When did Scandinavian countries stop using Viking-style longships? Why?

by 124876720

I'm also curious about how Viking longships fared in the winter storms of the North Sea and Bay of Biscay. Would the Norse just not bother sailing in the winter?

Bodark43

Perhaps someone else will know exactly when. But why is essentially the question as to why clinker or lapstrake-planked ships ( with the planks overlapping on the sides) were replaced with carvel-planked ships ( with flush-fitted planks) in Europe in the medieval period. Lapstrake boats could and can be made extremely light- which means they don't sink deeply into the water and so are good for rowing. They have some flexibility, which can be helpful in rolling waves. They are more straightforward to construct, lacking the heavy frames, the carefully-fitted planking and the elaborate caulking of carvel-planked boats. But they are limited in a couple of respects. They can't be built very big and very long and very deep, so they can't carry as much cargo, and the same low freeboard that makes rowing easy also makes it easy for water to come in over the sides in a rough sea. Lastly, they are not stiff enough to handle the stress of a full sail rig: and big boats need sails, since they are hard to row. So, TL:DR , when boats got big, they had to stop being like Viking longships.

Tendy777

Viking Longships were incredibly efficient for their time, especially when raiding. They were very light and sleek, which allowed for quick acceleration and relatively high speeds for the time. By far the most advantageous aspect was that they could travel in very shallow waters, even managing to travel up rivers, as they did during their raids on Paris and Russia. As raiding became less common among Scandinavians, and technology in Europe advanced, they slowly adopted new shipbuilding techniques. This was a slow process, and so the change would not have happened at once, however it is generally believed that traditional Viking longships fell out of use somewhere around the 13th century.

When it comes to weather, the Longships were capable of withstanding a beating, but were relatively fragile in comparison with later medieval ships. The Vikings would certainly not be very comfortable during storms; instead of building large rooms and decks, it is believed they usually resorted to setting up a canvas or some sort of tent over the crew when the rain set in. They could handle storms fairly well, but their lightness could become a problem. There are numerous accounts of Longships becoming lost at sea because of storms; indeed, both Greenland and the Americas were discovered by Norsemen caught in storms.