Woodruff/ Skovmærke

woodruff, Lisbjerg

Asperula odorata
(Galium odoratum)

The woodruff with the fragile stalks and with 6-8 leaves in each ring has in May-June a tassel of white flowers in the top. The fruits are coated with hook-curved brushes, which help disperse them by sticking temporarily to clothing and animal fur. The plant is common in humus forest floor. The dried plant is very fragrant. It is ideal as a groundcover or border accent in woody, acidic gardens where other shade plants fail to thrive. Deer avoid eating it.

Woodruff is native to Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. Its names include woodruff, sweet woodruff, wild baby's breath and master of the woods. It is sometimes confused with Galium triflorum and Galium verum.

(The common Danish name is skovmærke eller bukkar). 

The plant owes its sweet smell to the odiferous agent coumarin and is sometimes used as a flavouring agent due to its contents of this chemical .This scent increases on wilting and then persists on drying, and the dried plant is used in pot-pourri and as a moth deterrent. It is also used to flavour May-wine (called "Maibowle" in German), syrup for beer, brandy, sausages, jelly, jam, ice cream and herbal tea. High doses can cause headaches, due to the toxicity of coumarin.

Lisbjerg skov in May

Old Traditions:

1700-1800s:  When the woodruff  was in flower, the schoolteacher went out in the forest with the children to pluck woodruff and bind pretty garlands which were hung in the school room, spreading a wonderful scent all through summer.

Young girls went to the forest on Whit Monday to make bride garlands from woodruff and other flowers - and a girl crowned the guy whom she chose as her whitsun-bridegroom.

Around the 1870s the garlands were an important sales product on the markets and the city squares, where many "garland-women" were selling from big baskets, filled with garlands. Poor women and children went to the forest to pluck woodruff and were sitting all night binding garlands, and at dawn they went to the nearest town to sell them. The custom was widespread up till 1954.


1900s: From a big farm at Zealand all women went out each spring to pluck woodruff. The lady of the house made a garland of a thin hazel branch,wound with moss, and bouquets were bound upon the hazel-ring. Each year they made two or three such garlands, and the lady's husband had one which he used as a barometer.


 Common Use:

Lisbjerg skov in May

The most common tradition was to place the green garlands upon the wall or above the stove in a sewing thread from the ceiling - or in the lamp above the table, upon a mirror etc. until next spring. The green garlands were often considered to bring luck to the house. People gave a garland to a good friend to bring him or her luck - or a tiny bouquet dried woodruff was put into letters or in a book as a memory.
A fine dried bouquet decorated a vase in winter, or was bound with a golden band to decorate a photo of a dear friend or a deceased.

It was a common use to put bouquets of woodruff among clothes and furs in closets and drawers. The strong scent was meant to drive moths away and bring a fine perfume to the clothes and their owners. The girls put woodruff among their clean linen. The dried plant was also used for smoking away bad smell in the room.

Woodruff mixed with other dried leaves makes a good tea. In times with a lack of tobacco dried woodruff was used like tobacco.


Superstition/Omen:
The dried woodruff garland was used as a barometer. If the smell grew very strong in summer it meant that rain was on its way. It was dangerous to the health to have a woodruff garland in the bedroom.
The woodruff had to be plucked on Maundy Thursday, then it would give a beautiful scent all year. At least it had to be plucked before 1. May, since the witches were pissing on them after Walpurgisnight -  and then the woodruff would lose its fine scent.


Wine:
People put woodruff in wine to make it tasty. It was put on snaps for a liqueur, and an essence from the plant was part of an angostura. The fresh shots put on snaps gave it the scent from the plant and a chartreusegreen colour. A handfull woodruff was put in a bottle of dry white wine with 100 g dissolved sugar; after the quarter of an hour the plants were strained - and it was said that this May-drink tasted heavenly.

Lisbjerg Skov in May

Folk Medicine
 Harpestreng ab. 1300: strengthens the stomach and the liver; the juice cleanses the body for scab and blisters.
Henrik Smid 1546: put in a wine extract in May refreshes the heart and the bad liver. Women bathed their childrens' rash with tea from the plant. Tired feet were relieved by footbath in a decoction.
1700s: The herb was listed in the Pharmacopoeia in 1772. The juice was described as stomach tonic.

