VIKING AGE
Spurred by expanding dynasties and political upheaval in Norway and Sweden, many Vikings ventured abroad to found new colonies, returning to lands first encountered during earlier raids, opening up new trade routes from east to west, north to south, and founding towns as far apart as Ireland and Ukraine.
In what became known as the Viking Age lasting from AD 700 until 1100, their strategic use of longships allowed them to explore, conquer, and colonise with remarkable efficiency. As recorded in the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland, which states that “a great fleet of Norwegians landed at Port Lairge, plundered northern Osraige, and carried spoils, including many cows and livestock, to their ships.”
VIKING WATERFORD
These longships not only enabled raids but also facilitated the establishment of trade routes and permanent settlements. By around 914 AD, the Viking longship fleet had returned in force and established a trading port at a strategically defensible position best placed to make use of the confluence of the rivers Barrow, Nore, Suir. Their port became known as Waterford (Norse: Vadrarfjordr), derived from the Old Norse term meaning “ram fjord” or “windy fjord” and is regarded as the oldest city on the island of Ireland. All of Ireland’s first cities were Hiberno-Norse trading outposts.
Waterford quickly rose to prominence as a trading hub, linking Ireland to commercial networks that stretched not just to nearby Britain and France but also to markets as far as Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.
LONGSHIPS
The Viking Age would not have been possible without Viking ships, and it was the wooden, clinker-built longship that drove their expansion. A ship excavated at Ladby, Denmark, in the 1930s is believed to be a typical Viking warship. Measuring about 23 meters (76 feet) long but only 2.9 meters (9 feet) wide, its narrow build made it exceptionally fast. The knife-thin warships, with their sleek design and shallow-draft hulls, allowed the Vikings to navigate the North Sea and Europe’s rivers with ease, enabling them to appear suddenly and without warning.
While Viking longships excelled in warfare, it was their cargo ships that truly revolutionised the Viking Age. Rather than simply elongating their warships, shipbuilders widened them, creating sturdy, cargo-carrying ships. These vessels featured a large sail, a minimal crew of six to ten, and only a few oar-ports at the bow and stern—leaving the midsection open for cargo.
One of the largest known Viking cargo ships was discovered in Hedeby, a major trading hub in Viking Denmark. Measuring 22 meters (73 feet) long and 6.2 meters (21 feet) wide, it could transport up to 60 tons of goods while requiring just 1.5 meters (5 feet) of water to stay afloat, making it ideal for navigating shallow coastal waters and riverways.
CLINKER BUILT
The Vikings’ shipbuilding success lay in their unique clinker construction technique where overlapping planks were riveted together to create a strong, lightweight hull. Unlike the carvel method used in later shipbuilding, clinker construction required high-quality wood, as the planks contributed to the ship’s structural integrity. Viking shipwrights used simple but highly effective tools, primarily axes, to shape and assemble ships with remarkable precision.
The master shipbuilder, known as the Stem-smith, began with the keel, shaping the curved stem and stern posts to define the vessel’s form. Viking ships were designed for flexibility and speed, using radially split oak planks for strength and grown timber for frames, ensuring durability. Wood was often worked while still green, allowing for easier shaping, and some planks were even steam-bent using fire.
Ship construction followed a precise but adaptive process, with the hull built first and the frame added afterward. Planks were secured with iron rivets, and waterproofing was achieved using caulking made from tarred wool or animal hair.
LONGSHIP SPECIFICATIONS:,
Keel & Hull: Curved oak ‘grown timbers’ (grown in shape) were used for the stem and stern posts, which were secured with wooden pegs. The hull was built using the shell-first clinker method, where overlapping planks (strakes) were added before internal timbers. ,
Prow & Figurehead: The ship’s curved prow was formed by five broad planks on each side. To intimidate enemies, it was often decorated with figureheads—typically dragons or snakes.,
Mast & Sail: A single removable mast (up to 16m tall) held a large square sail made from rough wool cloth.,
Rudder: A 2.4m-long timber rudder was attached with a rope allowing it to pivot. The rope could be slackened to adjust the rudder in shallow waters.,
Oars: Used alongside sails oars were of varying lengths and fitted into rowlocks made from crooked oak.
Shields: Large round wooden shields (made from linden – pine – spruce or fir) were hung along the sides of the ship sometimes reinforced with iron.,
LONGSHIPS AT SEA
Viking longships were powered by a single square woollen sail reinforced with leather strips and by oars. A steering oar, or “steerboard,” was attached to the right-hand side of the stern for navigation.
These ships offered no shelter while at sea, so Vikings either camped onshore under woollen tents or slept on deck under animal-skin blankets. Meals on-board consisted of dried or salted meat and fish, which could only be cooked when they landed. They drank water, beer, or sour milk.
Due to harsh conditions, voyages were avoided in winter. Vikings navigated without maps, relying on the sun, stars, sea colour, wave movement, wind direction, birds, and even scent to find land. While they likely had no compasses, some may have used a sun-shadow board (used at noon each day to check if the ship was on course) for navigation.
WATERFORD REPLICA LONGSHIP
Beside Reginald’s Tower in the heart of Waterford’s Viking Triangle, a 40-foot Viking longship named Vadrarfjordr—Waterford’s Viking name—stands on display.
The Vadrarfjordr’s keel and planks are crafted from Irish oak, sourced from a mill in County Carlow, while its red sail is made from canvas weave reinforced with polyester threads.
The replica longship is modelled after one of the renowned Viking ships discovered in Roskilde, Denmark. Tree-ring analysis of the original timber reveals that one of these ships, Skuldelev 2, was built using wood from the Dublin area, with trees felled between 1042 and 1043 AD.
Between 914 and 917, Reginald, the first king of Waterford, assembled a formidable longship fleet in the estuary, enabling him to seize control and make himself king of the great City of York in England.
A century after Waterford’s founding, its longship fleet allied with High King Brian Boru in 1014, aiding his victory over Viking Dublin (founded 988AD) and its allies at the Battle of Clontarf. Throughout the Viking Age, Waterford maintained a formidable fleet, with sleek warships for battle and wide-beamed cargo ships to expand its trade networks.
The Vadrarfjordr was built by a FÁS Community Services Local Training Initiative Group. FÁS: An Foras Áiseanna Saothair, was an Irish state agency with responsibility for assisting those seeking employment.
If you have an idea for a story, please email Kevin Reid [email protected]
If you have been enjoying our stories (400+ stories to date) and want to support our work in preserving Ireland’s rich transport heritage, please subscribe via our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/IrlMade/subscribe/
Sources of Information and Photo Credits:
National Museum of Ireland – Maeve Sikora
Regia.org
rmg.co.uk
Visistnorway.com
Vikingeskibsmuseet.dk
