Knarr

Model of a knarr in the Hedeby Viking Museum in Germany

A knarr (/nɔːr/) is a type of Norse merchant ship used by the Vikings for long sea voyages and during the Viking expansion. The knarr was a cargo ship; the hull was wider, deeper and shorter than a longship, and could take more cargo and be operated by smaller crews. It was primarily used to transport trading goods like walrus ivory, wool, timber, wheat, furs and pelts, armour, slaves, honey, and weapons. It was also used to supply food, drink, weapons and armour to warriors and traders along their journeys across the Baltic, the Mediterranean and other seas. Knarrs routinely crossed the North Atlantic carrying livestock such as sheep and horses, and stores to Norse settlements in Iceland, Greenland and Vinland as well as trading goods to trading posts in the British Isles, Continental Europe and possibly the Middle East. The knarr was constructed using the same clinker-built method as longships, karves, and faerings.[1]

  1. ^ Friedman, John Block; Figg, Kristen Mossler (2017-07-05). Routledge Revivals: Trade, Travel and Exploration in the Middle Ages (2000): An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 322. ISBN 9781351661324.