The knarr was the workhorse of Viking seafaring, a merchant ship designed to carry goods and people across long distances. Unlike the longship, which was built for speed and raiding, the knarr had a broader and deeper hull, making it stable in the open ocean. Built with the clinker method, where overlapping oak planks were riveted together, the knarr could withstand harsh seas. Measuring about 16 meters in length, it could haul up to 30 tons of cargo while requiring only a small crew, thanks to its sail and sturdy construction. The knarr was central to Viking expansion. It carried wool, furs, timber, ivory, honey, and weapons along routes that stretched from the Baltic and North Atlantic to the Mediterranean and beyond. More than trade, these ships sustained settlements. They transported livestock, tools, and supplies to Iceland, Greenland, and Vinland. Without the knarr, the Norse push westward would have been impossible. Sagas like those of the Greenlanders and Erik the Red recall these journeys, and archaeological finds such as L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland confirmed their reality. The settlement was possible only because ships like the knarr brought the essentials of life across the sea. In addition to colonization, knarrs were vital for trade. They moved goods through the interconnected network of Viking commerce, where rivers and seas served as highways linking Scandinavia with the British Isles, continental Europe, and even distant markets in Asia. In the Baltic, trade carried on year-round, by ship in summer and by sled in winter. Fish, furs, and foodstuffs became staples of this exchange. By making such trade routes possible, the knarr not only expanded Viking influence abroad but also tied together their own world at home. The ship’s legacy carried into modern times. In 1997, W. Hodding Carter IV oversaw the reconstruction of a knarr based on historical evidence. The following year, he and his crew sailed it from Greenland to Newfoundland, retracing Viking voyages. Their experience showed both the strengths and limits of the ship: it handled rough seas but could not sail close to the wind. That experiment reaffirmed the knarr’s role as a reliable cargo ship that had once carried Viking goods, families, and hopes across the Atlantic.

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Knarr