Viking Ships

Given the fact that the Vikings came from Scandinavia, they needed to be a seafaring race to get as far as they did in their voyages around the world! Viking longships played a major role in the success of Viking incursions in Europe and, indeed, across the globe.

At the time longships were highly developed boats. Made from wood, they had sails and oars and could move across water at great speeds. Their shallow design also made them perfect ships for using rivers to travel inland in the countries they invaded which gave them an element of surprise that made their invasions much more successful.

Much of the success of Viking longships was in the design. It is believed that the Vikings invented the concept of the keel which turned a standard ship into one that could be either sailed or rowed. Viking longships did not have a traditional rudder but were steered by an oar.

Viking longships varied in size and the largest could carry up to 100 men and also had room for horses and provisions. The sight of a longship sailing towards land was held to be terrifying - the Vikings would raise alarming figureheads at the front and back of their ships and shields along the length of the ship.

The longships designed for war were not the only ships the Vikings used. They also designed bigger and wider ships that they used for overseas trading and smaller ships for local trading and fishing purposes.