Category:Longship

The longship is not without ancestors reaching far back into history. But as a truly seaworthy craft, both with endurance and military application, is far from ancient. It predates the cog but belongs to the same period.

The longship is not for the faint of heart and is even less for the inexperienced captain. The ship afford very narrow margins for error on the high seas. It is perfectly apt to coastal sailing and coastal raiding. And in waters too shallow or treacherous to be safely, let alone easily, naviagated by larger vessels, it comes into its own. In very favourable circumstances, above all with the advantage of surprise, it can be used to board other craft. It is inadpt to the exchange of missile fire, let alone artillery fire, with larger craft. And it does not have the strength to survive a ramming.