Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: What was the largest Viking ship?
Draken Harald Hårfagre () is a large Viking longship built in the municipality of Haugesund, Norway. "Draken Harald Hårfagre" brings the seafaring qualities of a warship from the old Norse sagas to life. It is a ship that combines ocean-crossing sailing capabilities with a warship's use of oars.
The earliest recorded Viking raids in Ireland occurred in 795. Over time, these raids increased in intensity, and they overwintered in Ireland for the first time in 840–841. Later in 841 a longphort was constructed at Áth Cliath (Irish for "hurdled ford"), a site which would later develop into the city of Dublin. Longphorts were also established at other sites around Ireland, some of which developed into larger Viking settlements over time. The Viking population in Ireland was boosted in 851 with the arrival of a large group known as "dark foreigners" – a contentious term usually considered to mean the newly arrived Vikings, as opposed to the "fair foreigners", i.e. the Viking population which was resident in arrival prior to this influx. A kingdom in Viking Scotland was established by the mid ninth-century, and it exerted control over some of the Vikings in Ireland. By 853 a separate kingdom of Dublin had been set up which claimed control over all the Vikings in Ireland.
The Docks brought with them many associated industries, such as flour and sugar processing, and also ship building. On 31 January 1858 the largest ship of that time, the SS "Great Eastern" designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was launched from the yard of Messrs Scott, Russell & Co, of Millwall. The length was too big for the river so the ship had to be launched sideways. Due to the technical difficulties of the launch this was the last big ship to be built on the Island and the industry fell into a decline. However, parts of the launching slipway and plate works have been preserved in situ and may be seen close to Masthouse Terrace Pier.
The earliest recorded Viking raids in Ireland occurred in 795. Over time, these raids increased in intensity, and they overwintered in Ireland for the first time in 840–841. Later in 841 a longphort was constructed at Áth Cliath (Irish for "hurdled ford"), a site which would later develop into the city of Dublin. Longphorts were also established at other sites around Ireland, some of which developed into larger Viking settlements over time. The Viking population in Ireland was boosted in 851 with the arrival of a large group known as "dark foreigners" – a contentious term usually considered to mean the newly arrived Vikings, as opposed to the "fair foreigners", i.e. the Viking population which was resident in arrival prior to this influx. A kingdom in Viking Scotland was established by the mid ninth-century, and it exerted control over some of the Vikings in Ireland. By 853 a separate kingdom of Dublin had been set up which claimed control over all the Vikings in Ireland.
The Mississippi Queen was the second-largest paddle wheel driven river steamboat ever built, second only to the larger "American Queen". The ship was the largest such steamboat when she was built in 1976 by the Delta Queen Steamboat Company at Jeffboat in Indiana and was a seven-deck recreation of a classic Mississippi riverboat. She was later owned by the Majestic America Line. The "Mississippi Queen" had 206 state rooms for a capacity of 412 guests and a crew of 157. It was 116 meters (382 ft) long, 21 meters (68 ft) wide, and displaces 3,709 metric tonnes (3,364 tons).
The first ship, ("Арктика" – Arctic), was laid down in November 2013 and is expected to enter service in 2019. Launched on 16 June 2016, the ship will be the world's largest and the most powerful icebreaker surpassing the "50 Let Pobedy".
The second ship of this class, "Sibir" – ("Сибирь" – Siberia), was laid down on 26 May 2015 at Baltic Shipyard. On 1 July 2016, the hull of "Sibir", one third of the ship and weighing 3,500 t, was shifted to the place of the launched "Arktika" icebreaker, where construction will be completed. The shift made place for the start of the construction of the hull of the icebreaker "Ural" – ("Урал" – Ural). Construction of the Ural started on 25 July 2016.
Vikings were members of tribes, originally from Scandinavia, of Norse ancestry, who gained a reputation for their raids and piracy in many parts of Europe, especially England, Ireland, and Frankish territories. The term "Viking Age" refers to the period roughly from 793 AD to the late 11th century in Europe. In this era Viking activity started with raids on Christian lands in England and eventually expanded to mainland Europe, including parts of present-day Russia. While maritime battles were rare, Viking bands proved very successful in raiding coastal towns and monasteries due to their efficient warships, and intimidating war tactics, skillful hand-to-hand combat, and fearlessness. What started as Viking raids on small towns transformed into the establishment of important agricultural spaces and commercial trading-hubs across Europe through rudimentary colonization. Vikings' tactics in warfare gave them an enormous advantage in successfully raiding (and later colonizing), despite their small population in comparison to that of their enemies.
