The largest Viking ship. Traditional boats: drakkars Viking drakkar drawing

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In 1904, a Viking burial boat was found at the Oseberg estate in Norway. It was a drakkar made of oak, it was buried around 834. The burial, as it turned out, was female, it is assumed that this ship belonged to Queen Asa from the Yngling family. Together with her, the remains of another woman were discovered, apparently a servant, as it turned out, she had a rare haplogroup U7, which is found only in Western Asia.

The burial was robbed in antiquity, the robbers took away all things from valuable metals. But there were many objects made of wood, as well as remnants of fabrics, in particular, there were many pieces of silk, modern research has shown that this silk was produced in Persia. It is assumed that the Vikings received silk fabrics as a result of trade relations with the East, as well as raids on the Transcaucasus and Northern Iran using the Dnieper and Volga rivers.

Excavations of the ship in Oseberg - the stern of the boat. (clickable)

Excavations at Oseberg. Local soils allowed the wooden ship to survive almost entirely. (clickable)

Transportation of the ship from Oseberg to the museum.

The boat from Oseberg at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo.

Ship after restoration.

Aft part of the boat from Oseberg. The ship is 21.6 meters long and 5.1 meters wide. He had 15 pairs of oarlocks for 30 rowers.

Together with the ship, a wooden ritual wagon and four wooden sledges, which also had ritual significance, were found in the burial.

The wagon is decorated with carvings in the Scandinavian (Germanic) animal style.

Reconstruction of the funeral in Oseberg. It is believed that the Viking queen was placed in the barrow when it was half finished.

The burial also included the remains of ten paired horses and four dogs.

Images from the sides of the ritual wagon from Oseberg.

Wooden sleigh from Oseberg.

Another Viking ship from the Drakkar Museum in Oslo is a boat from Gokstad. This ship was about 23 m long and 5.1 m wide. The Gokstad ship was found in 1880, dendrochronological dating showed that the tree for it was cut down around 890.

Transportation of the Gokstad ship.

The Gokstad ship had a wooden burial chamber in the form of a hut; on the boat from Oseberg, such a chamber was worse preserved. It was also equipped with wooden shields along the sides. In the burial chamber were the remains of a man in a sitting position, 1.8 m tall and over 50 years old, the skeletons of 12 horses and 6 dogs were also present in the burial, besides them, peacock feathers and bones were found on the stern of the vessel.

Ruins of a wooden burial chamber on a boat from Gokstad.

Reconstruction of a boat from Gokstad at the Viking Ship Museum. (clickable)

Medieval Viking Drakkars are one of the most recognizable symbols of the famous warlike people. The appearance of these ships on the horizon terrified the Christians of Europe for several centuries. The design of the drakkars included a generalization of the rich experience of Scandinavian craftsmen. These were the most practical and fastest ships of their time.

"dragon" ship

Viking Drakkars got their name in honor of the mythical dragons. Their heads were carved into figures attached to the bows of these ships. Due to the recognizable appearance, the Scandinavian ships could be easily distinguished from the ships of other Europeans. Dragons were installed on the bow only when approaching an enemy settlement, and if the Vikings sailed to their own harbor, they removed the frightening monsters. Like all pagans, these sailors were extremely religious and superstitious. They believed that in a friendly port, the dragon angered good spirits.

Numerous shields were another characteristic attribute of the drakkar. The crew hung them on the sides of their transport. Viking Drakkars were surrounded by white shields if the team wanted to demonstrate their peacefulness. In this case, the sailors laid down their arms. This gesture was a precursor to the use of the white flag in later times.

Versatility

In the IX-XII centuries. (drakkars) were the most versatile in all of Europe. They could be used as a transport, a warship and a means for exploring distant maritime frontiers. It was on drakkars that the Scandinavians were the first to reach Iceland and Greenland. In addition, they discovered Vinland - North America.

