Editing Longship (section)

== Notable longships ==

=== Preserved originals ===
Several of the original longships built in the Viking Age have been excavated by archaeologists. A selection of vessels that has been particularly important to our understanding of the longships design and construction, comprise the following:

* The [[Nydam Mose#Nydam Boat|Nydam ship]] (c. 310–320 AD) is a burial ship from Denmark. This oaken vessel is {{convert|80|ft|m|abbr=in|order=flip}} long and was propelled by oars only. No mast is attached, as it was a later addition to the longship design. The Nydam ship shows a combination of building styles and is important to our understanding of the evolution of the early Viking ships.
* "''[[Puck 2]]''" is the name given to a longship found in the [[Bay of Gdansk]] in Poland in 1977. It has been dated to the first half of the tenth century and was {{convert|19 to 20|m}} long in its day. It is peculiar and important because it was constructed by [[West Slavs|Western Slavic]] craftsmen, not Scandinavian. The design only differs very slightly from the Scandinavian built longships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/method/the-archaeological-sources/puck-2-a-slavic-longship/|title=Puck 2 – a Slavic longship|publisher=Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde|access-date=10 January 2016|archive-date=26 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826053541/http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/method/the-archaeological-sources/puck-2-a-slavic-longship/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Hedeby 1]]'' is the name given to a longship found in the harbour of [[Hedeby]] in 1953. At nearly {{convert|31|m}} long, it is of the Skeid type, built around 985 AD. With a maximum width of just {{convert|2.7|m|ft}} it has a width-to-length ratio of more than 11, making it the slimmest longship ever discovered. It is made of oaken wood and its construction would have required a very high level of craftsmanship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/method/the-archaeological-sources/the-longship-from-haithabu-harbour/|title=The longship from Haithabu Harbour|publisher=Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde|access-date=10 January 2016|archive-date=25 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125052636/http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/professions/education/method/the-archaeological-sources/the-longship-from-haithabu-harbour/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The [[Oseberg ship]] and the [[Gokstad ship]] – both from Vestfold in Norway. They both represent the longship design of the later Viking Age.
* ''{{interlanguage link|Roskilde 6|da}}'' is the name given to the longest longship ever found at approximately {{convert|37.4|m}}. It was discovered in 1996–97 at the [[Viking Ship Museum (Roskilde)|Viking Ship Museum]] in Roskilde, Denmark. The ship was constructed around 1025.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Horte|first=Jan Bill, Red: Marianne Juelsgård|title=Roskilde 6|url=https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/fagligt/e-laering/vikingetidens-langskibe/fund-af-langskibe-fra-vikingetiden/roskilde-6|access-date=6 November 2021|website=Vikingeskibsmuseet i Roskilde|language=da-DK|archive-date=6 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106231632/https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/fagligt/e-laering/vikingetidens-langskibe/fund-af-langskibe-fra-vikingetiden/roskilde-6|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The [[Gjellestad ship]], built in Norway around 732, was discovered in 2018. Excavations were completed in December 2022, and the remains of the [[keel]] are undergoing preservation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53204948|title=First Viking ship excavation in a century begins in Norway|date=27 June 2020|access-date=14 December 2021|website=Bbc.co.uk|archive-date=14 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214233125/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53204948|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology-history-iron-age/the-12-most-exciting-finds-from-the-gjellestad-viking-ship-dig/1948461 |title=Science Norway |date=9 December 2021 |access-date=8 December 2022 |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206214629/https://sciencenorway.no/archaeology-history-iron-age/the-12-most-exciting-finds-from-the-gjellestad-viking-ship-dig/1948461 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Historical examples ===
A selection of important longships known only from written sources includes:
* The [[Ormen Lange (longship)|Ormen Lange]] ("''The Long Serpent''") was the most famous longship of Norwegian king [[Olaf Tryggvason]].
* The [[Mora (ship)|Mora]] was the ship given to [[William I of England|William the Conqueror]] by his wife, [[Matilda of Flanders|Matilda]], and used as the flagship in the [[Norman conquest of England]]. It is said to be of the ''dreki'' type.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
* The ''Mariasuda'', the large flagship of Norwegian king [[King Sverre|Sverre]] at the [[Battle of Fimreite]], originally had 32 compartments before its length was extended by 12 alnar (approximately 6.6 meters). It was significantly taller than any other ship in the battle and carried 320 men.<ref name="SturlusonHødnebø1979">{{cite book |last=Sturluson |first=Snorri |translator-last1=Hødnebø |translator-first1=Finn |editor-last1=Hødnebø |editor-first1=Finn |editor2-last=Magerøy |editor2-first=Hallvard |title=Norges kongesagaer: Jubileumsutg. Sverres saga. Sagaen om baglere og birkebeiner. |volume=3 |year=1979 |publisher=Gyldendal Norsk Forlag |isbn=978-82-05-11460-9 |pages=112, 122 |url=https://books.google.com/books/?id=z0oQPQAACAAJ |language=no}}</ref> The ship was later burned in Bergen by king Sverre’s enemies.<ref>SturlusonHødnebø 1979 p. 153</ref>

