[Regia-NA] Viking naval warfare

[Seathrun MagAoinghouis]

The book Caithreim Cellachain Chaisil mentions a battle between the Irish M=
unster fleet against the Viking fleet off of Dundalk. It mentions The Irish=
 tossing hemp ropes over the viking prows to stop them from getting away an=
d that the Danes returned the favor with chains. This was to stop ships fro=
m leaving and to allow close quarters fighting. The authentisity of this so=
urce is indoubt for the 10th cent which is is supposed to be about. It was =
writen in the 12 th cent (1123-38). But the idea seems feasible. This parti=
cular battle may not have taken place but the people of that time would hav=
e known the techniques in it. The Military History of Ireland from Cambridg=
e University Press has some good Hiberno Norse info. isbn 0 521 62989 6 pb =
 or 0 521 41599 3 hard back. 1996  by Bartlett and Jeffrey from U dublin an=
d U Ulster Joranstown. Vikings The North Atlantic Saga on page 91 states se=
veral ships were lashed together  to make a stable platform. Smithsonian Pr=
ess  Fitshugh and Ward 2000 isbn 1 56098 995 5. It also states that the ram=
 was not used in the north. Of course we have all seen the Osprey pics lol.

For what its worth

Seathrun


--- "Brett W. McCoy" <bmccoy@chapelperilous.net> wrote:
>A discussion arose the other night amongst some compatriots over whether=
=20
>the Vikings had ever fought battles from their longships, part of the=20
>question being how they might have rowed and battled at the same time,=20
>and part of the question being whether or not this ever happened in the=20
>first place (making the first question irrelevant).
>
>Tom provided some interesting info this morning from Snorri Sturluson=20
>about King Harald Sigurdsson's battle on the Nissa River.  Is there any=20
>other written evidence that the Vikings ever did combat from their ships?
>
>-- Brett
>
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