As multifunctional ships, drakkars appeared as a result of the evolution of their predecessors - snackers. They differed in smaller size and carrying capacity. At the same time, there were exclusively merchant ships - knorrs. They had more capacity, but were inefficient in the riverbed. All these shortcomings were left in the past when drakkars appeared. The wooden Viking ships of the new type were great for traveling through the fjords and rivers. That is why they were so fond of the Vikings during the war. On such transport it was possible to suddenly penetrate deep into the territory of the devastated mainland country.

Creation of a Drakkar

Medieval Viking ships (rooks and dracars) were built from different types of wood. As a rule, pine, ash and oak were used, which are widespread in Scandinavian forests. Particularly carefully selected materials intended for the collection of frames and keel. In total, the creation of an average drakkar could take about 300 oak trunks and several thousand nails.

The process of wood processing included several stages. Immediately after felling, it was split in half several times using special wedges. The cutting was done with filigree precision. The master had to split the trunk exclusively along the natural fibers. Next, the boards were moistened with water and kept on fire. The resulting materials were particularly flexible. They could be given different forms. With all this, the tools of the masters have never been excessively broad. It included an axe, drills, chisels and other small accessories. The Scandinavians were also distinguished by the fact that they did not recognize the saw and did not use it in the construction of ships.

Dimensions and trim

The sizes of the drakkars were different. The largest models could reach 18 meters in length. The size of the team also depended on the size. Each crew member was assigned his own place. Sailors slept on benches, under which their personal belongings were stored. The largest ships could carry up to 150 warriors.

Drakkar is a technical miracle of the Vikings. His uniqueness shines through in everything. So, for the plating of their ships, the Scandinavians used a technique that was unique for their time. The boards were overlapped. They were fastened with rivets or nails. At the final stage, its frame was caulked and pitched. After this procedure, the design received additional stability, stability and speed of movement. Due to their outstanding qualities, drakkars could continue their journey even in the most terrible storms.

Control

The maneuverable Viking drakkars were set in motion with the help of oars (on especially large ships there could be up to 35 pairs). Each member of the crew had to row. The teams changed by shifts, thanks to which the ship did not stop even on the longest journey. In addition, a reliable sail was used. He helped to accelerate and take advantage of the sea wind.

The Vikings, like no one else, at one time knew how to determine the weather that was favorable for traveling. They also had ways to determine the approach of the earth. For this, cages with birds were kept on the ships. Periodically, the winged were released into the wild. If there was no land nearby, then they returned to the cages, not finding a place for another landing. If the crew realized that she had lost her way, the ship could quickly change course. For this, the Drakkars were equipped with the most modern tiller at that time.

The evolution of the Viking ships

The development of Scandinavian shipbuilding took place according to generally accepted laws: complex forms gradually replaced archaic ones. The first Viking ships did not have sails and were driven exclusively by rowing. Such vessels did not require special design tricks. The freeboard of such models was distinguished by a low height. It was limited to the length of the stroke.

Early drakkars were distinguished by their small size, which is why the steering wheel of such vehicles was also small. One person could handle it. However, as ships grew larger and their designs became more complex, the rudder became larger and heavier. To adjust it, they began to use a cable that was thrown over the gunwale. Steering wheel support gradually appeared and became universal. By the end (in the XII century), the ships became exclusively sailing. The method of attaching the mast has also changed: it has received lifting modifications. It was lowered during the passage of the surf.

Finds of sunken drakkars

In the 20th century, local fishermen on the Scandinavian coast accidentally stumbled upon sunken longships several times. Such finds are not only an amazing coincidence, but also a great success for archaeologists and historians. Some of the remains were raised to the surface and sent to museums in preserved form.

One of the most high-profile finds of this kind was an incident in 1920. Danish fishermen near the town of Skulleva found the remains of six longships at once. It was possible to raise them to the surface only 40 years later. Using the radiocarbon method, experts determined the age of the ships: they were laid down around 1000 years. Despite the huge number of years under water and numerous destructions, these artifacts made it possible to get the most complete picture of the features of medieval Scandinavian shipbuilding.

Scandinavian drakkars are wooden ships that were equipped with sails made from long sheep's hair. In this case, only the wool of a rare northern European breed was used. The natural layer of fat helped keep the sail dry even in the most unpleasant weather.

