Knarr

{{short description|Type of Norse merchant ship used by the Vikings}} {{about|the Norse merchant ship|the modern yacht|Knarr (keelboat)}}

[[File:Vidfamne2.JPG|thumb|Vidfamne, a replica of the Äskekärr knarr from Sweden]] [[File:Modell Knorr.jpg|thumb|Model of a knarr in the Hedeby Viking Museum in Germany]]

'''Knarr''' ({{langx|non|knarr}}; {{langx|ang|cnearr}}, ''cnear''; {{langx|goh|gnarren}}) were the Norse merchant and cargo ships of the Viking Age, used by Vikings for long sea voyages and during the Viking expansion. While the name etymologically suggests that it was used as a warship at times, the types from the latter half of the Viking Age were built as work boats for handling cargo; the hull of a common knarr was wider, deeper and shorter than a longship, and could take more cargo and be operated by smaller crews.

The knarr was primarily used to transport trading goods like walrus ivory, wool, timber, wheat, furs and pelts, armour, slaves, honey, and weapons. It was also used to supply food, drink, weapons and armour to warriors and traders along their journeys across the Baltic, the Mediterranean and other seas. Knarrs routinely crossed the North Atlantic carrying livestock such as sheep and horses, and stores to Norse settlements in Iceland, Greenland and Vinland as well as trading goods to trading posts in the British Isles, Continental Europe and possibly the Middle East. The knarr was constructed using the same clinker-built method as longships, karves, and faerings.<ref name="Friedman"/>

== Etymology == thumb|Potential early knarr with "knurls" on the stems. The etymology of {{lang|non|knarr}} is unknown, but it is speculated to stem from {{lang|non|knǫrr}} ("knurl, gnarl"), referencing a ship with "swirls" on the stems, akin to the Oseberg ship and many ships on picture stones. Another theory connects it with the sound of creaking bords (Nordic languages: ''knarr'', {{langx|de|Knarr}}).

Descendants include: older {{langx|da|knar}}, ''knaar'', {{langx|fo|knörrur}}, {{langx|is|knörr}}, dialectal {{langx|no|knurr}}, dialectal {{langx|sv|knorr}}, ''knorre'', ''knore'', ''knor'', ''knarr'', being a word for a kind of small wooden rowing- or sailing boat, otherwise known as {{ill|eka (boat)|lt=eka|sv|eka}}.<ref name="knorr"/> The word also appears in Old English as {{lang|ang|cnearr}} or ''cnear'', referencing the Norse ships, and in Old High German as {{lang|goh|gnarren}}, meaning "ship".<ref name="knorr"/>

== Construction == [[File:Äskekärr ship model (cropped).jpg|thumb|Modell of the hull of the Äskekärr knarr found in Äskekärr, Sweden]] Oak, which was widely available in southern Scandinavia, was extraordinarily strong and flexible and was most commonly used to construct the knarr.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winroth |first=Anders |title=The Age of the Vikings |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2014 |page=76}}</ref> Its oak frame was constructed much deeper which, when paired with a wider body, created a stable merchant ship. This adaptation allowed it to sail smoothly as well as helped it disband the harshest of ocean waves. Furthermore, the Vikings riveted overlapping planks to the hull, creating the clinker-hull which better suited it for rough waters.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nordeide |first=Sæbjørg Walaker |date=2020 |title=At the Threshold of the Viking Age |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X19305449 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science|volume=29 |doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102192 |hdl=1956/22938 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Thus, it was around 16 meters long (53 feet) and could carry up to 30 tons (60,000 lbs) of cargo. The final change was the implementation of the sail into Viking ship making. Due to adding sails to the knarr, it was a low maintenance ship, only needing a crew of six to manage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Unger |first=Richard |title=The Archaeology of Ships: Ships of the Vikings |publisher=Archeological Institute of America |year=1982 |location=New York |page=26}}</ref>

In 1997, W. Hodding Carter IV had a knarr reconstructed based on historic designs, and sailed it from Greenland to Newfoundland in 1998 with a crew of nine. They found that the traditional steering oar, based on two partial examples, had to be modified by reinforcing the hull attachment and tuning the balance to achieve a controllable and durable vessel. The ship could not sail to windward.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carter |first=W. Hodding |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm43999968 |title=A Viking voyage: in which an unlikely crew attempts an epic journey to the New World |date=2000 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=978-0-345-42003-9 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=ocm43999968}}</ref> The ship is now [https://www.norstead.ca/main.asp?nav=showEvent&eid=yoUnXyihJj housed] in a shed in Norstead.