The First Viking Age in Ireland began in 795, when Vikings began carrying out hit-and-run raids on Gaelic Irish coastal settlements. Over the following decades the raiding parties became bigger and better organized; inland settlements were targeted as well as coastal ones; and the raiders built naval encampments known as longphorts to allow them to remain in Ireland throughout the winter. In the mid 9th century, Viking leader Turgeis or "Thorgest" founded a stronghold at Dublin, plundered Leinster and Meath, and raided other parts of Ireland. He was killed by the High King, Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid, which was followed by several Irish victories against the Vikings and the seizure of Dublin in 849. Shortly after, a new group of Vikings known as the Dubgaill ("dark foreigners") came to Ireland and clashed with the earlier Viking settlers, now called the Finngaill ("fair foreigners"). The wavering fortunes of these three groups and their shifting alliances, together with the shortcomings of contemporary records and the inaccuracy of later accounts, make this period one of the most complicated and least understood in the fledgling city's history. In 853 a Viking warlord called Amlaíb (, possibly Olaf the White) arrived and made himself king of Dublin. He ruled along with his brothers Ímar ("Ívarr", possibly Ivar the Boneless) and Auisle ("Ásl"). For the next fifteen years or so, they used Dublin as their base for a series of campaigns against Irish kingdoms. During these conflicts they briefly allied themselves with several Irish kings. The Dublin Vikings also carried out a number of raids in Britain at this time. The deaths of Ivar (c.873) and Olaf (c.874) were followed by internecine conflict among the Vikings. Although intermittent warfare between the Vikings and the Irish continued, these inner conflicts weakened the Viking colonies and made it easier for the Irish to unite against them. In 902, Cerball mac Muirecáin, king of Leinster, and Máel Findia mac Flannacáin, king of Brega, launched a two-pronged attack on Dublin and drove the Vikings from the city. However, in 914 the Vikings now known as the Uí Ímair (House of Ivar) would return to Ireland, marking the beginning of the Second Viking Age.
Denmark had always threatened Swedish naval dominance in the Baltic Sea, and even during the reign of a tactical genius such as Gustavus Adolphus, the Swedish navy remained somewhat inferior to their southern adversaries. The "Vasa" was built in a response to this, and was the most heavily armed warship of its time. But the "Vasa" did not pass its maiden voyage and sunk in 1628, leaving Sweden without its most powerful vessel and causing financial problems within the naval ministry. No expenses had been spared decorating the warship, and many tonnes of gold and bronze statues were now very difficult to salvage. Instead of relying on a naval power of his own, Gustavus sought to ally with the dominant Protestant naval powers in Europe (namely England and the Dutch Republic). But a strong navy was not considered important by the king – it was on land that the battles against Catholicism would be fought and not in the small Baltic Sea. The concept of "Dominium Maris Baltici" was not a primary goal for Sweden during the Thirty Years' War, as it was overshadowed by the struggle to protect Protestantism. Nevertheless, Sweden did possess a quite powerful naval force compared to most adversaries other than Denmark – the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Holy Roman Empire both had inadequate naval forces to stop a Swedish landing of troops in northern Germany, and only Denmark was granted immunity against this.
The annal-entries of 848–853 can be interpreted in a variety of ways. On one hand, the accounts may be evidence that the Vikings from ' were the earliest Vikings in Ireland, and that these people reasserted themselves in Ireland after a temporary takeover by the '. If correct, Tomrair's demise in 848 may well have been seized upon by the ' early in the 850s, which in turn precipitated a retaliatory response from the King of ' in the form of an 853 invasion to restore hegemony in Ireland. On the other hand, the annal-entries could instead indicate that the ' and the Vikings from ' are identical, and that this group of incomers overcame Vikings previously established in Ireland. In either case, it is possible that the terms ' and ' refer to the order of arrival. As such, the terminology attributed to one group of Vikings—the '—may have been a way of distinguishing an incoming group of Vikings from an earlier-established group—the '.
Research done in the early 1960s by Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist Anne Stine Ingstad, identified a Norse site located at the northern tip of Newfoundland. It has been suggested that this site, known as L'Anse aux Meadows, is "Leifsbúðir". The Ingstads demonstrated that Norsemen had reached America about 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Later archaeological evidence suggests that "Vinland" may have been the areas around the Gulf of St. Lawrence and that the L'Anse aux Meadows site was a ship repair station and waypoint for voyages there. That does not necessarily contradict the identification of L'Anse aux Meadows with "Leifsbúðir" since the two sagas appear to describe "Vinland" as a wider region which included several settlements. The "Saga of Erik the Red" mentions two other settlements in "Vinland": a settlement called "Straumfjǫrðr", which lay beyond "Kjalarnes" promontory and the Wonderstrands, and one called "Hóp", which was located even farther south.
Leif was described as a wise, considerate, and strong man of striking appearance. During his stay in the Hebrides, he fell in love with a noblewoman, Thorgunna, who gave birth to their son Thorgils. Thorgils was later sent to Leif in Greenland, but he did not become popular.