It was known as an old "house remedy" to cook dried woodruff together with unsalted butter into an ointment to be used upon stroke- and flesh wounds, old wounds, scab, frost, the cow's sore udder, chapped tits and festered fingers.

1800s:  a garland of woodruff placed by the woman in childbirth eased the birth. A hot footbath in a decoction of the plant drew the blood from the head. It was also used against toothache.
Woodruff was an ingrediense in a piece of advice for dog bites.
When the cows were grazing in the forest they had a decoction of the dried woodruff garland, which protected them against blood piss from eating certain plants in the forest.
Green or dried woodruff was given to dogs against rabies.

Source: V.J. Brøndegaard, "folk og flora", Dansk Etnobotanik, bd. 4, Rosenkilde og Bagger 1979.


photo May 2008 in Lisbjerg skov Aarhus : grethe bachmann

5 Good Things for Your Health

Watercress protects against cancer

Research from University of Ulster in North Ireland shows that watercress can minimize the risc of cancer. The test involved that 60 persons between 19 and 55 years ( including 30 smokers) eat 85g fresh watercress each day for 8 weeks. It showed that watercress both reduces the DNA damage (which can lead to cancer) and increases the the ability of the infected cells to avoid further damage from the free radicals

Watercress contains more than 15 essential vitamins and minerals and has through centuries been used as a super food. It contains more iron than spinach, more C-vitamin than oranges and more calcium than milk.

Watercress is fine in salads, and for soups, herb butter or as assecories for meat.

A handfull of nuts between meals.

30 gram nuts - it's a little handfull -  that's good for you each day. Choose the nuts you like best. Nuts contain proteins, fibers, vitamins, minerals and not least the healthy fats. The healthy substances in the nuts can lower the cholesterol, boost the digestion, strengthen your immune systeme and lower your blood pressure.  The nuts saturate, give new energy and are easy to bring with you. They are best in their natural version, not salted or fried. A handfull of nuts is a good snack between meals.



       
Elderberry against a winter-cold

You can buy yourself an extra shot of health by making some elderberry soup or juice. The research shows that the elderberry juice can reduce fever, fatigue, headache and relieve sore throats. A glass of elderberry juice or a cup of soup is a real vitamin bomb with a high content of C-vitamins and flavonoids, which promote the inclusion of the vitamins.
                                            

 Milk is good for your teeth.

Enjoy your café latte! When you are drinking it you also strenghten your chance to keep your own teeth. The high content of calcium in dairy products protects against the development of caries and gingivitis. A cheese sandwich does not give the same since the calcium has to be added together with the more liquid dairy products.  

                                                  



Saffron controls your desire for sugar.

We have often a tendency to put the saffron in the back of the spice cabinet, where it is collecting dust, but this is a shame. New tests show that saffron brings more than colour and taste to the food. The pretty and precious spice also helps to stabilize the blood sugar, preventing you from desiring candy and cakes. So it's good sense to use the pretty saffron more often - it brings a delicate taste to rice dishes, poultry, grilled shrimps, homebaked bread etc.






Sources: Your Health, Magasin Søndag "Nyt om din Sundhed" 2012/2013.

photo: gb

Looking for the Wolf..........

It was a dark, gloomy day in February, just after Valentine's Day. If you were up in a jetplane you would not be able to see the earth down there under a thick wet cloud, covering most of the country. What to do? It was tour-day and it was certainly not photo-weather.
There had been much talk lately about the wolf coming back to Denmark after 200 years. A wolf in North Jutland, another one near Ringkøbing and a  third wolf, seen in Mid Jutland. I was enthusiastic about getting a photo of this fine animal. The place where it was seen was not far away. So we went out looking for the wolf. There was not much traffic in the territory, no other wolf-watchers!!  I looked across the fields and ahead of the roads while we were driving until my eyes hurt. The only living creature was a little black cat, hunting in a snowy field. A little tiger..........  