== Other Norse cargo ships == Knarr was only one name for a variety of Norse cargo ships. Some other types are:

=== Byrding{{anchor|Byrding}} === [[File:Aluett.JPG|thumb|Replica of a mid 13th century ''byrding'' found in Kalmar, Sweden, featuring a sternpost-rudder instead of a Viking Age steering oar.]] ''Byrding'' ({{langx|non|byrðingr}}; Old Gutnish: ''byrþinger''; {{langx|sv|börding}}; {{langx|gml|bordink}}, ''bordinge''; {{langx|nl|bording}}) was a smaller knarr, specifically built for handling cargo.<ref name="Ohlmarks"/><ref name="byrding"/> The name probably stem from the same root as "burden", and means "carrier", in the sense of 'cargo ship' (that which carries a burden/cargo).<ref name="byrding"/> Another possibility is an etymology to "board" (compare {{langx|sv|trebörding}}, "three-boarder", ''fembörding'', "five-boarder"), and thus maybe an old word for clinker ship.

=== Dromond === {{main|Dromon}} ''Dromond'' ({{langx|non|dromund}}; {{langx|enm|dromond}}) was a name for a really big cargo ship with high sides for mediterranean voyages.<ref name="Ohlmarks"/> The name is derived from the Greek ship type {{lang|grc|δρόμων}} (''dromōn'') and was a term that continued into the Middle Ages. The Norse probably got this term from the Byzantine Empire through their various contacts.

=== Karve === {{main|Karve (ship)}} [[File:Gokstad Ship Side View.JPG|thumb|The Gokstad ship, an assumed karve. Note the raised sides.]]

''Karve'' or ''karvi'' ({{langx|non|karfi}}; Old Swedish: ''karve''; {{langx|orv|корабль}}, ''korablĭ'') was a multi-purpose workboat with high sides and a broad hull, and was partially a type of longship.<ref name="Ohlmarks"/><ref name="ay-avebury"/>

=== Kogg{{anchor|Kogg}} === {{main|Cog (ship)}} {{redirect|Kogg|the TV station|KOGG}} [[File:Lübeck city seal 1223.png|thumb|The 1223 seal of Lübeck, one of the leading cities of the Hanseatic League, depicting a Viking Age cog, with side rudder and curved stem and stern posts.]]

The ''cog'' or ''kogg'' ({{langx|non|koggr}}; Old Swedish: ''kogger''; {{langx|goh|coccho}}, {{langx|gmh|cocke}}; {{langx|gml|kogge}}; {{langx|dum|kogghe}}; {{langx|enm|cogge}}) of the Viking Age were not built akin to the later Medieval cogs, but rather according to the period Norse shipbuilding tradition with a fore and aft stem. They are described as wide and round-bowed with high-sides.<ref name="Ohlmarks"/>

== Impact == Within the few written Viking records, the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red tell an in-depth story of the Viking journey and discovery of Vinland, nowadays Newfoundland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hermannsson |first=Halldor |title=The Vinland Sagas |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1944 |pages=43}}</ref> These adventures were passed down verbally over hundreds of years until they were finally written down by an unnamed author around the 13th century. In 1960, explorer Helge Ingstad and his wife Anne Stine Ingstad, an archaeologist, used an array of tools such as the sagas and maps to discover a Viking settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Helge, Anne Stine |first=Ingstad |title=The Viking Discovery of America |publisher=Checkmark Books |year=2001 |pages=155}}</ref> This revolutionary discovery solidified that the Vikings had made it to North America, proving the sagas held a degree of truth. Today, this area is still being investigated and there have been even more great discoveries with the use of new fieldwork technology.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ledger |first=Paul |date=2019 |title=New Horizons at L'Anse aux Meadows |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26848124 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=116 |issue=31 |pages=15341–15343 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1907986116 |doi-access=free |jstor=26848124 |bibcode=2019PNAS..11615341L |hdl=2164/13524 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The knarr played a vital role during the Viking settlement at Vinland because it was one of the only ships that was able to transfer the cargo necessary to start a settlement. Thus, the knarr would have carried food, tools, livestock, and much more to this new world. Not only did it aid the settlements at Vinland but the knarr would also have carried cargo to other Norse settlements such as those at Greenland and Iceland.

