I’ve been interested in the historical development of watercraft for over half a century and this is by far the best exposition of this aspect I’ve ever seen. Thank you.
I think they had a stove on board because: managing the cold and rainy weather was a very important item on a ship...: as a ship was used year round.. Too expensive to only use it in summer with nice weather.. So how do you survive in a cold winter with rain/snow? Then you put the sail down, hang the beam in the length of the boat and do the sail over it. So you have a tent on board.. (also use some oars to make the tent) Then you have some rowers and a small fire (heater pot) in the tent. With a crew of 20, just 4 people are rowing.. Everyone about 4-6-8 hours a day. 3 hours relaxing, one hour rowing. Depending on the weather.. Providing a small but steady speed. (a boat needs 4 times the power for twice the speed, it will go slow but steady but slow with a very little power) One of the problem you have is to keep things dry.. If you have a week of rain, everything becomes wet and very cold... Sucking a lot of energy out of the crew. Maybe they also used stones. You put a stone on the stove for an hour. And then you put it into your jacket for an hour. And swap the stones every few hours. That also drives the moist a bit out.. In a tent at a stove you can try stuff, make warm tea. Another option would be to make a fire on land, filling some barrels with hot water and roll that on board. That will stay warm for a few days. Then you have 6 people heating their back on one barrel of warm/hot water, while 4 others are rowing.. A barrel could also be a bit insulated with straw and leather or so.. So you have a heat-source for a week. 6 days sailing, then one day on land.. (heating water) A metal pot over a fire, and then put hot water into the barrel... A hot barrel can also work as "central heating" in the tent, keeping a dry climate.. Maybe they used all of em in winterdays.. A tent, a heater, warm stones, rowers and a barrel of hot water. Maybe pulling some floor planks out, and have a straw bed with leather sleeping bags? When the main sail and beam was in use as a tent, they maybe use a small second beam (oar) and second smaller sail for speed? I think, if you have 3 days of rain, everything gets wet, its 4 degrees celcius outside and then a strong wind. It will suck the energy out of everyone within a day.
I am still a little unclear about sleeping on a longship. It looks like it's pretty much 100% full with all the rowers seated. If they sleep on the ship, how does that actually work? And why were enclosed cabins apparently such a late invention? It seems like something you'd want ina place with such cold winters.
if the ship had enough space to fit rowers and passengers there was most likely enough space to sleep, otherwise they would have had to sleep sitting and just deal with it, or dock on a shore/island for camping as for cabins, structures above the hull of the ship add a lot of weight and imbalance which reduce the stability and speed of the vessel
Perhaps no one sailed longer distances during winter, and therefore your modern need of comfort was irrelevant? These men(!) were hardened from a life under open sky and didn't need warm comfort. On an open boat rolling with the waves it would impossible to sleep anyway. Any experienced sailor learns how to sleep maximum 15-20 minutes, and then carry on with his duties.
Hi. Thanks for the video. Could somebody explain, how did they maintain hygiene? How did they defecate and how did they clean themself after? During long voyages on the cold weather and surrounded with cold salty water, did they get unbearably itchy very quickly? 50 men had to empty their bowels every day.
I always wondered how Vikings ate on those small boats or where they stored anything. Making passengers prepare their own food is kinda hilarious or did travelers have mini cauldrons on them?
There was very little space, the below deck was basically just a very shallow cargo room. You could technically lie down there and sleep, but the ventilation would've been horrible and seawater gathered there aswell
@@balticempire7244 ….that is what I’ve heard before but continue to question it. I’m thinking on a cold stormy winter night at sea , a tight space below deck would be a good safe spot to catch some sleep out of the weather. I cannot prove it but with the deck flooring lifting up easily in sections , men could go below deck without any trouble. It just seems logical to me they would do this when it was cold and stormy. Not so much in warm dry weather conditions. As a old Rev War re-enactor I’ve seen men find some interesting places to sleep out of the rain. I’ve got a nice sharp Hanwei Viking sword and helmet, and I made an authentic shield from popular planks to go with it. The shield is 1/2 inch in the center around the boss and tapers to 3/16” around the edge. Obviously I’m interested in Vikings and Saxons. I enjoy your videos. Thanks for the response.
If you ever sailed in this sort of vessel, you wouldn't want to lay anywhere under way! Along the keel, stinking water would be splashing. What do you think the crew did when they had to piss under harsh weather conditions? Stand up risking going overboard, or simply relieve on the spot? These vessels were constructed for simple and efficient transport, not modem day comfort issues!
