In the Gokstad ship the shields were hung along the outer sides of the ship, and all seem to have been of the same size. They were placed somewhat ahead of the first oar, and a little behind the last one. They overlapped each other, the outer edge of each touching the boss of the other. They were painted either yellow or black, so that the contrast must have been picturesque.
“Then he, Olaf Tryggvason, made his ships and men ready and sailed east from Gardar out into Eystrasalt (the Baltic). The ships were lined with shields on both sides, they were swift-sailing, and went well before the wind” (Fornmanna Sögur, vol. i. p. 100).
“Hella Björn, the son of Herfinn and Halla, was a great viking, he was generally the enemy of King Harald; he went to Iceland, and entered Bjarnarfjord with a ship covered all over with shields” (Landnama, xi. 31).
“On Yule-eve the weather was bright and calm. Gretti was that day out of doors most of the time, looking at the ships that went south and north along the shore; for everybody was going to the Yule-feast. As the day declined Gretti saw that a ship rowed towards the island. It was not large, but the gunwales were covered with shields from prow to stern, and it was painted above water” (Gretti’s Saga, c. 19).
“They saw no fewer than ten ships coming southwards off a cape. They were rowed fast and steered towards them; they were completely covered with shields, and at the mast of the foremost one there stood a man who had on a silk jacket and a gilt helmet” (Njala, c. 84).
Some of the scattered pieces of poetry give a good idea of the appearance of these ships.
The sea howls, and the wave
Dashes the bright foam against the red wood,
While the roller-bison (ship) gapes
With the gold-ornamented mouth.