Comments on: The Longship

The Longship

Chrischris — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:34:17 -0800

In Tonsberg, Norway, they are building a Viking Ship. By hand, using the same tools and processes the vikings used.

One of Britian's leading craft-heritage advocates, Robin Wood, has gone to help, and is blogging his experience.

By: griphus

griphus — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:37:45 -0800

Same proccesses? I dunno, those people look pretty sober to me.

By: Harald74

Harald74 — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:38:30 -0800

I would like English coastal cities to note that this is strictly for educational purposes. No need to lock up your valuables or hide away your maidens. No sireee....

By: Capt. Renault

Capt. Renault — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:41:39 -0800

Awesome. They'll steal the Lindisfarne Gospels yet!

By: fight or flight

fight or flight — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:42:48 -0800

Awesome! I wonder what kind of loot they'll be carrying. Maybe some iron ore, a few Steel Swords of Frost Resistance.. wait. This is a Skyrim thread, right? Seriously though, this is neat.

By: Sternmeyer

Sternmeyer — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:44:56 -0800

This is awesome!

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:46:42 -0800

I was expecting scruffy bearded dudes in hand-tanned leathers, dammit. Also there should be much quaffing of ales. WHERE IS THE QUAFFING.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:46:57 -0800

If only the Greeks weren't in the midst of a financial crisis. They could build a trireme and we could settle this once and for all.

By: EmpressCallipygos

EmpressCallipygos — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:49:52 -0800

The "click here to volunteer" link seems to be down; I'd love to know more about how to volunteer on-site becuase mother of god would that be an awesome vacation ("What did I do for my week off? Oh, just built a Viking ship, y'know.")

By: nathancaswell

nathancaswell — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:50:27 -0800

this thread is going to lead me to reinstall Civilization, isn't it?

By: bl1nk

bl1nk — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:51:10 -0800

I was rather hoping that this was related to the 2015 Viking Raid of Britain which, frankly, sounds like the sort of viral collision of SCAdians, Burners and Nerf modders that can only occur on the Internet. Now just add drunken sailing in the North Sea for even more hilarity.

By: CheeseDigestsAll

CheeseDigestsAll — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:52:41 -0800

Oops: Earlier replicas of the Oseberg ship have been poor sailers. Ragnar Thorseth's "Dronningen" capsized in a fresh breeze on her maiden voyage after 20 seconds.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:53:18 -0800

Getting the ship into the water has never been simply a matter of shoving her down the bank into the water. Before the Viking were Christian, the launching ceremony of a warship involved we are told a very bloodthirsty human sacrifice and even today we pour a blood substitute over the bow of a ship when she is launched. Champagne is a very new idea, as it used to be red wine .......... We will see how strong the commitment to the original Viking process is when they get to this part.

By: Sourisnoire

Sourisnoire — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:54:41 -0800

Ha! The Oseberg ship is hardly seaworthy. But by all means, have a go if you think you're tough enough.

By: Randwulf

Randwulf — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:55:19 -0800

Ooooooooh! *coughs and deepens voice a 1/2 octave further* ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ!

By: Bulgaroktonos

Bulgaroktonos — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:56:25 -0800

I was expecting scruffy bearded dudes in hand-tanned leathers, dammit. Seriously, I took a college class on Vikings that had people who looked more like Vikings than this and they were constrained by the "don't wear period costumes" social norm that is in effect even at the University of Chicago (most of the time).

By: griphus

griphus — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:59:31 -0800

I am picturing sitting in a class full of bored Norwegian Black Metal dudes, all decked out in corpse paint and gauntlets and shit, absentmindedly carving pentagrams into the table with incredibly elaborate ceremonial knives they bought online for a guy who claims they were tempered in goat blood.

By: griphus

griphus — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:00:00 -0800

...from a guy...

By: infini

infini — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:01:42 -0800

Did Thor Heyerdahl ever look into this previously? I do hope they're successful, I like the idea of attempting to recreate the old techniques.

By: Bulgaroktonos

Bulgaroktonos — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:07:44 -0800

I am picturing sitting in a class full of bored Norwegian Black Metal dudes Actually, the only bored metal dude was Lev, and he mostly limited his absent minded activities to drumming loudly on every available surface, no matter how many times he was supposed to stop. The knife thing wasn't totally out of the question, though, and I did once hear him have a conversation about which specific subgenre of metal some random Icelandic band should be classified as. He did rock a pretty sweet beard, though, so he's definitely in the "looked like a Viking" camp.

By: misteraitch

misteraitch — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:09:43 -0800

Randwulf: that should be ØØØØØØØØØØØØ! (ÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖÖ! is Swedish).

By: griphus

griphus — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:15:45 -0800

Actually, the only bored metal dude was Lev... Growing up, most of my friends were Russian metalheads, so please tell me that this dude was Russian just so I know there's some consistency in this crazy world of ours.

By: villanelles at dawn

villanelles at dawn — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:15:49 -0800

Ø RLY?

By: RedEmma

RedEmma — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:21:51 -0800

Actually, it should be ÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅÅ! ØØØØØØØØØØ sounds sorta like "EHHHHHHH."

By: OHenryPacey

OHenryPacey — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:22:48 -0800

the Robin Wood blog is fascinating, thanks for the find!

By: villanelles at dawn

villanelles at dawn — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:23:30 -0800

Viking cortex deletion reason: øø.

By: OHenryPacey

OHenryPacey — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:25:19 -0800

....should have said 'riveting'.....that blog is....riveting

By: kersplunk

kersplunk — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:42:21 -0800

See also - a Viking ship built in Dublin was found in Roskilde Fjord, they built a replica of it and sailed it back to Dublin.

By: carter

carter — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:42:35 -0800

that blog is....riveting I think you mean 'klinking'? Things like this are really cool.