@@stephenfields6236 you are a clueless dreamer. First of all no one sailed longer distances during winter. Ever heard of something called frost, snow and ice, and their need of visual coastal navigation? Day lenght were also extremely short... Loads of practical and dangerous issues, any experienced Scandinavian sailor even today is very aware of! No one sailed or row under your mentioned conditions...
Just because those cooking kettles were buried with the ship does not remotely suggest that they cooked food on their ship. I really don't know, how Many days of provisions did they carry?
don't remember it but viking ships didn't have tall enough decks to store something like a horse, basically they removed the plankings of the weather deck to open up the cargo space, and then kept the horse and other animals standing in the cargo space, essentially ankle-deep, modern interpretations show the animals then fenced in and tied to the fence
@@balticempire7244 check it out. it has “northman” encampments and long ships in the middle east. they cook above. the horses somehow travel below. antonia banderas is the 13th warrior. he’s got an arabian, small compared to the northern horses.
@@theitineranthistorian2024 there was no storage room large enough for horses or cow's on a Viking vessel! Try relate to proven facts! The largest Viking boats are all rebuild and has been under sail, manned by qualified sailors!
Actually the Danes sailed the longest distances to reach to England. From Norway you are mostly able to see out to the Islands to the West. And with the huge fleets from the "Full Danish Leding", of up to 4000 ships had to sail as a unit!
I’ve been interested in the historical development of watercraft for over half a century and this is by far the best exposition of this aspect I’ve ever seen. Thank you.
It's truly hard to believe the intelligence and craftsmanship and Ingenuity that was used to build these ships.
I think they had a stove on board because: managing the cold and rainy weather was a very important item on a ship...: as a ship was used year round.. Too expensive to only use it in summer with nice weather.. So how do you survive in a cold winter with rain/snow? Then you put the sail down, hang the beam in the length of the boat and do the sail over it. So you have a tent on board.. (also use some oars to make the tent) Then you have some rowers and a small fire (heater pot) in the tent. With a crew of 20, just 4 people are rowing.. Everyone about 4-6-8 hours a day. 3 hours relaxing, one hour rowing. Depending on the weather.. Providing a small but steady speed. (a boat needs 4 times the power for twice the speed, it will go slow but steady but slow with a very little power)
One of the problem you have is to keep things dry.. If you have a week of rain, everything becomes wet and very cold... Sucking a lot of energy out of the crew. Maybe they also used stones. You put a stone on the stove for an hour. And then you put it into your jacket for an hour. And swap the stones every few hours. That also drives the moist a bit out.. In a tent at a stove you can try stuff, make warm tea.
Another option would be to make a fire on land, filling some barrels with hot water and roll that on board. That will stay warm for a few days. Then you have 6 people heating their back on one barrel of warm/hot water, while 4 others are rowing.. A barrel could also be a bit insulated with straw and leather or so.. So you have a heat-source for a week. 6 days sailing, then one day on land.. (heating water) A metal pot over a fire, and then put hot water into the barrel... A hot barrel can also work as "central heating" in the tent, keeping a dry climate..
Maybe they used all of em in winterdays.. A tent, a heater, warm stones, rowers and a barrel of hot water. Maybe pulling some floor planks out, and have a straw bed with leather sleeping bags?
When the main sail and beam was in use as a tent, they maybe use a small second beam (oar) and second smaller sail for speed?
I think, if you have 3 days of rain, everything gets wet, its 4 degrees celcius outside and then a strong wind. It will suck the energy out of everyone within a day.
Top tier content as usual.
Love the videos
Love the depth of information
Love the channel
Can't wait to see it blow up.
love big much, time. very enjoy and alo inform. Big thank and smil from Norway viewer :)
Thank you for making this video! So clearly explained and straight-forward --exactly the information I needed.
Thank you, for making this video. It's a special one
Really brilliant video!
Leaving a comment. Good stuff !
You presented some interesting info in your video.
Thank for posting.
Thanks for another great video. I always wondered how they managed these daily survival tasks.
The Vikings had trading ship as well as longship for invading they were great traders and farmers [ good video thanks]
Fascinating information on a way of life and material culture that we in North America are unfamiliar with!
Great video! 😄
Great details
Enjoyed this video
great work
I am still a little unclear about sleeping on a longship. It looks like it's pretty much 100% full with all the rowers seated. If they sleep on the ship, how does that actually work? And why were enclosed cabins apparently such a late invention? It seems like something you'd want ina place with such cold winters.
if the ship had enough space to fit rowers and passengers there was most likely enough space to sleep, otherwise they would have had to sleep sitting and just deal with it, or dock on a shore/island for camping
as for cabins, structures above the hull of the ship add a lot of weight and imbalance which reduce the stability and speed of the vessel
Perhaps no one sailed longer distances during winter, and therefore your modern need of comfort was irrelevant?
