| Summary: | This paper examines the introduction of sail power to the ships of Scandinavia during an approximate 350 year period from just before the beginning of, and to the end of, the Viking Era. The Viking Era being bookmarked between the Raid on Lindisfarne in 793 AD, to the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 AD. This thesis reviews the advancements in sailing that developed prior to and during the Viking Era. I examined sailing technology improvements, and evidence of sailing was examined along a geographic line flowing from the archipelago of islands in the Ålands Sea south past Gotland, and through the Baltic before heading out to the North Sea, beyond to the Norwegian Sea, and across the North Atlantic to North America. I believe that sail technology developed along this path for a number of reasons. The navigational challenges along this geographic path increased incrementally. When I examined the economic challenges of adding sails, it was clear that the Ålands Sea provided the best risk reward ratio for the introduction of sail power. Once sailing made sense from a risk and economic standpoint, sail power was adopted over a period of perhaps ten decades. I examined a timeline of archeological ship finds in this paper, with the technological advancements of each ship noted along with the historical context for each vessel. I also researched the reconstructions of each ship (if any), along with knowledge gained through this experimental archaeology. Next, I examined general sailing conditions along the same geographical path from the Ålands Sea to the North Atlantic. I also researched the iconographic evidence along the same path. Unfortunately, there is a lack of archeological ship evidence during the period of the most transformative development. This time period is bookended by the Oseberg ship built in 820 AD, and the much more advanced Gokstad ship of 890 AD. By the end of the ninth century, the design of the Gokstad ship demonstrates that Viking sailing had taken great leaps forward, and ship building ...
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