Light Longship

Several centuries ago, northern shipbuilders developed a new technique of hullbuilding in which the planks of the hull overlapped each other. They produced light, strong warships with fine lines that could be built quickly but were still seaworthy enough for the harsh northern ocean. This allowed peoples like the Nords, the Vlandians and others to range far from their homelands, trading, raiding, or fighting as mercenaries. The light longship, known to the Nords as the snekkja or snake, is the smallest of these vessels, the kind that might be outfitted by a lone band of raiders, or cover the flanks of a jarl’s fleet.