Crossword clues for longship
longship
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Wiktionary
n. A type of naval vessel made by the Vikings.
Wikipedia
Longships were a type of ship invented and used by the Norsemen for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. The longship's design evolved over many centuries, beginning in the Stone Age with the invention of the umiak and continuing up until the 6th century with clinker built ships like Nydam and Kvalsund. The longship appeared in its complete form between the 9th and 13th centuries. The character and appearance of these ships have been reflected in Scandinavian boat-building traditions until today. The particular skills and methods employed in making longships are still used worldwide, often with modern adaptations. They were all made out of wood, with cloth sails (woven wool) and had numerous details and carvings on the hull.
The longships were characterized as a graceful, long, narrow and light wooden boat, with a shallow- draft hull designed for speed. The ship's shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only one metre deep and permitted random beach landings, while its light weight enabled it to be carried over portages or used bottoms up for shelter in camps. Longships were also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without a turn around; this trait proved particularly useful at northern latitudes, where icebergs and sea ice posed hazards to navigation. Longships were fitted with oars along almost the entire length of the boat itself. Later versions had a rectangular sail on a single mast, which was used to replace or augment the effort of the rowers, particularly during long journeys. The average speed of Viking ships varied from ship to ship, but lay in the range of and the maximum speed of a longship under favorable conditions was around .
Longships were the epitome of naval power in their time and were highly valued possessions. They were often communally owned by coastal farmers and commissioned by kings in times of conflict, in order to quickly assemble a large and powerful naval force. While longships were used by the Norse in warfare, they were mostly used for troop transports, not warships. In the tenth century, longships would sometimes be tied together in offshore battles to form a steady platform for infantry warfare. During the 9th century peak of the Viking expansion, large fleets set out to attack the degrading Frankish empire by attacking up navigable rivers such as the Seine. Rouen was sacked in 841, the year after the death of Louis the Pious, a son of Charlemagne. Quentovic, near modern Etables, was attacked in 842 and 600 Danish ships attacked Hamburg in 845. In the same year, 129 ships returned to attack up the Seine. They were called "dragonships" by enemies such as the English because they had a dragon-shaped bow. The Norse had a strong sense of naval architecture, and during the early medieval period they were advanced for their time.
Usage examples of "longship".
If Ulf did well, the silver he brought home would buy the services of fine boatbuilders and bring his oceangoing longship closer to completion.
Eika fleet sailed out of Rikin Sound before a fair wind, two hundred and twenty-three longships and forty-six knarrs, the big-bellied cargo ships that plied the northern seas.
Many of the longships rest there or return there after they cross the sea.
The longships had raced before the wind, riding the mountainous swells like ducklings in a torrent.
In another moment, the fleet of longships became clearly recognizable, gathered around the base of the floating fortress like ducklings around their mother.
The northmen leaped from their boats into the shallow water, then hurriedly pulled their longships high onto the shore.
Maag longships tied to the piers or anchored some distance out into the harbor.
From what I hear, the Trogites have already sunk a half-dozen or so Maag longships with those cursed rams.
Siamese lug-sails, brigantines, galeasses, Hanseatic League cogs, sixty-oared papyrus galleys, Norse drakkars and dragon-prowed Viking longships called the Oseberg ship.
Several huge trading galleons and a pair of longships were anchored in the port, and the prince saw a huge shipyard to one side, where a pair of sturdy ships appeared to be nearing completion.
The captain ordered the mast unstepped and stowed, and under oars the longship glided in to Cannobaen.
As the huge shape, bigger than anything living in the world, crashed back to the water, another longship capsized from the monstrous waves.
The area now bustled with activity, as horses, provisions, and weapons were ferried from shore to the longships anchored in the bay, or loaded onto those smaller vessels that had been drawn onto the beach.
Viking longships, clinker-built and locked to the prow and the tail, simply fell to bits when struck square on.
King Balon's longships command the sunset sea, and are well placed to menace Lannisport, Fair Isle, and even Highgarden, should we provoke him.