 

 










The first Wolf.
In September 2012 a group of birdwatchers were looking for the white-tailed eagle in a nature reserve in Thy, when they suddenly observed a big dog - or was it a wolf? -  in a desolate place in the reserve. Kim Frost from Nykøbing (Mors) took a series of photos which seemed convincing. He was sure it was a wolf. Others were of the opinion that it might as well be a big German shepherd, but everyone awaited eagerly more information about the alleged wolf. And the sensation really happened. The famous animal was found dead in the Hanstholm reserve in November, and the examination and DNA-test proved that it was a wolf  - and that it came from the German wolf population. This was really a Danish sensation. The wolf had come back to Denmark after 199 years! The last wild Danish wolf was shot in 1813.

photo of wolf in Thy



The second Wolf. 














In December 2012 was seen a new wolf in West Jutland by a group of hunters and a police patrol, but they could do nothing but observe the situation, since the wolf is protected. The new observation was just one among many. Several local people reported to have seen a wolf and a lady took a photo from her kitchen window.

photo of second wolf 

 
























How the Wolf comes to Denmark. 
A zoologist, Mogens Trolle, describes why we now begin to see wolves in the Danish nature. The nature of the young wolves make them spread. When they grow up they leave their parents fo find an area where they can make their own territory. Some wolves walk a very long way, up to 1.500 kilometer - and young wolves come to Denmark to find a good place to settle, which is not occupied beforehand. The wolves have spread  west in Germany and live closer and closer to Denmark. During only two generations the wolves have adapted the socalled cultural landscape and replaced their food of red deer with roe deer. The German wolves can easily live in the Danish farm landscape with its multitude of roe deer..
 
Mogens Trolle does not expect that we shall see pack of wolves in the Danish landscape in the nearest future. Firstly the lone wolf will arrive, but if a male and female meet in Denmark or join close to the border, they will go north together, and then we can get our first wolf couple in Denmark. When they get wolf cubs, it is actually a pack, but a pack of wolves will not walk up here from Germany - the wolves will gradually arrive as individuals, and there is an increasing chance that they then form a family, says Mogens Trolle.

 
















The third Wolf.
Last week  ab. 10 february a lady saw a wolf running across the road in front of her car in a forest near Bryrup in Mid Jutland. She was not in doubt that it was a wolf.

So -  it was this third wolf we were looking for on this bleak Saturday, driving through the land where the lone wolf was seen, through the dark forests and passing still snow-covered fields. At a place at Torup Lake we saw some tracks which might be wolf tracks but they were not good enough as a proof. Actually the tracks were in a path which goes into a piece of land we know from the summer period, and where almost no one comes in a snowy, frosty winter like this. But the track was not a solid proof.

We did not see the lone wolf. Maybe he saw us.

I would really be happy if I could get a fine photo of a wild wolf, living in nature. The only photo I have is this miserable one from a park at Djursland.   









photo Mid Jutland 16 February 2013: grethe bachmann
photo wolf: 8 March 2008 Djursland.

Sources: Mogens Trolle, wikipedia, Naturstyrelsen, Midtjyllands Avis, local people.

Addition (photo of the third wolf):

 The third wolf  
photo from robotcamera: 

In the days after it showed that the wolf (or maybe there is more than one wolf at Harrild hede) - is too fond of sheep, and there is a problem now which has to be solved. A sheepfarmer has lost 19 sheep - and there is no compensation-rules in Denmark in a situation like this. It has not yet been proved if it is the wolf or dogs gone amok. But it is probably the wolf.
 

The Famous Cat Maru

 Enjoy this little video for your Sunday entertainment.


The Greatest Hits Maru




photo. Maru from youtube

A Blue Winter's Day at Kaløvig

                                                                                                         

Kaløvig with the castle ruin in the background, enlarge the photo)

Kalø castle ruin is one of my most visited places -  there is a special atmosphere on that small island. Kalø castle was built by the warrior king Erik Menved in the 1300s as a fortification against the rebellious peasant armies in Jutland. He fought them down without mercy, and those who survived the battle were executed - and their heads and other body parts were hung up on poles along the roads. The road system is the same here today - I haven't seen any ghosts although you might think it was a haunted place!!  But it might be otherwise around midnight, uhuuuuh..........


























