Famous Ships

Viking ships of the Norse sagas

Several famous Viking ships are mentioned by name in the Norse sagas. Here are some of them:

Trana

Built c.995 for the Norwegian king, Olav Tryggvason (973-1000), at Nidaros, Trondheim, Norway.

Ormen Skamme or Ormen Korte

Built c.990 for the chieftain, Raud den Ramme, in Salten, Hålogaland, northern Norway. It was decorated with golden dragonheads.

Ormen Lange

Built c.996 for King Olav Tryggvason, at Ladehammaren in Trondheim, Norway. It became legendary for its size and extraordinary finish when it was in use and then later in the sagas about Olav Tryggvason.

Barden

Built c.980-990 for Earl Eirik of Norway. It was large, designed for attack at sea, and was equipped with some kind of a ram made of iron.

Visund

Built c.1020 for King Olav Haraldsson (St Olav) of Norway. It was a large ship, perhaps of the same size as Ormen Lange.

Ormen

Built c.1060 for King Harald Sigurdsson Hårdråde of Norway (1015-1066), in Nidaros (Trondheim), Norway. It has the same name as the earlier Ormen Lange, which was probably the model for this ship.

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