THE FLEETS OF THE NORTHMEN.
Maritime power of the North—Their huge fleets—Good
harbours—Strategical skill—Size of some of their fleets—Fleets
accompanied by provision ships.
Nothing can give us a greater insight into the maritime power of the
North than the accounts we read, here and there in the Sagas, of the
fleets gathered together for the purpose of war and invasion. The number
of the vessels is quite remarkable, but seeing that the finds
corroborate so much that is told us in the Sagas, there is no reason to
doubt the truthfulness of their statements as regards the magnitude of
the fleets, and the vessels were far from being as small as have been
imagined.
From the Sagas we learn that the aim of every chief was to be powerful
at sea; every bondi was owner of one or more craft. They were born
seamen, but were also trained to fight on land. They surrounded
themselves with warlike retainers, and with these made distant
expeditions to win honour and booty. These men were also soldiers, and
good horsemen. As we see that in every great land battle the warriors
came from all parts of the Northern lands, it must be concluded that the
same took place in regard to their invasions of foreign countries. Only
in a very few instances have we accounts of the Norsemen being defeated
at sea by the fleets of the countries they attacked; even in these rare
instances their combats took place with a very small number of vessels
compared with the powerful fleets of their enemies, who were either
Frisians or their own people who had settled in England.
Fortunately, Frankish and old English chronicles, which are quite
independent of those of the North, help to corroborate the general
truthfulness of the Eddas and Sagas, and from them we have several
accounts of the number of vessels which sailed up the Seine, the Rhine,
the Elbe, and the Weser, or went to England.
The largest fleet that ever met in the North was that which assembled
for the battle of Bravöll; though the number of vessels is not
mentioned, we read that the Sound was covered with vessels. This fleet
reached from Kjöge to Skanör, so that, if the account is trustworthy,
people could walk as on a bridge from Zeeland over the Sound, a distance
of some twenty miles. Sigurd Hring had 2,500 (3,000) ships to oppose
him.[147]
The maritime expeditions of the Northmen to distant lands were
undertaken with a great deal of care and foresight; the men were under
strict discipline, and were attired with the greatest splendour. It
would be a mistaken idea to think that the Northmen started on these
voyages without any previous knowledge of the country they were to
invade, or of the shores where they were going to land, or that they
sailed with no definite object. Their previous knowledge of these
far-off lands was no doubt gained in trading, and it was only after
being thoroughly well acquainted with the geography of the part to be
attacked that they ventured on their invasion.
Many of the places in foreign countries mentioned in the Sagas where the
Norse fleets were safely moored and sheltered against storm, are to this
day good harbours, and if others are no longer so it is because the
shores of those coasts have been subjected to changes which are still
taking place. The geographical positions of the rivers they ascended
were well chosen; they knew what size of vessel to take there, and
though their operations seemed to be detached, we find that their fleets
were in communication with each other, and that their armies could
assist one another in case of need, crush the enemy between the rivers
they had ascended, or between them and the sea. In a word, their tactics
showed considerable boldness and strategical skill, which generally left
them a way of retreat, if necessary, to their vessels or to some island.
Though the Sagas give us a good and vivid idea of the Norse mode of
warfare at sea, they are very incomplete in regard to the description
and details of the land expeditions, and we have to go to the Frankish
chronicles in order to see the manner in which they attacked or besieged
a city. From these we learn that the ships ascended the rivers as far as
possible; if anything stopped the navigation, a canal was made or the
vessels were drawn along the shore, and the obstacle thus passed. The
Norsemen took possession of all the large islands, fortified them, and
wintered there; and there they kept their spoils of war or plunder. They
also brought cavalry in their ships, a fact proved by the Bayeux
tapestry.
It is said that Harald Blátönn (blue tooth) went to Norway with a fleet
of 700 (840) ships.
“Then King Harald summoned a host from his entire kingdom. Hákon jarl
was with him, and Harald Grænski, son of Gudraud Björnsson, and many
other powerful men, who had fled from their estates in Norway on account
of Gunnhild’s sons.
“The King of Denmark sailed from the south into Vikin with 700
ships,[148] and there all the inhabitants came under his rule; and when
he reached Túnsberg, large numbers gathered to him.
“King Harald gave to Hákon jarl all the men who had come to him in
Norway; and made him ruler over the seven fylkis of Rogaland, Hördaland,
Sogn, Firdafylki, Sunnmœri, Raumsdal, Nordmœri”[149] (Olaf Tryggvason,
c. 24, 2 Fms. I.).
Knut the Great had gathered a fleet of 1,200 vessels[150] for an attack
on Norway.