The fields are covered in snow, the forest is dark brown, the landscape is swept in a shade of blue. The snow , the blue water, the low sun create a scenery in blue. It is obvious that we are living on the blue planete today. A painter would take his blue brush and start his own blue period like Picasso and other painters did, but I just enjoyed this beautiful blue day with a  high blue sky, a blue sea and some generous glow from a low sun. The days grow longer now, soon we can really feel that it is going the right way. But children don't think it's going the right way, they want snow and ice, they want to go out with their sleigh or their ice skates - we grown-ups are so boring because we keep talking about spring. We have been kids once, many years ago, but we have forgotten -  almost forgotten -  the golden lovely days where we went out with our sleigh, driving down the hill in a blazing speed.

a small parking place opposite the island.

Mr. and Mrs. Duck

 

Two whooper swans (finding food on the bottom).

 








The landscape along the bottom of Kaløvig is listed and very pictoresque. A tongue of land with a medieval stone road leads out to Kalø castle ruin, which lies upon a small island with steep hills and banks at the coast. Several good paths make it easy to walk in the area. If you are interested in plants then it is one of the finest places in Denmark with rests of a garden flora from the Middle Ages. The plants were introduced from southern  Europe and cultivated in the gardens at the ruin - they were later feral. The flora includes especially medical plants, but also plants for dyeing, poisonous plants, kitchen herbs and textile plants. Especially significant are Anthriscus caucalis (burr chervil/gærdekørvel) and Cyproglossum officinale (dog's tongue/lægehundetunge) upon the southern cliffs of the ruin. Besides appear Nepeta ( catmint,catnip/ katteurt), Lithosperum officinale (Common cromwell / lægestenfrø) and Viola odorata (wood violet(/ martsviol); Malva neglecta (common mallow/ rundbladet katost) and Conium maculatum (Hemlock/skarntyde). The seeds from several of the plants can keep the germination capacity for many years. Hyoscyamus niger (black henbane/ bulmeurt)  can can fx sprout after having stayed in the earth for several hundred years - and if there is a slide in the bank the henbane sometimes appears. It is forbidden to dig up the plants but seeds might be gathered. The Nepeta (catmint) only grows in ten locations in Denmark and always in old settlements.

funny car

back home on narrow roads........

photo 19. January 2013 Kaløvig: grethe bachmann

The Eurasian Nuthatch / Spætmejse

 


















The Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is a small passerine found throughout temperate Europe and Asia. It is spread from southern Scandinavia to Middle and South Europe and through Russia and Sibiria to the Pacific coast - further south to China, southeast Asia and India. It belongs to the nuthatch family Sittidae. This bird is the most common and most widespread nuthatch, and  is often referred to just as the Nuthatch. It is a resident  bird of deciduous woods and parkland, with some old trees for nesting. It feeds on insects, seeds and nuts. Its old name “nut-hack” derives from its habit of wedging a nut in a crevice in a tree, and then hacking at it with its strong bill. Nests are in holes or crevices, lined with bark or grass. The size of the hole’s entrance may be reduced by the building of a neat mud wall. Five to eight eggs are laid, white speckled with red.

The Eurasian Nuthatch is 14 cm long and has the typical nuthatch big head, short tail and powerful bill and feet. It is blue-grey above, with a black eyestripe. Asian and north European birds (S. e. asiatica and S. e. europaea respectively) are white below except for chestnut in the vent area. The western European S. e. caesia has generally reddish underparts. Young birds are "washed out" versions of the adults.