By: TedW

TedW — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:56:45 -0800

The hammer of the gods will drive their ship to new lands....

By: TedW

TedW — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:57:50 -0800

Also, needs a "ralphwiggumsdreams" tag

By: griphus

griphus — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:13:37 -0800

Why, are they building a metaphorical longship? LET IT BEGIN

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:23:57 -0800

INTERNETS FISTICUFFS

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:25:08 -0800

See also - a Viking ship built in Dublin was found in Roskilde Fjord, they built a replica of it and sailed it back to Dublin. I made a post about that at the time. Not that you feckers appreciated it. *pout* Any road, good to see the men (and women!) of the north thinking outside the box when it comes to models for European economic interaction in these troubled times.

By: AzraelBrown

AzraelBrown — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:33:34 -0800

See also - a Viking ship built in Dublin was found in Roskilde Fjord, they built a replica of it and sailed it back to Dublin. We went even further -- some guy built a viking ship in Minnesota and sailed it to Norway. I can see the museum's roof from my back yard. Interestingly, they had a Norwegian captain, because nordlands are pretty much smaller versions of viking ships and they found a guy capable of handling such a ship.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:34:14 -0800

Also there should be much quaffing of ales. WHERE IS THE QUAFFING. There is no quaffing during the fabrication process. Quaffing while shipbuilding is what got Oddi Sixfingers his name, and you don't want to end up like Oddi Sixfingers, do you, kids?

By: jupturch

jupturch — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:01:19 -0800

As odd as it may seem, you can head out to Geneva, IL and see another viking ship replica that was made for the Columbian Exposition in 189X. This was also built in Norway and then sailed across the north Atlantic (!) w/ a small crew, through some riverways and to Chicago. After the expo, the ship bounced around a few locations in the city and is now housed in essentially a tent in a park in Geneva (although it's dragon themed figurehead is in the special collection at the Museum of Science and Industry, I think). It's seen better days, but there's an organization that's taking care of it and trying to restore it to its former glory. We took a group of kids who are doing a production of Beowulf out there and the docents put on a nice show. Tours are over for the year, but you can go and take a gander April through October. You can support their efforts if you're so inclined.

By: argonauta

argonauta — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:08:18 -0800

Awesome! I wonder what kind of loot they'll be carrying. Lutefisk.

By: infini

infini — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:10:34 -0800

and aquavit

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:14:30 -0800

I should really write to my cousins in Orkney...you know, give them a quick heads up...

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 10:33:03 -0800

Well, the Vikings are having a crappy season. Maybe this back-to-basics approach is just the thing to turn the season around. As if.

By: Kid Charlemagne

Kid Charlemagne — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:22:45 -0800

I'd love to know more about how to volunteer on-site because mother of god would that be an awesome vacation What are you doing in March next year? I know some guys building a 10th century workshop using all traditional tools and techniques. Making stuff out of wood with the tools they tools of 1000 years ago is whee I'm a Viking!

By: infini

infini — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:24:31 -0800

Where?

By: Abiezer

Abiezer — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:01:48 -0800

whee I'm a Viking! Pleasing typo of the day award goes to you, Kid.

By: dd42

dd42 — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:32:57 -0800

If only the Greeks weren't in the midst of a financial crisis. They could build a trireme and we could settle this once and for all. Already done. Let the battle begin!

By: gueneverey

gueneverey — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:02:46 -0800

I wonder what kind of loot they'll be carrying. Maybe some iron ore, a few Steel Swords of Frost Resistance. I am picturing sitting in a class full of bored Norwegian Black Metal dudes Well, the Vikings are having a crappy season. Relevant: Geek, Jock, or Viking

By: RedEmma

RedEmma — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:13:34 -0800

Duluth, MN also has the Leif Erikson Ship, that set sail from Norway in the 1920s, taking two years on the journey. It's been somewhat neglected. The Leif Erikson Ship was built in Korgen, Norway by local boat builders to replicate the type of ship sailed and the route used by the Vikings in their settlement of North America around 997 A.D. The 42 foot vessel was completed in April of 1926. Captain Gerhard Folgaro and his crew of three left Bergen, Norway for North America on May 23rd of that same year. On the voyage to Duluth, the ship stopped at the Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and landed at St. Johns, Newfoundland on July 20, 1926. While crossing the Atlantic, the crew encountered heavy seas of hurricane proportions and became ice-locked near Greenland. After landing in Newfoundland the crew and ship set sail for Boston, Massachusetts and arrived in August of 1926. They had traveled a distance of 6,700 miles, the greatest distance for a ship of its size in modern history, logging 10,000 miles, arriving in Duluth, Minnesota on June 23, 1927 The goal was accomplished, reenacting Leif Erikson's route taken in 997 A.D., proving that the Vikings traveled the Atlantic to North America.

By: unliteral

unliteral — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:24:38 -0800

Maybe the people at Ozark Medieval Fortress should think about bringing forward their schedule.

By: Chrischris

Chrischris — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:35:10 -0800

Duluth, MN also has the Leif Erikson Ship, that set sail from Norway in the 1920s, taking two years on the journey. It's been somewhat neglected. This is very sad, especially since, only 100 miles or so away, Grand Marais, MN is the home of the North House Folk School, who regularly host many of America's premiere traditional woodwrights, blacksmiths, and wood-frame builders for workshops and residencies. Given the opportunity, I imagine many there would absolutely jump at the chance of restoring a traditional clinker-built longship, as well as help in creating an era- and material-appropriate building to house it in.

By: RedEmma

RedEmma — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:14:41 -0800

Yeah, Chrischris. You know.... someone ought to investigate the finances of that non-profit, I think. I hear chatter all the time wondering where the hell the money has gone. The directors are kind of... sketchy.