“King Knut called to mind many things with which he charged King Olaf,
as follows: That he captured his nephew Hakon, and let him take oath to
him, and then seized the kingdom and drove him from the land; that he
also took possession of the land which for a long time had been
tributary to the Danish kings; that he had ravaged in the country of
King Knut. So he went east from England with a great host to Denmark,
reached the Limafjord, and thence sailed to Norway with 1,440 ships, for
he had raised a general levy both in Denmark and England. Arriving at
Agdir, he proceeded northward along the coast, and held meetings with
the bœndr; he was acknowledged as king wherever he went, and he did not
stop until he came to Nidaros”[151] (Fagrskinna, c. 104).[152]
When fleets went on distant expeditions, special vessels called
_vistabyrding_ (provision ships) followed them. Butter, the hard bread
still used, dry, smoked, or salted meat, formed the stock of eatables,
and there are many instances where ale and beer are mentioned.
From the Eddas and Sagas we gain an insight into their mode of warfare
at sea. The accounts given of some of their combats are so vivid and
precise, that we could almost imagine ourselves to be eye-witnesses of
those terrific and bloody conflicts which, even to this day, stand
unparalleled in the annals of maritime warfare for the length of their
duration, the fierceness and obstinacy of the attack or defence, the
number of ships or men engaged, and the carnage that took place.
For centuries these people remained undisputed masters of the sea. In
their case, as in that of the ruling nations of to-day, it was their
navy that enabled them to conquer, settle, and colonize other lands. If
we call these men pirates, we must also apply the name to the English,
French, Spaniards, Dutch, &c., because they have taken possession of
countries against the will of the inhabitants, just as in the United
States the land of the Indians has been gradually taken away from them.
Civilisation was aggressive in ancient times, as it is to-day.
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Footnote 147:
See p. 437.
Footnote 148:
Heimskringla says 600 ships.
Footnote 149:
The English chronicles mention numerous instances of large fleets
descending on various parts of the coast, of which the following are a
few:—
In the year 860, in the time of Ethelred a large fleet came to the
land, and the crews stormed Winchester.
In the year 893 the Danish army came, from the east westward to
Boulogne, and their war ships. They landed at the mouth of the Limne
with 250 ships (this is in the eastern part of Kent).
In the year 894 the Danes among the Northumbrians and East Anglians
gathered 100 ships and went south to besiege Exeter.
In the year 927 King Anlaf entered the Humber with a vast fleet of 615
sails.
In the year 993 Olave, with 93 ships, came to Staines.
In the year 994 Olave and Sveyn (Olaf of Norway and Svein of Denmark)
came to London with 94 ships.
In the year 1006 a great fleet came to Sandwich and ravaged wherever
it went. It returned in winter to the Isle of Wight; the distress and
fear in the land were extreme. £36,000 and provisions was paid as
tribute to the invaders.
In the year 1009, Thurkills came with his fleet to England, and after
him another innumerable fleet of Danes, the chiefs of which were
Hemming and Ailaf.
In the year 1069 the sons of Svein came from Denmark with 240 ships
into the Humber.
In the year 1075 200 ships came from Denmark under Knut, son of Sweyne
and Hecco, but did not dare to risk a battle with King William. After
plundering in York they went to Flanders.
The Frankish chronicles give an account also of various fleets:—
EGINHARD.
In the year 810 the emperor (Charlemagne), then at Aix-la-Chapelle,
planned an expedition against King Godfrey. He suddenly received the
news that a fleet of 200 ships coming from the country of the North
had landed in Frisia, and ravaged all the islands adjacent to their
shores.
In the year 845 Eurick, king of the Northmen, advanced against Louis
in Germany with 600 vessels along the river Elbe.
In the year 850 Rorik, the nephew of Harold, who had recently left the
service of Lothair, taking with him an army of Northmen, comes by the
Rhine and the Watal with a multitude of ships, devastating Frisia, the
island of Batavia, and other neighbourhood places.
In the year 852 the Northmen arrived in Frisia with 252 ships; after
having received much silver they go elsewhere.
In the year 852 Godfrey, son of Harold the Dane, formerly baptized at
Mayence, under the reign of the Emperor Louis, left Lothair and went
to find his people. Afterwards having assembled a powerful force, he
attacks Frisia with a multitude of vessels, and then enters the
territory bordering on the river Scheldt.
In the year 857 the Danish pirates invaded the city of Paris and set
fire to it. Here there must have been an enormous fleet.
In the year 861 the Danes, who had lately burned the town of
Terouanne, came back under their chief Weland from the country of the
Angles with more than 200 ships.
In the year 865, from Attigny Charles marched an army against the
Northmen, who had entered the Seine with 500 ships. (We find at the
same time Northmen on the Loire.)
Footnote 150:
This means actually 1,440, as every hundred was equal to 120.
Footnote 151:
Unfortunately some of the facts which we would like to know are
missing in the Northern records in regard to the size of the fleet
which came to England, with the son of Ragnar Lodbrok; but from what
old English chronicles tell us, and from the depredations committed by
them, we may assume that their number must have been very great. The
same may also be said about the fleets of Svein and Knut.
Footnote 152:
Cf. also Olaf Tryggvason’s Saga, i. 89; Fornmanna Sögur.