This is a noisy bird, often located by its repeated tui-tui-tui call. It has the ability, like other nuthatches, to climb down trees, unlike species such as woodpeckers which can only go upwards. It will come to bird feeding tables and is then very aggressive, driving other species away.

old oak in park

 



















In  Denmark
The Nuthatch (Danish: Spætmejse) (Sitta europaea), ab.15 cm, is a common breeding bird in Denmark in old deciduous forests and parks. The Danish name Spætmejse indicates that it is a Tit = Mejse, but it belongs to its own family, Sittidae. In Denmark are two under-species : east of Storebælt is a light- bellied race (Sitta europaea) and upon the island Funen and in Jutland a dark-bellied race (Sitta. e caesia) with rusty red breast and belly. The nuthatch is the only Danish bird which climbs both up and down the trees.



The voice of the nuthatch is strong and varied. It breeds in holes in old trees or takes over holes from the woodpecker. Old trees with holes are rare in most forests, so there is a great competition among the birds, which nest in old trees, like among tits, starlings and flyecatchers. In order to avoid the competition from larger birds the nuthatch makes the hole smaller by pasting it with clay, until the size fits its own nest. The nuthatch feeds especially on insects, spiders and other little animals - in autumn and winter it feeds on seeds, nuts, fruits from beech and oak. The nuthatch put the nuts in cracks in the bark and hammers hole in it with its strong beak. In this connection it uses all its bodyweight and the advantage of being able to move with its head downwards.

 



















The Nuthatch is in Denmark especially found in East Jutland and on the Isles where there are many suitable areas with deciduous forests. It is especially numerous in Jægersborg Dyrehave and Gribskov at Zealand and in Rold Skov, Fussingø Skov and Tofte Skov in East Jutland. The nuthatch is common, except in parts of West and North Jutland where there are no old deciduous forests with suitable holes for nests. 






Source:
Fugle og Natur, Dansk Ornitologisk Forening; Gyldendal, Den Store Danske; wikipedia;  
photo Forsthaven and Moesgård 2012: grethe bachmann

The Vikings - the Danish Ships.

Havhingsten, Vikingeskibsmuseet.

The importance of the ships in Denmarks history is not easy to exaggerate. The Danish kingdom and its achievements in Viking Age depended on well-built ships and good seamanship. The contact to other countries and places depended upon ships, no matter whether they were friendly or hostile contacts to other parts of Scandinavia, to the Baltics or to the Christian countries to the west. Denmark had a land border to the Saxons in the south, but when they went out to attack their neighbours, their army was usually supported by a fleet.  

The earliest Danish coins depict ships, both trade- and warships, while most contemporary literature count the ships as a matter of course. There are rarely details about sea voyages or information about the ships. When the travels are described it is only said that missionaries, tradesmen and others went from Dorestad to Denmark or from Hedeby to Birka - no mention of the ship at all. One exception is Ansgar's first voyage to Denmark where he and his companion got a ship from the archbishop of Cologne and discovered they had to share rooms with the Danish king. 

The contemporary texts give barely information about the size of the vessels, the names of the ship types are known to us from poetry and a few runic inscriptions, but it is almost impossible to decide the difference between a skeith, a snekkja and a knarr. The scalds might have used these words randomly. From the 1000s a seagoing tradeship is called a knarr, but since this word in the early poetry was used for a warship, a knarr was possibly just a seagoing ship, whatever it was used for trade or war.

Bayeux tapestry, Viking ship

The only descriptions of the ships and the fleets are written in contemporary literature, like the Scald-poems of tribute and in Encomium Emmae, written in the 1040s to Cnut the Great's queen. The knowledge of the ships from the period is high however, since there were made many important archaeological discoveries. Some ships were found in burials/graves, but the ships or ship-parts found in the Scandinavian waters and in the Baltic are even more valuable. The most important discovery was made in Roskilde fjord at Skuldelev, where five ships, apparently from the late Viking Age, deliberately had been sunk to block a shipping passage, called Peberrenden.

By help of dendrochronology and other scientific dating methods the archaeologists have established a pattern of development for the Scandinavian ships. Even lesser ship-parts can be dated. The finds are so numerous and so clear that there is now a safe and precise knowledge about the development of the art of ship-building. The recovery of these ships has given a more versatile image of the shipping of the Vikings.