In order for the ship to gain speed better with a fair wind, the fabric was sewn exclusively in a square or rectangular shape. A large sail for a drakkar could reach an area of ​​​​90 square meters. It took about two tons of wool to produce it (despite the fact that one sheep produced an average of one and a half kilograms of this valuable material per year).

Joining the ranks of the drakkar-builders, you subconsciously try to resemble the images of the harsh northerners drawn by your imagination. The Vikings were considered among the finest storytellers in Europe, whose sagas continue to fascinate modern readers. One of the hallmarks of Old Norse poetry, legends and sagas is black humor (humor of the gallows). Usually, when one of the heroes voices such a joke in the Viking sagas, it becomes a bad omen, in such works there are much more such jokes than one might expect. Unfortunately, it is difficult for a modern person to withstand such literary competition, especially within the framework of a short article.
However, this also applies to the ship component, given that in those distant times there were masters of the highest qualification, capable of building an excellently stable and fast ship even "by eye". Such a master was accompanied by a whole team of various specialists: woodworkers, board masters, carvers in figured details and blacksmiths, as well as a number of auxiliary workers. Fortunately, I have to build a boat five dozen times smaller, so the work team is limited to the cat Dasha, and the overseas lumberjack Proxxon.
Considering that the review of the construction of the drakkar model from the Italian company Amati is not unique in the modeling community, therefore I will try to be more or less brief and focus not on general plans, but on trifles and nuances.

I'll start with the box and contents. It fully corresponded to the declared. Unless some rupture of the corner of the box lid caused aesthetic dissatisfaction, but the seller's 10 percent discount ("Shipyard on the table") completely compensated for it. The paper component of the content is shown in the photo. There are no complaints about the quality of drawings and instructions, both standard and translated in Russian.

Having overcome with great difficulty the age-old desire of the modeller to assemble the skeleton of the ship as soon as possible for its speedy 3D visualization, I started working on the plywood issue, which, in my opinion, is eternal for European manufacturers. Starting with pasting the ends of the frames-toptimbers-beams (Underline whatever applicable) and keel, continued with double cloning above the underlined elements. I glued lime (in the good sense of the word) 0.5 mm thick veneer on bends with a soldering iron, depriving myself of smoke breaks for the period of glue drying, since the process took place almost instantly. Beams, processed on both sides, have a thickness of 3 mm, which, after not tricky calculations, gives a thickness of 15 cm of natural size, which may not be entirely correct, but not fatal.

In addition, with the help of a simple engraving device (by the way, very light and convenient) from Proxxon, I created a kind of wood carving on pre-planned parts of the keel. The word "type" is used to distinguish between real carving and that primitive, semi-rock painting that I did. That's when I regretted the missing figure carvers mentioned above. The only thing I can say in my defense is that such "refined cubism" is found on the neck and partly on the head of a dragon that adorned the stem of a ship found at the mouth of the Scheldt River.
Awakening the spirit of a sadistic animalist in myself, I shamelessly sawed off a potential dragon of his strange-looking dog tail from the notorious plywood, and, as far as my talents allow, cut a new, more elegant one from an apple tree (by the way, the material for cutting is simply wonderful), after which spliced ​​it on the pins with the "torso".

Having finished with the preparatory work, quite quickly and seamlessly assembled the "skeleton of the ship" from the keel and frames. Malkovka also passed without excesses, and he removed the "extra" from all the frames, and not just the three step-like ones indicated in the instructions. Another nuance is the impossibility of processing the skin from the outside, because plywood, uncompromising in its uncontested nature, has three multi-colored layers, which, as the file or sandpaper is exposed, festively and joyfully demonstrate themselves to the outside world.

As a result, it was not possible to perfectly combine the skin. Either because of the crooked Amati laser, or a similar defect in my hands. True, one moment is slightly inspiring: the case turned out to be surprisingly strong and resistant to deformation, especially after the nailing operation I had undertaken. I don’t see the point in describing this action again, I will only note that the distance between the dowels is 4 mm and the number is uncountable.

