Vikings

The Viking lands were located in northern Europe; particularly Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.  When one thinks of the word Vikings, immediately the words plunderers, warlike, gold seekers, slavers, etc. come to mind.  But the Vikings also were excellent fishermen, farmers, and curiosity driven.  Because of their curiosity, they became interested about what sorts of land existed that they didn’t know about.  They became the very first Europeans to reach North America when Leif (The Lucky) and Leif Eriksson reached that continent about 1001 A.D.  One of the exploration vessels went off course and landed in Newfoundland.  (Keep in mind that was nearly 500 years after Columbus went out looking for gold and ended up in Cuba!  Also remember that the Chumash and other Native North Americans had already claimed large portions of the North American continent at least 10,000 years before the various European invasions.)

Historians believe that the Vikings did not stay in Newfound very long since they discovered that the natives did not welcome them.  (Compare that to the history of the United States!)  Before that they had sailed to Iceland and Greenland.  Their peak exploration years seem to have been from 870 to 930.

The Vikings were also known as “Berserkers.”   They terrorized parts of Europe with their Viking raids in a search for slaves, gold, and other riches.  They sailed up European rivers such as the Seine, Rhine, and Rhone looking for likely targets.  Their weapons consisted of swords, spears, Axes, as we;; as bows and arrows.  In 845 they sacked Paris.  They even made it clear to Baghdad, Iraq.

Before a battle they would sometimes don a bearskin, complete with the bear’s head, in order to look as fierce as possible.  Then, with their spears and sometimes with their axes, they would start a chant  in a circle…..much like a football team before the kickoff.  Then they would let out a mighty roar and attack the enemy.  That ceremony was known as a berserker.  And that’s where the English word berserk came from.

Prior to 700, like most of the other marine vessels around the world, all water vessels were rowed.  This Viking Longship model does not replicate a warship.  It is a Viking cargo ship.  The cargo ships were wider and built to hold more goods.  Some had oaken keels which made them last longer than ships constructed with other woods.  Most of the Viking ships had a tillerman who was responsible for guiding the vessel by using a steering oar with a flat, wooden blade.

Glossary:

Aegir…  The Viking god of the sea.  (He had nine daughters named after ocean waves.)

Drekar…The Viking word for dragon.

 Knorr…A Viking cargo ship

Longship…These vessels were up to 160 feet long.

Narwhal…Small Arctic whales which helped create Norway’s lust for whale hunting.  (Along with Iceland and Japan, they are still doing this in spite of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)…a multination organization whose goal is to curtail whaling

Pelorus… A Viking substitute for the compass which used the sun and the stars for determining directions.

Viking Timeline

789               First recorded Viking raid on England

793               Vikings raid Scotland

860               Vikings find Iceland

981                Erik the Red explores Greenland

1001              Leif  Eriksson finds Newfoundland (Vinland)

1261 – 1262  Greenland and Iceland come under Norwegian rule

1500              Last Viking colonists in Greenland disappear.

Bireme

The Bireme model is illustrative of an eastern Mediterranean ship which was employed to protect merchant ships from pirates.  Such actions occurred in the eastern Mediterranean regions where pirating was in full swing.  Its principal weapon was the battering ram which they would use to disable an enemy ship.  The sail was used for cruising purposes. However, during battle the oars provided much more speed and maneuverability. There would be two rows of oarsmen in order to acquire the maximum speed.  The Latin word comes from bi, meaning two, and reme which is the Latin word for oar banks.

Reed Boats

Reed boats fall into a special category since they were constructed in many parts of the world.  They were relatively easy to build since the materials used could be found along the edges of rivers and lakes.  Maritime historians have tended to place them among the very first water craft constructed by humans.  They were the earliest boats in use on the world’s longest river, the Nile.  In Egypt they became popular for transporting goods to various locations.  They are still used along the Nile and in shallow waterways such as Peru’s Lake Titicaca.  The reeds are dried, tied into bundles and shaped into a finished boat.  Their biggest advantage is their thrift factor since the reeds grow all around the waterways.  They normally are moved by poles which are manipulated by the sailors.

While they are easy to make there is one major disadvantage.  They quickly become waterlogged.  When that happens they are pulled ashore and not used until they are dried out.  The Native American coracles were made from reeds in a similar manner.