TedEd: What was so special about Viking ships?

A TedEd by Jan Bill

The Vikings had few of the typical markers of successful civilizations. They had no centralized government or money and came from one of the most inhospitable places on Earth in Scandanavia. Their secret? Ships. Although it began as a typical hollowed out canoe, the Viking longship became one of the greatest in the world. They had always used ships because the mountainous terrain and dense forests of Scandanavia made overland travel difficult. However, there were plenty of waterways to travel on. The first log boats began their evolution when planks were added to the base in the clinker, or "lapstrake" technique in which the planks are overlapped and were connected at their edges. Some Scandanavians also served in the Roman army and brought back the technology of Roman war and merchant ships. The log bottom was abandoned for a keel plank, an interior framework was added with the use of nails, and the oars were fastened. Still, their ships were light because they depended on a strong shell rather than the interior. They also didn't have any sails because those were expensive and unnecessary at that point. However, after the collapse of the Roman empire, trade routes were extended to Scandanavia, and chieftains needed sailing ships to effectively control these money-making routes. So by the 700's, sails were added to go further and faster. By the end of the 9th century, the Viking ship most people know today was created. These longships could land on beaches and go upriver, and there were smaller and larger versions for various amounts of cargo on trade expeditions. With these new innovations, the Vikings traveled where no one from Europe had ever gone - North America.