The "Elizabeth II" is a full-size representative 16th-century sailing ship that was designed and named after one of the seven ships used by Sir Walter Raleigh's fleet when he first brought colonists to Roanoke Island in 1587. The ship is a square-rigged bark with three masts, and 69 feet long, 17 feet wide and draws 8 feet of water. Guides dressed in period clothing portray the seamen and colonists who traveled to Roanoke with the fleet.
From AD 839, Viking Varangian mercenaries who were in the service of the Byzantine Empire, notably Harald Sigurdsson, campaigned in North Africa, Jerusalem and other places in the Middle East during the Byzantine-Arab Wars. They interbred with the local population as spoils of warfare or through eventual settling with many Scandinavian Viking men taking Arab or Anatolian women as wives. There is archaeological evidence the Vikings had established contact with the city of Baghdad, at the time the center of the Islamic Empire, and connected with the populace there. Regularly plying the Volga with their trade goods (furs, tusks, seal fat, seal boats and notably female slaves; the one period in the history of the slave-trade when females were priced higher than males), the Vikings were active in the Arab slave trade at the time. These slaves, most often Europeans that were captured from the coasts of Europe or during war periods, and sold to Arabic traders in Al-Andalus and the Emirate of Sicily.
Built in 1856, PS "Skibladner" is the oldest steamship still in operation, serving towns along lake Mjøsa in Norway.
The Humber Wetlands Project which took place between 1992 and 2001 identified numerous prehistoric wetland sites in Holderness, the Hull Valley, the Humberhead Levels and the Vale of York.
A boat found at North Ferriby, near Kingston upon Hull, has been dated as 2030 BC, which makes it the oldest of its kind in western Europe. New scientific research carried out on the remains shows it is at least 4,000 years old. The boat was one of three discovered by amateur archaeologist Ted Wright on the banks of the Humber. Historians knew that the boats were old, but only now do they know how old. New scientific techniques suggest the boat Mr Wright found in 1963 is 500 years older than everyone thought. That means it date backs more than 4,000 years to the early Bronze Age. The Ferriby site was an ideal point of departure for east/west travel along the Humber or as a crossing-point to the south bank. The Ferriby Boats were a means by which ideas, such as the decorative design of pottery, and goods such as Baltic amber and metals could arrive on the Humber shore. It has also been suggested that it may have been used to carry stones to Stonehenge.
The three ships of the class were built in Saint-Nazaire, France at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards. The first modern "megaships" to be built, they also were the first series of cruise ships to include a multi-story atrium with glass elevators. They also had a single deck devoted entirely to cabins with private balconies instead of oceanview cabins. The first ship, the "Sovereign of the Seas" launched in 1988, was the world's largest passenger ship in service, breaking the record held by the (originally designed as an ocean liner. "Sovereign" held this distinction until 1990 when "Norway" succeeded her after being refurbished with the addition of two more decks. In 1991, Royal Caribbean International launched a slightly modified sister ship, the "Monarch of the Seas". In 1992, the line launched its third and final sister ship, the "Majesty of the Seas". These ships were among the largest modern cruise ships to sail during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
During that time, other major cruise lines also followed suit, building ships that included many of the same features and similar dimensions as the "Sovereign" class. Carnival Cruise Lines launched the "Fantasy" class in 1990, comparable in size to the "Sovereign" class and also featuring a multi-story atrium with glass elevators. Princess Cruises also countered by launching two ships in 1990 and 1991 to compete with the "Sovereign" class, the "Crown Princess" and the "Regal Princess". They also featured an atrium and two decks devoted to cabins with private balconies instead of windowed "oceanview" cabins. Since then, newer and larger ships have exceeded the size of the "Sovereign"-class ships. 'They are less than half the size of the "Freedom"-class ships and about a third the size of "Oasis"-class ships.
Steamship generally refers to larger steam-powered ships, usually ocean-going, capable of carrying a (ship's) boat. The engine room, to the right, is a concept drawing during the construction of the ship. The term steam wheeler is archaic and rarely used. In England, "steam packet", after its sailing predecessor, was the usual term; even "steam barge" could be used (Steam tonnage in Lloyd's Register exceeded sailing ships tonnage by 1865). The French transatlantic steamer was probably the last of her type to be equipped with sails, although she never used them. Steamships in turn were overtaken by diesel-driven ships in the second half of the 20th century. Most warships used steam propulsion from the 1860s until the late 20th century
She also had six masts (said to be named after the days of a week – Monday being the fore mast and Saturday the spanker mast), providing space for of sails (7 gaff and max. 9 (usually 4) square sails), rigged similar to a topsail schooner with a main gaff sail (fore-and-aft sail) on each mast, one "jib" on the fore mast and three square sails on masts no. 2 and no. 3 (Tuesday & Wednesday); for a time mast no. 4 was also fitted with three yards. In later years, some of the yards were removed. According to some sources she would have carried . This amount of canvas is obviously too much for seven fore-and-aft sails and max. 9 square sails. This (larger) figure of sail area lies only a few square metres below that the famous Flying P-Liner "Preußen" carried – with her five full-rigged masts of 30 square sails and a lot of stay sails. Setting sails turned out to be unusable at the same time as the paddles and screw were under steam, because the hot exhaust from the five (later four) funnels would set them on fire. Her maximum speed was 24 km/h (13 knots).
