PREHISTORIC NAVAL ARCHITECTURE. 587 



entire leiigtli of the ship, Accoiding' to the ohler (Uihi law, benches 

 were not employed upon vessels of less than thirteen oars on each side, 

 and it was from the number of benches on each side (.s'es.s), not fiom the 

 number of oars, that the ship received the appellation of a 1-), 14, 20, 

 30, etc., seater and were classed as karve {I'arfi) or lon,i>shi])s {lang- 

 skihet). 



The Karve {Karfi) appears to have been propelled exclusively by 

 oars,' although occasional mention is made of carvels with masts ;^ its 

 name occurs in various sagas.^ An ordinance of 1315^ mentions the 

 karves as vessels of defense. The karve of Bishop Haakon of Bergen-^ 

 and one built in Nidaros in 1381" are the last two of this class of 

 which mention is made. 



The Lonfjfihip {langsMbet — navis longa3 of the Romans) was the war- 

 vessel of the North. In building- war ships two classes of workmen were 

 employed, namely, the carpenters who prepared and framed the skele- 

 ton, and the boarders who prepared the boards and lifted them to the 

 frames. After the keel ha<l been laid upon the stocks the stem and 

 stern posts were placed in position, together with the knees, ribs, and 

 crossbeams, of which the one by the mast was called fiU/Ixhite, and that 

 aft by the well, austrhiti. The planks were then fixed to the frames, 

 but the exact manner in which this was done is not known. They 

 were, however, fastened to each other by iron bolts that were riveted 

 on the inner side. The planks, each tier of which had a distinctive 

 name, overlapped each other, and the tightening was done by the in- 

 sertion of a layer of oakum, probably of cattle hair. It is thus evident 

 that the vessels were clinker-built, although exceptions may be admit- 

 ted.' Mr. Mcolaysen'^ thinks that all vessels were clinker built, and 

 supports his theory by citing the following well-known ships: 



Olaf's KafJirinar, Stmi/u, rostula, Reimar\s Supine, whose name, de- 

 rived from su5, suggests the clinker structure, and also by the Mariam- 

 ^en, built by King Sverre at Nidaros,'' a ship upon a door i)illar at the 

 church of Nesland;'" the seal of Elif, the Lawyer ;'i the seal of the 

 nnini('ii)ality of Bergen;''^ the seal of Gunnar Raasvein,'-' and a ship 

 mentioned in a testament made in 1430." He also claims'^ that the 



I Jal, J: Arch^ol. Navale i, 411, 464. 



^Konungssiignr — ed. Unger, p. 190. D. Norv. ii, 366. 



■'St. Oltif Saga, c. i,. Cretti Saga, c. xx. Egils Saga, c. xxxvi. 



*Norg. gamle Love, 11j!. 



•'•D. Norv. VIII, No. VM. 



«D. Norv. II, 866. 



~ H. MiUvr : S^krigshistoricns vigtigste Begiveuheder, p. 4. 



**LangskiV)et fra Gokstad, p. 15. 



•'Norske I>ygn fra fortideu. 3 raekkje pi. v. (cited by Nicolayaen.) 



"'Koiiuugs8«)gur, ed. Unger, pp. 83, 85, 166 (cited by Nicolaysen). 



" D. Norv. Ill, No. 47 (cited by Nicolaysen). 



'^D. Norv. II, No. 46 (cited by Nicolaysen). 



''*D. Norv. II, No. 172 (cited by Nicolaysen). 



'^D. Norv. V, No. 419 (cited by Nicolaysen). 



'^Nicolaysen, Langskibct, fra Gokstad, ]>. 15. 



