What's so special about Viking ships? - Jan Bill

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

The Vikings came from the rugged, inhospitable north

維京人來自崎嶇荒涼的北方，

known today as Scandinavia.

即現今所知的斯堪的納維亞。

As the Roman Empire flourished further south,

當羅馬帝國在更南方壯盛起來時，

Scandinavians had small settlements, no central government, and no coinage.

斯堪的納維亞人 只有小型的新拓居地，

沒有中央政府，沒有貨幣制度。

Yet by the 11th century,

但，到了十一世紀，

the Vikings had spread far from Scandinavia,

維京人已經拓展到 離斯堪的納維亞很遠的地方，

gaining control of trade routes throughout Europe,

控制歐洲各處的貿易路線，

conquering kingdoms as far as Africa,

征服的王國遠至非洲，

and even building outposts in North America.

甚至在北美建立了軍事基地。

The secret to their success was their ships.

他們成功的秘密是他們的船艦。

The formidable Viking longship

很難對付的維京長船

had its origins in the humble dugout canoe, or log boat.

源自於簡陋的獨木舟，或木筏。

For millennia,

數百年來，斯堪的那維亞的居民

the inhabitants of Scandinavia had used these canoes for transportation.

把這類獨木舟當作交通運輸工具。

Dense forests and tall mountains made overland travel difficult,

濃密的森林和高山 讓陸地交通很困難，

but long coastlines and numerous rivers, lakes, and fjords

但當地有很長的海岸線 及許多河流、湖泊、峽灣，

provided a viable alternative.

讓水上的替代方案成為可能。

The first canoes were simply hollowed out logs rowed with paddles.

最早的獨木舟就只是把木頭 挖成中空，再用漿來划水。

Over time, they added planks to the log boat base

後來又在木船基底加上了木板，

using the clinker, or "lapstrake," technique,

採用的是魚鱗（或稱「疊搭」）技術，

meaning the planks overlapped

意思就是把船板重疊， 並沿著邊緣繫在一起。

and were fastened to each other along their edges.

As the Roman Empire expanded north,

隨著羅馬帝國向北擴張勢力，

some Scandinavians served in their new neighbors’ armies—

一些斯堪的那維亞人在這些 新鄰居的軍隊中服役——

and brought home Roman maritime technology.

並把羅馬的海軍技術帶回家。

The Mediterranean cultures at the heart of the Roman Empire

羅馬帝國核心的地中海文化

had large warships that controlled the sea,

有能控制海洋的大型戰艦，

and cargo ships that transported goods along the waterways.

也有能沿著水道運輸物品的貨船。

These ships were powered by sail and oars

這些船隻的動力來自帆和槳，

and relied on a strong skeleton of internal timbers

並且要仰賴內部木材 構成的堅固船骨，

fastened to the outer planks with copper, iron, and wood nails.

船骨用銅、鐵、木製的釘子 和外部木板固定在一起。

At first, Scandinavians incorporated this new technology

一開始，斯堪的那維亞人 整合這項新技術的方式

by replacing their loose paddles with anchored oars.

是將他們沒有固定的槳 換成有支撐點的單葉槳。

This change hugely improved the crew’s efficiency,

這個改變大大改善了船員的效能，

but also required stronger ships.

但也需要更堅固的船隻。

So boat builders began to use iron nails for fasteners rather than sewing.

所以，造船者開始用 鐵釘固定的方式取代縫紉。

They abandoned the log boat base for a keel plank,

他們捨棄了木製的 船基底，改成龍骨板，

and the boats became higher and more seaworthy.

船因此變得更高，更經得起風浪。

But these early ships retained the concept of the original log boat:

但這些早期的船隻仍然 保留原始的木船概念：

their strength depended on the outer shell of wood,

船的強度仍然要仰賴外部的木殼，

not internal frames and beams.

而不是內部的樑柱框架。

They were built as shells— thin-walled but strong,

他們的船建造得就像是甲殼， 船壁不厚但很結實，

and much lighter than the Roman ships.

且比羅馬的船艦還要輕很多。

Competing chieftains quickly refined the new ships to be even more efficient.

好競爭的族長們很快 就把新船改造成更有效率。

The lighter the boat, the more versatile it would be

船越輕，能適用的地方就越多，

and the less investment of resources it would require—

需要投入的資源也會比較少——

an essential advantage in a decentralized culture

對於沒有大量人力供應的 分散式文化而言，

without large supplies of people.

這是個重要優勢。

These ships still had no sails— sails were costly,

這些船仍然沒有帆—— 帆的成本很高，

and for now the rowed ships could meet their needs.

目前，用划船的方式 就足以滿足他們的需求。

That changed after the Western Roman Empire

西羅馬帝國在第五世紀垮台後，

collapsed in the 5th century.

這個狀況就改變了。

Western Europe took a heavy economic blow,

西歐受到嚴重的經濟衝擊，

leveling the playing field a bit for the Scandinavians.

讓斯堪的那維亞人有 較平等的機會進入這個賽場。

As the region revived,

隨著這個地區復甦，

new and vigorous trade routes extended into and through Scandinavia.

活躍的新貿易路線繼續延伸， 進入並穿過斯堪的那維亞。

The wealth that flowed along these routes

這些路線帶來的滾滾財富

helped create a new, more prosperous and powerful class of Scandinavians,

協助新創造出一群更繁榮、 更強大的斯堪的那維亞人，

whose members competed constantly with each other

他們的成員經常彼此競爭，

over trade routes and territory.

爭貿易路線，也爭領土。

By the 8th century, a sailing ship began to make sense:

到了第八世紀，使用帆船變得合理：

it could go further, faster, in search of newly available plunder.

帆船可以航行更遠、更快， 幫助尋找新的劫掠目標。

With the addition of sails,

加上了帆，本來就又輕又快的船隻

the already light and speedy ships became nearly unbeatable.

變得幾乎是所向無敵。

The Viking ship was born.

維京船艦就此誕生。

Viking longships could soon carry as many as 100 Vikings to battle.

沒多久，維京長船就可以 載送一百名維京人去打戰。

Fleets of them could land on open beaches,

艦隊可以在開放海灘登陸，

penetrate deep into river systems, and be moved over land if need be.

深深進入河流系統，

如果有需要也可以搬過陸地。

When not at war,

非戰時，船隻被用來

the vessels were used to transport goods and make trade journeys.

運送商品，進行貿易航程。

There were smaller versions for fishing and local excursions,

這類船隻有比較小型的版本 可以用在捕魚和當地短程航行，

and larger adaptations for open sea voyages

也有較大的改版可以 用在開放海域的航行，

capable of carrying tens of tons of cargo.

能載運數十公噸的貨物。

Thanks to their inventiveness in the face of difficult terrain

由於在面對困難的地形 及不振的經濟時

and weak economies, the Vikings sailed west,

能夠發揮創造力， 維京人得以向西航行，

settled the North Atlantic and explored the North American coast

在北大西洋定居， 並探索北美海岸，

centuries before any other Europeans would set foot there.

時間比任何歐洲人的抵達 都還要早數個世紀。