In 2006, the Guinness Book of World Records certified Katlinel and Les Hartness of California as having the largest hand-carved wooden rocking horse on record. This rocking horse was built in 2000 and is 7 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 1,200 pounds. It can be seen at renaissance faires, faerie festivals, and at private parties and events where up to 3 adults or 4-5 children can ride it together at one time. According to Les and Katlinel, the youngest rider has been six weeks old and the oldest, 94 years.
Swedish pre-history ends around 800 CE, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed when Sweden became the last Norse country to adopt Christianity. Scandinavia was formally Christianized by 1100 AD. The period 1050 to 1350 – when the Black Death struck Europe – is considered the Older Middle Ages. The Kalmar Union between the Scandinavian countries was established in 1397 and lasted until King Gustav Vasa ended it upon seizing power. The period 1350 to 1523 – when king Gustav Vasa, who led the unification of Sweden, was crowned – is considered the Younger Middle Ages.
In the year 795 Vikings (probably of Norwegian origin) raided islands off the coast of Ireland for the first time. This was the beginning of a new phase of Irish history, which saw many native communities – particularly ecclesiastical ones – relocate themselves on the continent, or further afield in places like Iceland and the Faroe Islands, to escape the pagan marauders. For about two decades the invaders confined their activities to coastal settlements; raiding parties were generally small and there is no evidence that any of them wintered in Ireland during this early phase of "hit-and-run" activity. Typically the Vikings would arrive at a settlement without warning, plunder what goods and people they could – the people were usually sold as slaves, though notable personages were often held for ransom – before retreating to their Scandinavian or British bases. This period lasted from 795 until 813, after which there occurred a hiatus of eight years.
It is now thought that these early raids were launched directly from southwest Norway, and that during the period of calm (814–820) the Norwegian Vikings were occupied in northern Britain, laying the foundations of a new kingdom referred to in Irish sources as Laithlind (later Lochlainn). Laithlind was once thought to be in Norway but it is now identified with Viking settlements in the British Isles, especially those in Scotland and the Isle of Man.
The Gokstad Ship, Norway's largest preserved Viking ship, was discovered during an excavation at Gokstad Mound in 1880. The Vikings first settled here due to its speedy route from Sandefjord and along the coast. Viking settlements and grave sites dating to the 1400s have been discovered in Sandefjord.
Havhingsten fra Glendalough ("The Sea Stallion from Glendalough" or just "Sea Stallion") is a reconstruction of "Skuldelev 2", one of the Skuldelev ships and the second-largest Viking longship ever to be found. The original vessel was built in the vicinity of Dublin around 1042, using oak from Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland, hence the ship's name. The reconstruction was built in Denmark at the shipyard of the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde between 2000 and 2004 and is used for historical research purposes.
SS "Viking" was a wooden-hulled sealing ship made famous by its role in the 1931 film "The Viking". During her use in the seal hunt in Newfoundland, the ship was commissioned by the film crew. During production, an explosion destroyed the ship, resulting in the largest loss of life of a film production crew in film history.
In 1881, "Viking" was built by the Nylands Shipyard at Christiania, Norway, the same location where another famous Newfoundland vessel, "Southern Cross", was constructed. "Viking" was a vessel of 310 gross tons and equipped with a auxiliary engine. She was launched in 1882 from the Nylands Shipyard.
Expansion of Viking settlements in the 9th and 10th centuries was due to exploration of rivers. The ships used by these Norsemen were essential to this exploration and allowed expansion and colonization. The traditional Viking ship is believed to be a "Gokstad" ship. It was close to 28 meters long and five meters wide. These long narrow ships could accommodate 50–60 seamen who powered the ship by rowing. The ships were built from strong oak, and split with axes so the grain in between the ship's planks meshed together. Pine was also a material that was used to build ships. Typically, in western and northern Norway, Vikings would use pine to build their ships, but it would depend on the areas's resources. There was a relatively short mast that was used for gathering speed rather than steering, which was instead accomplished with a single rudder in the stern. These boats are known to draft close to a meter of water. Viking longships were built with speed and resilience in mind, which allowed Norse builders to craft strong yet elegant ships. This can also relate to early "hit-and-run" Viking raid tactics, which they needed fast ships to execute with. Later adaptations of these "long ships" were built with a deeper hull for transporting goods, but what they added in hull depth and durability they sacrificed in speed and mobility.