Posted on 07/13/2007 7:40:37 AM PDT by WesternCulture
A replica Viking ship has set sail for Dublin from the Danish port of Roskilde. It is currently crossing the North Sea, in an attempt to recreate the voyages undertaken by early Norsemen. The volunteer crew on the 30m-long (100ft) Sea Stallion from Glendalough are recording their experiences on the journey.
Bad weather is already proving a major challenge. Like the vikings the crew have no shelter from the weather, no cleaning facilities and no lavatories.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Good luck with your "recreation" when you can't recreate the environmental condtions.
What made the original voyages rewarding was the rape and pillage they anticipated.
“What made the original voyages rewarding was the rape and pillage they anticipated.”
- That is true only to a limited extent.
Many Viking voyages were about colonizing new land, doing trade or more systematic war efforts than sheer raids.
I too, was wondering if they were going to burn the place to the ground upon arrival.
And the cameraderie of men at sea, singing Nordic shanties/sagas:
Spam, spam, spam, spam.
Spam, spam, spam, spam.
Spam!
Wonderful Spam!
“I too, was wondering if they were going to burn the place to the ground upon arrival.”
- I guess they won’t go berserk, but I expect them to celebrate like true Vikings. When Scandinavians drink, they often drink a lot.
I know, I’m from Sweden.
It’s a pity they had to let women on board.
And my favorite boyhood movie, "The Vikings" starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis was on the RETRO channel last night.
The best scene was Douglas throwing an axe trying to cut off an adultresses pigtails.
“It’s a pity they had to let women on board.”
- I agree. It’s always risky having women aboard. For instance, just think of what happened to Titanic in 1912..
And both Space Shuttles that blew up had women on board.
“- What’s the difference between a terrorist group and a bunch of rabid feminists with PMS?
- You can negotiate with the terrorists.”
I’d have to go with the scene dealing with the drama of whether Ernest Borgnine gets to go to Valhalla or not.
the crew have no shelter from the weather, no cleaning facilities and no lavatories.
No lavatories. With women aboard - I rather doubt this was the case with the original Vikings, they didn’t have unisex liberalism back then - I suspect there is more to see than just the scenery.
The Vikings had women on board all the time, but usually on the return voyage as part of the booty.
The Vikings raided when they could and traded when they had to. It's cheaper to steal something than trade for it.
More fun too.
“they didn’t have unisex liberalism back then”
- Those were the days!
They didn’t use longships for trading either - they used a knarr - http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/v_knarr.htm
The longships were warships and raiders designed to move quickly and slip over port-protecting sandbars without the need for a local pilot - I think they only drew about 3 feet of water which isn;t much considering how long they were.
“It’s cheaper to steal something than trade for it.”
- Only in the short term perspective.
The ideal is the situation we’re experiencing today; most parts of the world working hard and profiting from competing as well as doing trade with each other.
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