For the Vikings, the sea was not a barrier but a highway. The waters around Scandinavia connected them to Britain, Ireland, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, and even North America. Viking ships carried warriors, traders, settlers, and explorers across vast distances, and Old Norse poetry reveals just how deeply these voyages shaped their world.
The sea appears constantly in medieval Norse literature. Ships are praised with affection and admiration, storms are described as deadly enemies, and successful voyages bring honour and fame. Through these poems and sagas, we can glimpse how Viking-age Scandinavians viewed life upon the water. One famous verse by the tenth-century warrior and poet Egil Skallagrímsson captures the excitement that young Norsemen associated with seafaring and Viking expeditions:
My mother said to me that they would buy for me a ship and lovely oars to go away with Vikings standing in the stern, steering the glorious ship, then putting into ports, killing a man or two.
The verse reflects how Viking voyages promised adventure, fame, and wealth. For ambitious young men, joining a ship’s crew could offer opportunities unavailable at home. Raiding expeditions brought treasure and reputation, while trading voyages connected Scandinavia to markets across Europe and beyond.
Ships and the Viking World
Ships stood at the centre of Viking society. The famous longships allowed Scandinavian warriors to strike quickly along the coasts and rivers of Europe, while broader merchant vessels carried goods such as furs, walrus ivory, timber, iron, and slaves across medieval trade networks.
The technology behind these vessels impressed even the Vikings’ enemies. Longships were light, flexible, and fast, able to cross open seas while also navigating shallow rivers. Their clinker-built hulls, made with overlapping wooden planks, helped them withstand rough northern waters.
Old Norse poets frequently described ships with admiration, often using kennings — elaborate poetic metaphors. Rather than simply calling a vessel a “ship,” poets might describe it as a “wave-steed” or “sea-horse,” giving the craft an almost living presence within the poem.
This imagery appears in the Orkneyinga Saga, which recounts the adventures of Rognvaldr Kali Kolsson, the twelfth-century Earl of Orkney. During a voyage to the Holy Land, Rognvaldr and his men encountered dangerous weather while sailing south toward the Mediterranean. As the ship rode out a storm at anchor, he composed this verse:
Wind-harrowed wave-meadows won’t cow me our high-prowed flood-swung longships face the fetch each bow-line stretches, leather holds I held her, howled oaths. Now, oak-clinkered craft foam-tails stream aft surf straight for the straits; whoa!
The poem vividly captures the violence of the sea and the resilience of the ship. The ocean becomes “wave-meadows,” while the vessel itself is transformed into an “oak-clinkered craft” battling against the storm. Even in moments of danger, the poem celebrates the strength of both sailors and ship.
Storms and Shipwrecks
The copy of the serpent’s head is placed on the Oseberg ship, which can be seen when the Viking Ship Museum opens its doors. Photo: Mårten Teigen/Historical Museum, University of Oslo
Voyages across the North Atlantic were perilous. Viking ships faced freezing temperatures, massive waves, and unpredictable winds. Many sailors never returned home. One dramatic example appears in a verse by the Icelandic poet Steinunn Refsdóttir, who mocked the Christian missionary Þangbrandr after his ship was wrecked around the year 999:
Thor snatched Thangbrandr’s longboat, thwacked it, smashed it, wrecked it, shook the prow-steed, plowed it precisely, nicely under. So sad! No more sliding of ski upon the sea-foam; god-gales grabbed sail-horse, god-winds chewed it splinters.
The poem combines humour with brutality. Steinunn presents the pagan god Thor as destroying the missionary’s ship, turning the wreck into evidence of divine favour for the old gods. At the same time, the verse demonstrates how Norse poets described ships almost as living creatures, using terms such as “prow-steed” and “sail-horse.”
These dangers were very real. Archaeological discoveries and medieval accounts reveal that many Viking voyages ended in disaster. Sudden storms, hidden rocks, navigational mistakes, and naval battles all threatened ships travelling across northern waters.
Yet despite these risks, Scandinavians continued to sail farther and farther from home. Viking expeditions reached Iceland, Greenland, and North America to the west, while others travelled south into the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world.
The Joy of Returning Home
Twelfth-century image of Danes about to invade England. – Pierpont Morgan Library MS M.736 fol. 9v
When ships did return safely, their arrival could be a moment of celebration. The sight of sails entering a fjord meant that loved ones had survived and that wealth, trade goods, or news from abroad had arrived with them.
One such example comes from the tenth-century Norwegian queen Gunnhild konungamóðir. Hearing that her husband’s brother Hakon had survived a voyage and returned safely, she announced:
Hakon went on wave-back, from west he rode the board-horse; his ship was scarcely surf-bit as he soared into the Fjords.
The verse conveys both relief and admiration. Hakon’s ship cuts confidently through the water after surviving the western seas. Once again, the vessel itself occupies the centre of the imagery, celebrated almost as much as the man aboard it.
For Viking-age Scandinavians, ships were more than practical tools. They represented status, ambition, and identity. Wealthy leaders invested enormous resources into building and maintaining fleets, while magnificent vessels were sometimes used as burial ships for kings and nobles.
A World Shaped by the Sea
Old Norse poetry reveals a society that lived in constant dialogue with the ocean. The sea offered wealth, adventure, fame, exile, and death. Viking ships carried Scandinavians across much of the known medieval world and became enduring symbols of exploration and power.
The poems left behind by Norse writers still echo with crashing waves, creaking timbers, and snapping sails. Centuries later, they continue to preserve the fears, ambitions, and excitement of a people whose world was shaped by the sea.