There were various boats for various purposes, the simplest was the oak, a canoe hollowed from a log. This type of boat was created long before our time and was still used in Danish lakes and rivers only a hundred years ago. The Vikings built also small barges, one was found at Egernsund in Flensborg fjord, it was 7 m long and 1,9 m broad and is dated to the end of the 1000s. But their larger vessels, both trade- and warships, are more wellknown. Small freightships, less than 20 m long, were found  near Larvik in Norway, in the Gøtaelv (river) in Sweden and at Skuldelev, and at the same place were found two warships. The rest of a warship was found in a pretty gravehill at the shore of Kerteminde fjord  (the Ladby ship ). The wood in the Ladbygrave had rottened, but the shape of the ship was clearly drawn in a pattern formed by the iron-nails, which kept the ship planks together. In the sea were important finds of individual ship-parts, like a 2,8 m long side-roar, which was fished up from Kattegat and a 3,8 m long mast-part in Mariager fjord . Many ship parts, both used and new, were found at the island Falster in a shipyard from the 1000s, where the old ships apparently were repaired.

Havhingsten, Vikingeskibsmuseet

The Skuldelev ships.
The times were harsh and violent in the late 1000s, and the Vikings built a system of blockage in Roskilde fjord as a protection against hostile navy attacks on the town Roskilde, which then was the capital of Denmark. The five ships in the hall of the Vikingship Museum origin from a blockage of Peberrenden at Skuldelev ab. 20 km north of Roskilde. The ships were excavated in 1962. An iron pile wall was framed down around the blockage in order to drain it. In less than four months the ships were dug out and brought up in thousands of pieces. After this came a huge work of preservation and collecting the pieces into the five puzzles, which represent the Viking ships. The finding includes five different ship types, which collectively give a unique impression of the shipbuilding and craftmanship of the Viking Age. 


Skuldelev 1 (Havskibet)

Skuldelev 1, wikipedia

Wreck 1 is a heavy, seagoing cargo ship, maybe the type knarr. The ship was built in heavy pine planks at Sognefjorden in West Norway and was later repaired with oak in several stages, both in Oslofjorden and in East Danmark. The ship had a deck both fore and aft, and an open cargo room midships.
The ship and cargo might have been owned by a magnate/chieftain, who went on trade with his entourage or owned by merchants, who in commmunity were sailing the ship and do some trading in the marketplaces. The crew was 6-8 men. Havskibet could sail overall in the North Sea and the Baltic and on the North Atlantic. In favorable wind it was able to keep an average speed of ab. 5-7 knob. The Vikingship Museum's  reconstruction of Skuldelev 1 is in the Museum harbour.


Skuldelev 2, (the big longship)

Skuldelev 2, wikipedia

Wreck 2 is a seagoing warship, maybe of the type skeid. Staffed with 65-70 warriors it belonged to the big chieftain-ships which are being praised in scaldsongs and Sagas.
The ship is built in oak, the analyze of the timber has shown that the ship was built in the Dublin-area ab. year 1042. The Vikings came to Ireland in the 800s, and they established several fortified bases along the Irish coast. The bases later developed into cities with Dublin being the most important. The Vikings lived here as merchants, mercenaries and shipbuilders.

The long narrow shape of this ship gave it a good speed potential. 60 oars secured the progress of the ship even without wind. Havhingsten fra Glendalough, the Vikingship Museum's reconstruction of Skuldelev 2, has reached an average speed of 2,5 knob with every second oar staffed. Under sails the Havhingsten has reached a top speed of 12 knob. Havhingsten fra Glendalough ( The Sea Stallion of Glendalough) is in the Museum harbour. 

   Skuldelev 3 (Kystfareren / The Coastal Trader)

Skuldelev 3, wikipedia

Wreck 3 is a small, elegant freight and travel-ship, maybe the type byrding. The ship was built in Danish oak. It had a deck of loose planks fore and aft, and midship was an open cargo-room with room for 4 tons cargo.  The crew was 5-8 men.
The ship was useful when the farmer and his entourage had to go to markets or meet at The Thing. It was well suited for sailing in the Danish waters and in the Baltics. The wind was its most inmportant driving force, but during maneuvres and in short distances in no wind the oars could be used. In favorable wind the ship could keep an average speed of 4-5 knob. Roar Ege, the Vikingship Museum's reconstruction of Skuldelev 3 has been sailing with a top speed of 8,5 knob. Roar Ege in the Museum harbour,

Skuldelev 5, (the small longship). 