=== Replicas ===
{{main|Viking ship replica}}
[[Image:Viking, replica of the Gokstad Viking ship, at the Chicago World Fair 1893.jpg|thumb|A replica of the Gokstad ship, named [[Viking (replica Viking longship)|''Viking'']], sailed across the Atlantic to the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] in 1893.]]

There are many replicas of Viking ships – including longships – in existence. Some are just inspired by the longship design in general, while others are intricate works of experimental archaeology, trying to replicate the originals as accurately as possible. Replicas important to our understanding of the original longships design and construction include:

* ''[[Viking (replica Viking longship)|Viking]]'', the very first Viking ship replica, was built by the [[Framnæs Mekaniske Værksted|Rødsverven shipyard]] in [[Sandefjord, Norway]], modelled after the Gokstad ship. In 1893, it sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to [[Chicago]] in the United States for the [[World's Columbian Exposition]].
* The Skuldelev replicas. All the five [[Skuldelev ships]] have been replicated, some of them several times. They are each of a different design and only Skuldelev 1, 2 and 5 are longships.
* The ''[[Sea Stallion (longship)|Sea Stallion]]'' is a replica of the Skuldelev 2 ship, constructed by authentic methods. At {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=in}}, it is the second longest Viking ship replica ever made. Skuldelev 2 was originally built near Dublin around 1042, and was rediscovered in Roskilde, Denmark in 1962. The ''Sea Stallion'' sailed from Roskilde to Dublin in mid-2007, to commemorate the voyage of the original.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> In late 2007 and early 2008, the ship was exhibited outside the National Museum in Dublin. In mid-2008, it returned to Roskilde on a sea route south of England.
* ''[[Dragon Harald Fairhair (ship)|Dragon Harald Fairhair]]'' is the largest longship built in modern times at {{convert|35|m|ft|abbr=in}}. The ship is not a replica of any specific original longship, but was built by authentic construction methods. It was constructed in [[Haugesund, Norway]] and launched in 2012.
* The ''[[Íslendingur|Íslendingur (Icelander)]]'' is a {{convert|22|m|ft|abbr=in|adj=on}} replica of the Gokstad ship that was built using traditional building techniques. In 2000, it was sailed from Iceland to [[L'Anse aux Meadows]] in [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], to participate in the 1000th anniversary of [[Leif Erikson]]'s discovery of [[Americas|America]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Swenson|first=Allan A.|title=Viking Are Saling Again to rediscover the New World|url=http://www.vikingart.com/Articles/AlSv_Sailagain.htm|work=Viking Art|publisher=Olaf Oden Art & Design|access-date=5 October 2013|archive-date=7 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207183518/http://vikingart.com/Articles/AlSv_Sailagain.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''[[Munin (Viking ship)|The Munin]]'' is a half-sized replica of the Gokstad ship. Berthed at the [[Vancouver Maritime Museum]], built at the Scandinavian Community Centre, [[Burnaby]], British Columbia and launched in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Munin – Vancouver's Viking longboat|url=http://vikingship.ca|publisher=Viking Boat Association|access-date=4 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116063023/http://vikingship.ca/|archive-date=16 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Scandinavian Community Centre|url=http://scandinaviancentre.org//|website=Scandinaviancentre.org|access-date=4 January 2016|archive-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101155820/http://scandinaviancentre.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The [[Myklebust Ship]] is a {{cvt|30|m|ft|sigfig=1}} replica of the original ship of the same name found in [[Nordfjordeid]], Norway. The replica is in the [[Sagastad]] knowledge center, and is the largest replica based on an original find. The replica was christened in 2019, as part of the opening of Sagastad.