Longship Company

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

The Longship Company, Ltd. is a non-profit educational organization devoted to increasing understanding and knowledge of the life, culture, technology, commerce, and exploration of the early northern European seafarers, and those with whom they came into contact. (We are an all volunteer organization -- the "Company" in our name refers to a ship's company of its officers and crew.)

Central to the activities of the Longship Company are authentic reconstructions of Viking era ships. The Sae Hrafn (Sea Raven), is a 39' (12m) class A (Div. II) tall ship which is based on similarly sized coastal raiding and defense vessels (i.e. Skuldelev V & Ralswiek/Rugen II ), with the sweeping lines of the classic longships. She was launched in September 2005. The Sae Hrafn replaced the Fyrdraca ( Fire Drake), a lap-strake, 32' (10m) class A (Div II) tall ship based on a 9th century warship excavated in Germany, which had been the organization's primary vessel for nearly 25 years before she was retired. The other vessel currently in use is the Gyrfalcon - so named for the hunting falcons of the far northern regions. It is based on the small, 21' (6.5m), faring boat found in the Gokstad Viking ship burial, and serves primarily as a teaching tool easily transportable overland for exhibits, educational demonstrations, and historical reenactments. Although these reconstructions are based on Scandinavian archaeological finds, most of their basic elements are common to ships of other cultures of the era, spanning across Europe from the Celts in the West to the Slavs in the East, with nautical and other cross-cultural contacts and influences having extended even to the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to the activities of sailing, maintaining, and exhibiting/demonstrating the vessels, the Longship Company participates in living history events, contributes to ongoing international archaeology-by-experiment efforts relative to early seafaring and technology, produces educational materials, and supports artistic and scholarly efforts related to the Vikings and their era. In the manner of a Scandinavian smorgasbord-style feast, Longship Company members can partake of all those activities, or pick and choose among them.http://longshipco.org/