Skuldelev 5, wikipedia

Wreck 5 is a lesser warship, maybe the type snekke. The ship is built in Danish oak, ash and pine, partly from re-used wood from other ships. With 13 pair of oars and a staff of ab. 30 warriors it belonged to the 13-sesserne, the smallest longships in a war fleet. Along the upper strake are still seen parts of where the shields were placed, and upon the 6th plank starboard is seen a carved decoration. The ship was ideal for sailing in the Danish waters and in the short, choppy waves of the Baltic. The average speed on longer trips was 6-7 knob in a favorable wind, and the top speed probably double. Helge Ask,  the Vikingship Museum's reconstruction of Skuldelev 5 is in the Museum  harbour.

Skuldelev 6, (the fishing boat)

Skuldelev 6, wikipedia

Wreck 6 is a combined row- and sailboat, probably built for fishing and catch. The boat was built in Sognefjorden in Norway in pine planks. It was later enheightened with a plank in each side in order to transport fish or other products, or persons. In the rebuild the original oar-plan was removed and the oar-number reduced. The rebuild probably meant that the boat was more used as a freightship than a fishing boat and with a smaller crew. Before the boat  was used as a part of the blocking at Skuldelev it was repaired in the bottom with oak-planks. Kraka Fyr,  the Vikingship Museum's reconstruction of Skuldelev 6 is in the Museum harbour.
 






The small warship from Skuldelev (nr.5) was 18 m long and was intended to be driven by 12 pair of oars. The big longship (nr. 2) is not so well-kept that it is possible to tell the oar-places, but it was apparently 28 m long and with probably 20 pair of oars, maybe more. 

A few very large ships from the 1000s might have been built for kings and other chiefs, but they are always mentioned as something very special. An ordinary warship had probably ab. 20 pair of oars, corresponding to the staffing of the warships in the Middle Ages, which usually had a crew of 42 men. 

Below three photos from the Vikingship Museum in Roskilde: grethe bachmann 2001.

The Skuldelev ships were products of a long boatbuilding tradition in Scandinavia and the Baltics. There is only a little difference between the Danish ships and the ships from the Slavic areas. The basic construction consisted of keel and bow. When a ship-timber had made these, the shape of the vessel was largely determined. A ship could usually not be longer than the straight trunk of an oak.
Both the sailing and the landing wore out the slender ships. The small warship from Skuldelev had been repaired with planks from another ship. Finds from the ship yard at the island Falster illustrated, how the old ships were broken up in order to re-use well-kept timber. But the keels were not suitable for re-use, since they had been worn out from the eternal pulling on land. The effort the Vikings did to re-use ship-parts and to repair the ships show how valuable the ships were. They represented a big investment. A reconstruction of the trade ship Skuldelev 3, which was built with the use of the tool-types and methods from the Viking period, took 15.000 working hours. Skilled workers were probably able to do it in the half time or at least lesser time, but even this was a big effort.


A well-functioning seagoing vessel from the Viking Age could handle very rough weather conditions. This was demonstrated dramatically when a reconstruction of the big trade ship from Skuldelev came safe through wind gusts of 35 m/sec at the coast of Greenland. Lesser sea seaworthy ships would have been shipwrecked - and many Viking ships probably did. 


Links:
 The Five Skuldelev Ships Vikingeskibsmuseet Roskilde

 Archaeology in Europe/Havhingsten fra Glendalough


Source: 
Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie, bind 3, Peter Sawyer, Da Danmark blev Danmark , 700-1050;
Johannes Brøndsted, Vikingerne, V. Materiel kultur, Skibe,  Gyldendal 1960.
Vikingeskibsmuseet,Roskilde