It's a joke. Two packs of 600 pieces were enough (during my laziness I used only the tips sharpened on both sides, I left the “carcasses” for future turning experiments), the toothpicks turned out to be bamboo and rather heavy to process, so the prepared grinder turned out to be almost useless for outdoor work, but completely rehabilitated itself in the processing of the skin from the inside. In general, in order to save sandpaper and not demonstrate to others your rich supply of obscene words, it is better to use birch dowels.

After nailing with bamboo, it was time to install the deck, more precisely 4 of its components, as well as the missing beams, with a strange coincidence equal to the number of those that were taken out. Having installed all of the above, as well as some additional elements on the stem and stern, I moved on to the next logical operation - to decking. To do this, I first had to overcome my innate laziness and decide to cover not with solid deck boards, but, as expected, with small floorboards lying on T-shaped beams, which were not fixed by anything and, of course, without any nailing - for accessibility in case any hold stash of harsh northern men, as well as the performance of an unattractive, but such a necessary job of scooping up dark bilge waters. Two tools were very useful for this work: the aforementioned in an unequal battle with bamboo toothpicks - a grinder and a mini patchwork iron, an ideal thing for welding planks to PVA glue.

After some deliberation, I decided to make this ship not some kind of "windy" (in the sense of sails only), but as powerful as the nature of Scandinavia, that is, rowing against the seething northern waters. The oars were not inserted into the oarlocks, but passed through special holes - "rowing hatches". Consequently, their closing lids had to be made in the open position, by the way, the lids themselves are nothing more than the remains of a "tile" from the stern of the Black Pearl, fortunately I chopped these round pieces of glossy cardboard coated with bituminous varnish with a huge margin.
The advent of rowing hatches directed creativity to the next step: what should actually enter and row into them. I won't say that this part of the work was the most interesting, but 7 types of oars, four of each, were made within a week. Each oar consisted of three parts to facilitate the work (see photo), one of which was plywood, which initially caused internal protest, but after experiments with bituminous coating, the protest came to naught.

The solution to the next logical problem was the rowing question: where, in fact, the rowers sat. During the excavations of the Viking ships, benches for rowers were not found, but the height at which the oarlocks are located in relation to the floorboards excludes the possibility that the rowers were standing. Some scholars have suggested that they were sitting on their sailors' chests, and such chests were not found on the ship because they were the personal property of the sailors, and not part of the ship's equipment.
Arguing with archaeologists is a long and vague matter, it is easier and faster to make the required number of chests, especially since the rowing team sitting right on the deck looks rather comical.
After 28 items of personal property of sailors, it was not difficult to make a few more, already public ones. In the photo, you can easily distinguish self-built and home-made items from Amati's "museum quality" items.

The alteration also affected the more complex parts of the ship. For example, "mast fish" or mast fishers, or "old woman", or curling, I don’t know what else to call this piece of wood. The problem turned out to be that the manufacturer of the whale for some reason decided to make it iron, which did not arouse my enthusiasm at all. Still, the expression - an iron piece of wood sounds somehow strange. I think that this photo also shows the difference between the product of Italian masters and what I got, after two hours of fiddling with a piece of the back of a former crib made of an incomprehensible tree, and, in addition, a stopper cover for a walnut mast.

I don't see much point in describing the following operation in detail. Perhaps a small literary digression... Looking at the drawings and drawings, it is easy to make sure that the rudder of the Viking ships was not located along the center line of the stern, as we are used to, but on the side, on a special mount. And trial modern voyages prove that even with a fierce wind and strong seas, only one person easily steered the ship with the help of this side rudder!

After coating the deck with linseed oil, and everything else with a diluted bituminous varnish, it's time to place all sorts of "pleasant little things" - barrels, bags, sewn personally from "canvas", a tub of water, as well as a bow with a string of monofilament and axe. Almost everything was fixed with a glue gun. In principle, I liked it, the only thing is that the cooling rate is very high, this does not give time for unnecessary reflection.

History is silent, at least from me, whether the "fisherman's bayonet" knot was known to the Vikings. But it was he who, according to the already established tradition, was attached to the anchor to the rope (the anchor chain provided for this by the manufacturer somehow does not fit either with the ship itself or with the time of its existence).

