect of it. However the Vikings indicated their boats, according to their form and their tonnage, under the names of “Knörr” (plural: “to knerrir”), “snekkja” or “langskip”: one will prefer, in French, the term of “esnèque”.

Although no ship Viking was found with a head of dragon in prow, one can suppose that the French use of the word would be due to a Quiproquo.

History

. In IVe century, the boat is not any more one trunk single dug but an assembly of pieces of wood. In VIIIe century, it has a skittle and can transport several tens of people, between 90 and 200 according to testimonys. In XIe century, it has a sail.

The knowledge of the boats of the Viking comes mainly from epigraphic illustrations, of Rune S, the Tapisserie of Bayeux, various Saga S and of the stray archeology of the S. the discovery of a ritual is at the origin of the majority of current knowledge on the subject. The people Viking buried according to the use - with died of a big boss - the dignitary like his boat, being used then as burial and the whole forming a Tumulus. It was the first time at Gokstad, close to Sandefjord, where one found a boat perfectly preserved Viking. Another was found in 1933 with Äskekärrremote.

In Bolted, in the north of France, until the end of the 20th century, the professional fishermen continued to use a small boat Viking for inshore fishing: the Flobart , whose hull also consists of superimposed boards with covering joints. The last, out of wood, are with Audresselles and Wissant.

Certain fishing vessels are still in the same way manufactured in the islands Lofoten (Norway) or in Russia.

Homonymy

Drakkar was also the name of a French station with Beirut with the Lebanon where the parachutists, charged to take care on a fragile peace, were victims of a terrible attack, making 58 killed the October 23rd 1983.

See too

Musée of the ships Vikings of Oslo
Bateau of Gokstad
Bateau of Oseberg
Bateau of Tune
Bateau falls
Dreknor

External bonds

Ground of the Vikings Article on the boats Vikings and navigation

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