Top Image: Illustration by Christian Blache (1838–1920)
For the Vikings, the sea was not a barrier but a highway. The waters around Scandinavia connected them to Britain, Ireland, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, and even North America. Viking ships carried warriors, traders, settlers, and explorers across vast distances, and Old Norse poetry reveals just how deeply these voyages shaped their world.
The sea appears constantly in medieval Norse literature. Ships are praised with affection and admiration, storms are described as deadly enemies, and successful voyages bring honour and fame. Through these poems and sagas, we can glimpse how Viking-age Scandinavians viewed life upon the water. One famous verse by the tenth-century warrior and poet Egil Skallagrímsson captures the excitement that young Norsemen associated with seafaring and Viking expeditions:
My mother said to me
that they would buy for me
a ship and lovely oars
to go away with Vikings
standing in the stern,
steering the glorious ship,
then putting into ports,
killing a man or two.
The verse reflects how Viking voyages promised adventure, fame, and wealth. For ambitious young men, joining a ship’s crew could offer opportunities unavailable at home. Raiding expeditions brought treasure and reputation, while trading voyages connected Scandinavia to markets across Europe and beyond.
Ships and the Viking World
Ships stood at the centre of Viking society. The famous longships allowed Scandinavian warriors to strike quickly along the coasts and rivers of Europe, while broader merchant vessels carried goods such as furs, walrus ivory, timber, iron, and slaves across medieval trade networks.
The technology behind these vessels impressed even the Vikings’ enemies. Longships were light, flexible, and fast, able to cross open seas while also navigating shallow rivers. Their clinker-built hulls, made with overlapping wooden planks, helped them withstand rough northern waters.
Old Norse poets frequently described ships with admiration, often using kennings — elaborate poetic metaphors. Rather than simply calling a vessel a “ship,” poets might describe it as a “wave-steed” or “sea-horse,” giving the craft an almost living presence within the poem.
This imagery appears in the Orkneyinga Saga, which recounts the adventures of Rognvaldr Kali Kolsson, the twelfth-century Earl of Orkney. During a voyage to the Holy Land, Rognvaldr and his men encountered dangerous weather while sailing south toward the Mediterranean. As the ship rode out a storm at anchor, he composed this verse:
Wind-harrowed wave-meadows won’t cow me
our high-prowed flood-swung longships face the fetch
each bow-line stretches, leather holds
I held her, howled oaths. Now, oak-clinkered craft
foam-tails stream aft
surf straight for the straits; whoa!
The poem vividly captures the violence of the sea and the resilience of the ship. The ocean becomes “wave-meadows,” while the vessel itself is transformed into an “oak-clinkered craft” battling against the storm. Even in moments of danger, the poem celebrates the strength of both sailors and ship.
Storms and Shipwrecks
Voyages across the North Atlantic were perilous. Viking ships faced freezing temperatures, massive waves, and unpredictable winds. Many sailors never returned home. One dramatic example appears in a verse by the Icelandic poet Steinunn Refsdóttir, who mocked the Christian missionary Þangbrandr after his ship was wrecked around the year 999:
Thor snatched Thangbrandr’s longboat,
thwacked it, smashed it, wrecked it,
shook the prow-steed, plowed it
precisely, nicely under.
So sad! No more sliding
of ski upon the sea-foam;
god-gales grabbed sail-horse,
god-winds chewed it splinters.
The poem combines humour with brutality. Steinunn presents the pagan god Thor as destroying the missionary’s ship, turning the wreck into evidence of divine favour for the old gods. At the same time, the verse demonstrates how Norse poets described ships almost as living creatures, using terms such as “prow-steed” and “sail-horse.”
These dangers were very real. Archaeological discoveries and medieval accounts reveal that many Viking voyages ended in disaster. Sudden storms, hidden rocks, navigational mistakes, and naval battles all threatened ships travelling across northern waters.
Yet despite these risks, Scandinavians continued to sail farther and farther from home. Viking expeditions reached Iceland, Greenland, and North America to the west, while others travelled south into the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world.
The Joy of Returning Home
When ships did return safely, their arrival could be a moment of celebration. The sight of sails entering a fjord meant that loved ones had survived and that wealth, trade goods, or news from abroad had arrived with them.
One such example comes from the tenth-century Norwegian queen Gunnhild konungamóðir. Hearing that her husband’s brother Hakon had survived a voyage and returned safely, she announced:
Hakon went on wave-back,
from west he rode the board-horse;
his ship was scarcely surf-bit
as he soared into the Fjords.
The verse conveys both relief and admiration. Hakon’s ship cuts confidently through the water after surviving the western seas. Once again, the vessel itself occupies the centre of the imagery, celebrated almost as much as the man aboard it.
For Viking-age Scandinavians, ships were more than practical tools. They represented status, ambition, and identity. Wealthy leaders invested enormous resources into building and maintaining fleets, while magnificent vessels were sometimes used as burial ships for kings and nobles.
A World Shaped by the Sea
Old Norse poetry reveals a society that lived in constant dialogue with the ocean. The sea offered wealth, adventure, fame, exile, and death. Viking ships carried Scandinavians across much of the known medieval world and became enduring symbols of exploration and power.
The poems left behind by Norse writers still echo with crashing waves, creaking timbers, and snapping sails. Centuries later, they continue to preserve the fears, ambitions, and excitement of a people whose world was shaped by the sea.
Top Image: Illustration by Christian Blache (1838–1920)
Subscribe to Medievalverse
Related Posts