Painting work is a separate topic. Firstly - shields, secondly - the head of a dragon. Both are very vividly described in the Latin text about the Viking fleet that brought Knut to England in 1015: "So magnificently were these ships decorated that they dazzled the onlookers, and to those who looked from afar, it seemed that they were made of of fire, and not of wood. For every time the sun shone its rays upon them, weapons shone in one place, and shields suspended in another. Gold burned on the prows of the ships and silver sparkled. Truly, so great was the splendor of this fleet that if his master wished to conquer any people, then only the ships would frighten the enemy even before the soldiers could enter the battle ... "
I think that it is quite difficult to add something to choose the color palette of the horned head of a representative of an ancient civilization from the constellation Sirius...

The shields, in turn, were painted in different ways, depending on the taste of the owner. They could be painted completely in one color, or in segments. Considering that your obedient servant is the owner of all this wealth, I left the coloring at the mercy of my opinion, naturally within the limits of reasonableness and relevance, while trying to create some second-hand and vintage.

Much more questions about the white turnover of the shields. I will not cite here a rather heated scientific debate of respected scientists about the fiction or reality of existence in Scandinavian myths - the white inner part of the shields in case of "diplomatic negotiations", the horns on the helmets of warriors, and finally, the red and white striped sails. I'm not talking about the discussion about the time of occurrence of the legends themselves, we are talking about a difference of tens of centuries. With all this, if desired, you can find on the Internet. Taking into account a certain mythical nature of historicism, I made a strong-willed decision: to be white shields and a striped sail ... at least from an artistic point of view, this is more interesting.
It's time to spend some time on that sail, mentioned several times. The manufacturer of the whale suggests making a rather strange design - stick 3-4 mm strips of it diagonally crosswise on a solid panel. Again, I will not give here the directly opposite opinions of respected people about the stones from Gotland with images of ships sailing with an unfolded sail. Where the sails are usually covered with a pattern of diamonds, while written sources state that the sails are painted with stripes of contrasting colors. Either the Gotlanders preferred other designs, or, more likely, the diamonds represent a network of ropes or leather straps that covered the surface of a loosely woven sail, strengthening it. Having plunged into a lot of assumptions and hypotheses, I realized one thing, since there are no exact facts, then I will be based on those that are most widespread. In addition, I got the basic information for myself from the book "Viking Court" by Jochen von Fircks, therefore I will continue to be based on the author's conclusions. This, in particular, applies to a striped sail made of wool. Having decided for himself to give up wool, but not red and white stripes, he decided for a long time how to achieve this. Stitching multi-colored stripes, albeit on a 50th scale, is not very good for me, the seams in any scenario will not be large-scale, and achieving evenness, with my rudimentary seamstress skills, is a big problem. After several experiments, I finally found a solution. With a red pencil, I drew the necessary pattern on the fabric, then decorated it with acrylic paint on both sides. After drying, the fabric was subjected to both mechanical stress and lying in hot strong tea, but showed very good color fastness. After that, it remains only to make an imitation of seams with a stitch on a sewing machine along the edges of the drawn stripes.

I don’t see much point in writing about the manufacture of a mast, yardarm, spiers, everything is standard: on a cone. Spirts are a little more complicated, they also have a kind of fork made from one edge. Finishing - bituminous varnish and linseed oil.
About rigging work, too, you won’t particularly spread, in comparison with any single-masted vessel, even with a slanting, even with a straight sail. Here everything is even simpler, and, I'm not afraid of this word, sometimes even primitive. I wound the threads myself, whales traditionally cause only sadness.

The question of the stand has been in the air for a long time and periodically kept me awake, and when I installed the steering wheel, I realized that the case could stand on its own, even if it could no longer roll over from side to side, it became simply the most relevant. To be honest, several options were made, but only one, the one in the photo, passed the artistic council. I can’t call it a work of art, especially considering that there was only one holder for the ship (I didn’t want to start a story with an online purchase of another one), but somehow it was necessary to get out of the situation.
With that, I say goodbye and hope to see you soon...