Chieftains and shipbuilding Viking 88 2024 219 36

Hugin & Munin, 2022

The paper explores the logistical consequences of the introduction of sails to Scandinavia on the threshold to the Viking Age. Calculations stating that the sails of the Viking fleet comprised 1 million square meters of sailcloth form the starting point. Data from experimental archaeology, ethnology, history, and textile science are used to calculate the demand for raw materials and labour caused by the need for sailcloth, and for additional textiles needed for seafaring such as sailor's clothing and blankets. For a cargo ship of the knar type, this amounts to well over 200 kg wool and some 10 years of labour; for a warship with a crew of 65-70 men, more than 1,5 tonnes of wool and 50-60 years of labour. Further data from botany and life sciences are employed to estimate the relationship between land and the increased demand for fiber -wool, flax or hemp. It is argued that the introduction of sails to Scandinavia must have caused changes in agrarian production and how farmers disposed of their lands.

Current Anthropology , 2018

As exemplified by Viking and Bronze Age societies in northern Europe, we model the political dynamics of raiding, trading, and slaving as a maritime mode of production. It includes political strategies to control trade by owning boats and financing excursions, thus permitting chiefs to channel wealth flows and establish decentralized, expansive political networks. Such political institutions often form at the edges of world systems, where chieftains support mobile warriors who were instrumental in seizing and protecting wealth. Particular properties of the maritime mode of production as relevant to Scandinavia are the fusion of agropastoral and maritime modes of production. To exemplify these two sectors, we use the Thy and Tanum cases in which we have been involved in long-term archaeological research. The historic Viking society provides specificity to model the ancestral political society of Bronze Age Scandinavia. Our model helps understand an alternative path to institutional formation in decentralized chiefdoms with low population densities, mobile warriors, and long-distance trading and raiding in valuables, weapons, and slaves.

Sjøfartshistorisk Årbok 2012, 2014

In this article, the author attempts to sift out from Old Norse (ON) written sources the early Viking Age terms for ship types and to link them to actual ships and ship depictions from that period. The author argues that knǫrr, beit, skeið, kjóll, askr, and elliði were the main ship types of the early Viking Age in Scandinavia, at least in the west, and that knerrir referred during this period to warships like Oseberg and only later to cargo ships like Skuldelev 1. ‘A ship with a backwards curved stem’ seems to have been the original meaning of knǫrr. Kjólar were heavy, all-round ships like Gokstad, the author argues, and beit were very early ships with angular stems known from depictions. Skeiðar were low, narrow ships like Ladby. Askar were also very early, small, light ships with stitched planking, whereas elliðar were combined inland / sea vessels, originally Eastern European.

Viking

In their preface to this 'anthology', the co-editors-Zanette Glørstad (Oslo) and Kjetil Loftsgarden (Bergen)-indicate that the selected papers 'cover developments roughly within the geographic area of present-day Norway […] pertaining to the transformations of theViking-Ageeconomyanditssocialramifications'(pagevii),whileadmittingthat'the contributions address disparate topics' (page vii). In fact, there is no full coverage of ' present-day Norway', given that such does not equate with 'western Scandinavia', with references to northern Norway being far and few between. On the other hand, some papers extend the chronological range of the volume well into the High Middle Ages (1150-1350). The disparate nature of the topics under consideration clearly presented the editors with a problem of organisation, and they opted for a scheme in which twelve of the papers are grouped equally into three 'Parts', entitled 'Trade and traders', 'Production and resources' and 'Sites of trade'. In practice, this is not an entirely satisfactory arrangement, so it is not altogethersurprisingthattheyareotherwisereviewedbyDagfinnSkreinhisintroductory chapter, entitled 'Viking-Age economic transformations: the West-Scandinavian case', which provides (in the editors' words, page viii) 'an overview of the Stand der Forschung in terms of trade, production and consumption in the period, as well as connecting them to the main economic transformations in western Scandinavia, and examines the pertinent theoretical considerations embedded in the analysis of these economic processes'. Although Skre does reference all the other contributions in his invaluable paper, they are not taken

2024

The Viking longship is one of the most dominant images of the medieval Scandinavian culture, as evidenced by the various archaeological data, rich iconography and innumerable mentions in contemporary chronicles and Old Norse sagas. However, the majority of archaeological research has focused on the material remains and on the technological aspects of its construction and its practical use. Undoubtedly, the study of the ship itself is a crucial step in the process of understanding the principles of Viking Age shipbuilding and its structural evolution, however, it should be supplemented with an interpretation of the agency those ships had and their influence in society. There is reason to believe that the longship acted as a symbol, not only of social status and wealth but also of authority among Scandinavian rulers of the 9th to the 11th century, triggering a cycle of competition and comparison between them and their vessels. The availability of archaeological evidence of Viking longships provides us with ample information to study the craftsmanship of the era, however, it can only assist in the understanding of Viking Age society to a limited degree. On the other hand, a more in-depth examination of the ship’s abundant imagery and extensive utilization of the written textual evidence can considerably contribute to our investigation regarding the metaphorical and symbolic meaning of the longship as well as its importance to Viking Age society. Consequently, this study concentrates on three aspects: the shipbuilding tradition, the iconography of the ship and the testimonies of the contemporary written sources.

Tuskaland, 2017

ARCHEOLOGY. Vikings ravaged Europe embarked in huge fleets. These fleets have been described by Christian chroniclers. However, their existence has been challenged by Historians who couldn't imagine how they were built and financed. According to these Historians, chroniclers exaggerated the figures of enemy fleets to justify the failure of their kings and of their God. The fact is that never any important Viking shipyard has been discovered in Scandinavia. Does it mean the chroniclers really lied ?

Boetta, G., Pomey, P., Poveda, P. (Eds.) Open Sea, Closed Sea: Local and Inter-Regional Traditions in Shipbuilding, Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology Marseuilles 2018, 2021

Research in the Swedish military archives has revealed the identity of the 'Edesö Wreck' as the Bodekull belonging to the Swedish navy. The vessel was one of around 45 struss vessels ordered by King Karl X Gustav in 1659 to be used to transport troops and horses between the Danish isles. As a consequence of the king's sudden death in January 1660 and the end of the war against Denmark, the semi-finished purpose-built invasion fleet was rebuilt into vessels for which the navy had better use. It is still possible, however, to trace the original design of the vessel through the preserved hull structure.