=== Trade === Outside of the realm of discovery and settlement, the knarr ships also would have taken part in trade routes across the Viking world. From the Baltic to the North Atlantic, Viking trade routes were intricate and commonly travelled. In the Baltic, trade was possible all year, in the warm months by boat and in the winter by foot or sled.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marika |first=Magi |title=The Viking Eastern Baltic |publisher=ARC Humanities Press |year=2019 |pages=29}}</ref> These trade routes allowed the Vikings to trade with an array of merchants from Europe to Asia. Due to the Vikings preferring to trade through rivers and seas, the knarr was a perfect candidate as it was small enough to fit most rivers most waterways. The sagas tell much of Viking travel and trade throughout the North Atlantic which furthers the idea that the knarr was an essential part of Viking culture. Trade not only connected the Vikings to the world around them but also helped their interconnectedness as a culture. Among fur, food, weapons, and more, fish trade was essential in the development of North Atlantic trade routes, with the help of the knarr.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dufeu |first=Val |title=Fish Trade in Medieval North Atlantic Societies |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |year=2018 |pages=143–145}}</ref>

== Excavation - ''Skuldelev 1'' == [[File:Viking ship, deliberately sunk ca. 1070; Roskilde Viking Ship Museum, Denmark (8) (35563797314).jpg|thumb|Skuldelev 1, a knarr found in Skuldelev, Denmark]] In Skuldelev, Denmark in 1962, excavation began on ship wreckage that had been sitting in shallow water for centuries. Although it had been discovered years prior, the legend stated that it was the sunken ship of Queen Margaret I of Denmark, dating to the 15th century. However, the excavation proved that there were five Viking ships, none that were Queen Margarets. With a total of five sunken ships, this excavation became the first discovery of a knarr, and earned it the name ''Skuldelev 1''. Excavation determined these boats were filled with rocks and sunk purposely to block the passageway from intruders, around the 11th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olsen |first=Olaf |title=Five Viking Ships from Roskilde Fjord |publisher=National Museum |year=1978 |location=Copenhagen}}</ref> Some scholars argue that the discovery of Skuldelev 1 does not mean each knarr matched its description. However, many historians agree that all knarrs were likely of similar size. It is estimated to have been about 16 meters long and with the ability to carry upwards of 30 tons. Currently, the Skuldelev ships reside in the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morten |first=Ravn |title=Viking-Age War Fleets |publisher=Viking Ship Museum |year=2016 |location=Roskilde}}</ref>

== Knarr finds == * Skuldelev 1 * Äskekärr ship

== See also == * Medieval ships

== References == <references> <ref name="knorr">{{cite web |url=https://www.saob.se/artikel/?unik=K_1527-0279.E909&pz=3 |title=knorr sbst.6 |access-date=2025-09-27 |website=saob.se |publisher=Swedish Academy}}</ref> <ref name="byrding">{{cite web |url=https://www.saob.se/artikel/?seek=byrding&pz=1 |title=börding sbst. |access-date=2025-09-27 |website=saob.se |publisher=Swedish Academy}}</ref> <ref name="Ohlmarks">{{cite book |title=Fornnordiskt lexikon |last=Ohlmarks |first=Åke |year=1995 |page=301}}{{LIBRIS|7422122}}</ref> <ref name="Friedman">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kkQrDwAAQBAJ&q=knarr+ship&pg=PA322 |title=Routledge Revivals: Trade, Travel and Exploration in the Middle Ages (2000): An Encyclopedia |last1=Friedman|first1=John Block |last2=Figg |first2=Kristen Mossler |date=2017-07-05 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781351661324 |pages=322 |language=en}}</ref> <ref name="ay-avebury">{{cite web |url=http://ay-avebury.soton.ac.uk/Prospectus/CMA/HistShip/shlect77.htm |title=History and Archaeology of the Ship |accessdate=2025-09-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901032541/http://ay-avebury.soton.ac.uk/Prospectus/CMA/HistShip/shlect77.htm |archivedate=September 1, 2009 }}</ref> </references>

== Other sources == * Greenhill, Basil (1976) ''Archaeology of the Boat'' (London: Adam and Charles Black Publishers Ltd) {{ISBN|978-0-7136-1645-3}} * Harrison, Mark (2006) ''The Vikings, Voyagers of Discovery and Plunder'' (Osprey Publishing) {{ISBN|978-1-84603-340-7}} * Crumlin-Pedersen, Ole (1997) ''Viking-Age Ships and Shipbuilding in Hedeby'' (Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde) {{ISBN|978-87-85180-30-8}}

== External links == {{commons category|Knarr}} *[https://sciencenordic.com/denmark-greenland-science-special-society--culture/replica-viking-ship-will-recreate-norse-voyages-in-greenland/1433882 Replica Viking ship will recreate Norse voyages in Greenland] *[http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/ Roskilde Viking Ship Museum]

{{Sailing Vessels and Rigs}}

Category:Viking ships Category:Merchant sailing ship types Category:Tall ships