f<r/.i: <>i-' XIIIPS. Hi!) 



of that size, have been less than 15 fret at each end, and 

 thus we arrive at the same result, or ISO feet. 



The largest ship of which we have any record is that of 

 Kimt the Great. 



His dragon had sixty pairs of oars, and therefore, according 

 to the same calculation, must have had a length of about 

 300 feet. The above measurements are given without making 

 allowance for larger spaces between the benches than those of 

 the Nydam and Gokstad ships, which were necessary in order 

 to give more space for the plying of the longer oars. 



The width of the ship is still more difficult to determine ; 

 but, taking for example the Serpent, where it is said that each 

 half-room held eight men, or sixteen in the whole width of the 

 vessel, its breadth between the gunwales could not have been 

 less than 32 feet, probably more, if we judge by the propor- 

 tions of the other vessels, the Nydam boat's width being \ of 

 its length, and that of the Gokstad boat being nearly 1 of its 

 length. 



The depth of the ships is nowhere mentioned, but, as we find 

 a deck-planking (tliiljnr) mentioned, it must have been at 

 least, in cases of seagoing ships, 10 feet or more. 



Looking at the Gokstad ship and its beautiful shape, we 

 can form an idea how advanced the art of shipbuilding was in 

 the North. The vessel had no deck, the bottom boards resting 

 over the frames were loose, and were made fast to the frames 

 by notches cut in them. The fragments which remain of the 

 tent or tents show the material to have been red and white 

 striped wool, and the numerous pieces of rope were made of 

 bast. 



The Tune vessel probably had ten to twelve pairs of oars, to 

 judge from the number of ribs and rowing benches ; but as the 

 gunwale is destroyed, the oar tholes are missing. The vessel 

 was iron, clinch built, with the wood work almost entirely of 

 oak ; only the ribs and the wooden nails were of fir. The 

 planks were fastened to the frame by such clamps as those 

 described in the Nydam boat and Gokstad ship. 



The ponderous beam shows that the mast, which was set in 

 an opening made in a large oak block, could be lowered at 

 will, a fact sometimes mentioned in the Sagas. 



