simul 91
S igmund
the Americas. The Vikings also colonized Iceland
and Greenland.
Viking ships were long ships, with graceful,
upward-curving bows and sterns, often carved with
elaborate designs. They were powered by oarsmen
and sails.
Ships were so venerated that when a distinguished
person died, he was put aboard his ship, which was
then set afire and sent out to sea. In the myth of
Balder, the god was set aboard his ship, H ringhorni ,
along with his dead wife, his horse, and some of his
treasures. Hringhorni was then set afire and sent out
to sea.
In recent years, archaeological digs have uncov-
ered various burial ships in Scandinavia and Great
Britain. Along with the bones of dead people and
animals, they contained ancient weapons, chariots,
jewelry, ornaments, food, and utensils—all the neces-
sities for the comfort of the dead in the afterlife. In
Sutton Hoo, in East Anglia, England, the remains of
an 80-foot ship were uncovered along with treasures
but no bones of the dead. It is thought that the hero
may have disappeared at sea, or perhaps he had been
given a Christian burial while his treasures were
buried according to a more ancient pagan custom.
The Sutton Hoo ship dates from the seventh century.
Many other graves found in East Anglia were the
tombs of humble people, including children who
were buried with toy-like ships. In early English
literature the account in Beowulf (recorded about a.d.
1000) describes the voyage of Skyld, first king of the
Danes, on his funeral ship.
The ship was so important in Norse culture
that it was carried as a symbol in processions long
after Christianity had become established. Medieval
craftsmen built mock ships (symbols of life and of
death and of the journey