Scandinavia. Some written evidence points to the continuous use of sail in the southern
North Sea and the Channel from Roman times on. That it seemingly was not adopted in
Scandinavia is puzzling, but may reflect the unwillingness of shipowners rather than any
technological restraint in shipbuilding.
THE CLASSIC VIKING SHIPSThe Oseberg shipThe ninth and tenth centuries may be considered the time of the classic Viking ship, as
seen from today’s perspective. The three famous Norwegian finds, Oseberg, Gokstad and
Tune, dominate our impression of shipbuilding of this period (Brøgger and Shetelig
1951 ; Bonde 1994 ). All of them being ships that were reused in rich burials, they
provide an insight into the vessels of the highest levels in society. They thus probably
also represent state-of-the-art ships of their time. With the Gokstad and Tune ships
having building dates close to ad 900 , the three ships represent eighty years of ship-
building in southern Norway, and, as it seems, eighty years of increasing knowledge of
how to build ocean-going vessels.
The Oseberg ship, 21. 5 m long and 5. 1 m in beam, was propelled by thirty oars and
by a single square sail on a mast, mounted in a keelson just ahead of amidships. This
rigging remained characteristic of north European seafaring until the fifteenth century.
The ship measured only 1. 6 m from the bottom of the keel to the upper edge of the
strake with the oar holes amidships, giving a modest draught of about 80 cm, but also
providing a similar modest freeboard. As with all medieval north European vessels
before c. 1150 , a side rudder, mounted in starboard aft, provided steering. The hull has a
solid keel and a marked transition between the V-shaped bottom and the two side
planks. It is well suited for carrying sail but less so for rowing. The frames consist of
compass or floor timbers that reach in one piece all over the bottom, and on the top of
these beams that are secured with knees to the two side strakes. The floor timbers are
lashed to clamps in the bottom planking, and the beams carry a deck. There are no
thwarts for the rowers, who must have sat on chests or benches.
The arrangement around the mast – the oldest one preserved in Scandinavia – is of
particular interest. The keelson, which is carrying the weight of the mast and rigging,
and the tension of the shrouds and stays holding it, spans over two frames only. At
deck level, a mast fish spanning over four beams supports the mast in lengthwise
and transverse directions. The effect of the mast fish has been improved by giving it a
domed design. The mast fish split during the life of the vessel and was repaired with
a solid metal strap. Although clearly a refined design, the mast arrangement was thus
seemingly inadequate, and it is notable that the Oseberg ship is the only find of a
Scandinavian ship with a keelson spanning over only two frames. Apparently the ship-
builder, when building this vessel, was at the limit of his knowledge about the powers of
mast and rig in a vessel as large as the Oseberg ship (Bill 1997 ). (Figure 11. 1 .)
The Gokstad and Tune shipsCompared with the Oseberg ship, the Gokstad ship is a much more robust vessel. It is
23. 2 m long, 5. 2 m in beam, and measures 2. 0 m from keel to gunwale, which makes it
–– Jan Bill ––