CHAPTER IX. 



WAR-SHIPS. 



The Northmen pre-eminently a seafaring people Figurative 'names given to 

 ships Classification and names of ships of war Ironclads Swift 

 cruisers Transport vessels Foreign ships Different parts of a war- 

 ship Oars Ship's boats Tents Ship's moorings Sheds Launching 

 Ornamentations Beautiful sails Colour of war-ships Standards- 

 Ornamentation of ship's sides with shields The port of Jonisburgh 

 Size of ships The Tuneship Shipbuilding Crews Description of a 

 storm. 



ONE of the most important features in the life of the Viking 

 Age was the ships in which the hardy Norsemen were able to 

 rove over the seas of Europe, and conquer and plunder the 

 lands around them. In the Eddas and Sagas these ships are 

 often minutely described, so that we are able to form, a fail- 

 idea of the shipbuilding art of those days. 



The ships were called by figurative and most poetical 

 names, and from many of these we see that speed was valued 

 very highly : 



Deer of the surf. 



Reindeer of breezes. 



Sea-king's deer. 



Reindeer of the shield wall. 



Elk of the fjords. 



Sea-king's sledge. 



Horse of the home of ice. 



Soot-coloured horse of the sea. 



Horse of the gull's track. 



Mare of the surf. 



Horse of the breeze. 



Raven of the wind. 



Gull of the fjord. 



Carriage of the sea. 



The sea-wader. 



Aegir's steed. 



Sea steed. 



Lion of the waves. 



Hawk of the sea-gull's track. 



Haven of the sea. 



Snake of the sea. 



The general name for all ships was skip, but these were 

 classified under different appellations. The war-ships were 

 also classified under several names, viz : Dreki (dragon), Skeid, 

 Snfkkja, Skuta, Buza, Karji. The her skip (host or war-ship), 



