Page 376 - (DK) The Ultimate Visual Dictionary 2nd Ed.

SEA AND AIR
BOATBUILDERS’
Viking ships Shave Broad ax Breast auger TOOLS

Sheer
IN THE DARK AGES and early medieval times, the
longships of Scandinavia were one of the most Master
shipwright
feared sights for people of northern Europe. The
Vikings launched raids from Scandinavia every Stempost
summer in longships equipped with a single
Hood
steering oar on the right, or “steerboard,” side end
(hence “starboard”). A longship had one row of
oars on each side and a single sail. The hull had clinker
(overlapping) planks. Prowheads adorned fighting ships
during campaigns of war. The sailing longship was also used
for local coastal travel. The karv below Keel T-handle Ax
Zoomorphic head was probably built as transport for an auger Tree cut for
important family, while the smaller faering Strake planking
Eye
(top right) was a rowing boat only. The fleet
of William of Normandy that invaded England Roband
in 1066 owed much to the Viking boatbuilding
tradition, and has been depicted in the Bayeux
Tapestry (above). Seals used by port towns and
royal courts through the ages provide an excellent
Tooth Leather
record of contemporary ship design. The seal diagonal
opposite shows how ships changed from the reinforcement
Viking period to the end of the Middle Ages. The
introduction of the fighting platform—the castle—
and the addition of extra masts and sails changed Square sail
of homespun
the character of the medieval ship. Note also that the
yarn
steering oar has been replaced by a centered rudder.
Leech
(leach)
Braiding
Snake-tail
ornament
Serpentine neck
VIKING KARV (COASTER)
Lozenge-shaped
recess
Rectangular
cross-band Tye
Tiller halyard
Sternpost
Foot
Boss (rudder
pivot)

DRAGON
PROWHEAD
Steering oar
(side rudder)

Oar Starboard (steerboard) side Keel

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