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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.
Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, used in Scandinavia from the Viking Age throughout the Middle Ages. The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, [ 1 ] but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel .
The longboat usually had the largest passenger carrying capacity out of a ship's boats. Longboats were used by both warships and merchant ships. [1] [2]: 43 A longboat was fitted so that it could be propelled either by oars or by sail. The oars were double-banked - with two oarsmen on each thwart, each using an oar on their own side.
Ormrinn Langi in Old Norse (English: The Long Serpent; Norwegian: Ormen Lange; Faroese: Ormurin Langi) was one of the most famous of the Viking longships. It was built for the Norwegian King Olaf Tryggvason, and was the largest and most powerful longship of its day. In the late 990s, King Olaf was on a "Crusade" around the country to bring ...
The second book of Henry Treece's Viking Trilogy, The Road to Miklagard, published in the late 1950s describes a Viking voyage through the Mediterranean to Constantinople, where the main characters are taken as slaves and later become members of the Varangian Guards. They eventually make their way back to their home village via the trade route.
It is a bold design, both heavy and strong enough to carry its 112 m 2 sail, but also sufficiently light and long to be rowed by a crew of 60 — a compromise between strength and lightness. [ 2 ] The ship has been used during the production of historical fiction television series The Last Kingdom .
Viking Age swords were common in battles and raids. They were used as a secondary weapon when fighting had fallen out of formation or their primary weapon was damaged. While there were many variations of swords, the Vikings used double-edged swords, often with blades 90 centimetres long and 15 centimetres wide. [2]
The Vikings were the best naval architects of their day, and the Viking longship was both large and versatile. A longship found at Oseberg , Norway , was 76 feet 6 inches (23.32 m), more than 17 feet (5.18 m) wide, and had a draft of only 3 feet (0.91 m).