These men(!) were hardened from a life under open sky and didn't need warm comfort. On an open boat rolling with the waves it would impossible to sleep anyway. Any experienced sailor learns how to sleep maximum 15-20 minutes, and then carry on with his duties.
Positive comment
thank you
Excellent!
Regarding the food I can highly recommend the book/ cook book "An Early Meal" by Daniel Serra and Hanna Tunberg.
Hi. Thanks for the video. Could somebody explain, how did they maintain hygiene? How did they defecate and how did they clean themself after? During long voyages on the cold weather and surrounded with cold salty water, did they get unbearably itchy very quickly? 50 men had to empty their bowels every day.
I always wondered how Vikings ate on those small boats or where they stored anything. Making passengers prepare their own food is kinda hilarious or did travelers have mini cauldrons on them?
Main difference between these and the piragua is number of sails. The number got bigger as time went by for some reason.
Did any of the crew sleep in the space under the deck? How much head room was there below the deck on the larger Viking Ships?
There was very little space, the below deck was basically just a very shallow cargo room. You could technically lie down there and sleep, but the ventilation would've been horrible and seawater gathered there aswell
@@balticempire7244 ….that is what I’ve heard before but continue to question it. I’m thinking on a cold stormy winter night at sea , a tight space below deck would be a good safe spot to catch some sleep out of the weather. I cannot prove it but with the deck flooring lifting up easily in sections , men could go below deck without any trouble. It just seems logical to me they would do this when it was cold and stormy. Not so much in warm dry weather conditions. As a old Rev War re-enactor I’ve seen men find some interesting places to sleep out of the rain.
I’ve got a nice sharp Hanwei Viking sword and helmet, and I made an authentic shield from popular planks to go with it. The shield is 1/2 inch in the center around the boss and tapers to 3/16” around the edge. Obviously I’m interested in Vikings and Saxons. I enjoy your videos. Thanks for the response.
If you ever sailed in this sort of vessel, you wouldn't want to lay anywhere under way!
Along the keel, stinking water would be splashing. What do you think the crew did when they had to piss under harsh weather conditions? Stand up risking going overboard, or simply relieve on the spot? These vessels were constructed for simple and efficient transport, not modem day comfort issues!
@@stephenfields6236 you are a clueless dreamer. First of all no one sailed longer distances during winter. Ever heard of something called frost, snow and ice, and their need of visual coastal navigation? Day lenght were also extremely short... Loads of practical and dangerous issues, any experienced Scandinavian sailor even today is very aware of! No one sailed or row under your mentioned conditions...
@@OmmerSyssel Indeed. I was just going to say that someone has led a sheltered life!
So, on Long see voyages how did the crew deal with scaring away the Elves?!? 🤔
sat on the railing with their backs to the sea and did a dirty on the sea elves
Just because those cooking kettles were buried with the ship does not remotely suggest that they cooked food on their ship. I really don't know, how Many days of provisions did they carry?
Interesting
Imagine sailing in rough waters in pitch black with no idea how to avoid bad weather…terrifying.
NOICE!
Dried salted cod was an ideal food for long journeys.
As a lover of my ancestors of Norway. I enjoyed this. I mainly know of just snorri's sagas and what remains from the older tales.
Hei å hå :)
how accurate is “the 13th warrior” with their horses below deck?
don't remember it but viking ships didn't have tall enough decks to store something like a horse, basically they removed the plankings of the weather deck to open up the cargo space, and then kept the horse and other animals standing in the cargo space, essentially ankle-deep, modern interpretations show the animals then fenced in and tied to the fence
@@balticempire7244 check it out. it has “northman” encampments and long ships in the middle east. they cook above. the horses somehow travel below. antonia banderas is the 13th warrior. he’s got an arabian, small compared to the northern horses.
@@theitineranthistorian2024 there was no storage room large enough for horses or cow's on a Viking vessel!
Try relate to proven facts! The largest Viking boats are all rebuild and has been under sail, manned by qualified sailors!
@@OmmerSyssel gotcha. hollywood is amazing.
Im sure some held more than one position
Sounds like a hard life.
🏴☠️🗡⛵️💀🦈
Great content but consider working on your accent mate.
Actually the Danes sailed the longest distances to reach to England. From Norway you are mostly able to see out to the Islands to the West. And with the huge fleets from the "Full Danish Leding", of up to 4000 ships had to sail as a unit!
that makes it more tolerable .lol