Fig. 996.—½ real size.
Fig. 997.—⅔ real size.
Rivets or clinch nails for ships.
The following passages are the only ones in the whole literature of the North which describe the building of a ship:—
“Next winter, after King Olaf came from Hálogaland, he had a large ship built at Hladhamrar; it was far larger than the other ships in the country, and the stocks on which it was built may still be seen (in Snorri’s time). It was 148 feet long, touching the grass (i.e., at the keel). Thorberg Skafhögg (blow-scraper) was stem-smith (made stem and stern) for the ship; many others were engaged in the work, some to fell trees, others to shape wood, others to nail, others to carry wood. Everything used was most carefully selected. The ship was long and broad, with high gunwales and large timbers. While the bulwarks were rising, Thorberg was obliged to go home to his farm, and was away a long time, and when he came back the bulwarks were completed. The same evening the king, together with Thorberg, went to see how the ship looked, and every man said he had never seen an equally large or fine longship. The king returned to the town. Early next morning the king and Thorberg went down to the ship; all the smiths had arrived, and stood there doing no work. The king asked why they did this. They said the ship was spoiled, and that a man had walked from the stem to the lypting and made cuts into the gunwale, the one after the other. The king looked at it and saw it was true. He swore that if he knew who had spoiled the ship from envy, that man should die, but the one who could tell him should get great reward from him. Thorberg said, ‘I can tell you, king, who did this.’ The king answered, ‘Thou wast the likeliest man to be so lucky as to ascertain this and tell me.’ ‘I will tell the king who has done it,’ he said: ‘I have done it.’ The king answered, ‘Thou shalt repair it so that it is as good as it was before, or else lose thy life.’ Thorberg shaped the gunwale so that all the cuts disappeared. The king and every one said that the ship was much better on the side which Thorberg had shaped. The king asked him to do the same on the other side, and thanked him well for it. Thereafter Thorberg was the chief smith of the ship till it was finished. It was a dragon made in the shape of the serpent which he brought from Hálogaland, and belonged to Raud, but much larger and in every respect more carefully built. He called it the Long Serpent, while the other was the Short Serpent. The Long Serpent had 34 rooms. Its beaks and the dragon-tail were all ornamented with gold; its gunwales were as high as those on seagoing ships. No better or costlier ship has been built in Norway” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 95).
“The same autumn King Olaf had a large longship built on the shore of the river Nid. It was a snekkja; he employed many smiths on it. In the beginning of winter it was finished; it had thirty rooms, high stems, but was not large. The king called it the Trani (crane)” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 79).
Crews.—The crew of the ships no doubt varied in number considerably, according to the power of the chiefs who manned them; crews of one hundred and twenty men are often mentioned; sometimes the crew consisted of seven hundred men.[[142]]
“When spring came, and snow and ice thawed, Thorolf had a large longship which he owned launched, and made ready and manned with more than 100 (120) of huskarls; they were very fine and well-armed warriors. When a fair wind came he sailed southward along the coast.... No one knew about Thorolf’s journey. He had fair winds southward to Denmark, and then to Austrveg (East of Baltic); he ravaged there that summer, but got little property. In the autumn he went back to Denmark when the Eyrarfloti (the trading-fleet of Eyrarsund) was leaving. That summer many ships from Norway had been there as usual” (Egil’s Saga, c. 19).[[143]]