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The Shipwane Is A Kindly Gent
"Ship building was a much sought after profession in the Medieval Ages. As it is an exact science, not many people possessed the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful at it. As a result, those who knew and performed the trade well were much in demand. Many vessels were nothing more than improvements on earlier designs. A vessel had to be sturdy enough to withstand the seas and the weather. Most times ships not only carried men and women, but also horses, lumber, weapons and all materials needed to build fortresses, camps and towns on enemy territory.
The Vikings, those brutal raiders from the north, used longboats. These were sleek crafts that enabled them to come ashore in shallow water, pounce out quickly and plunder a village. By the time help could arrive from a neighboring community, the Vikings were back in their longboats and their acquired plunder was already far out to sea.
Building a ship took months or years depending on the requirements. There was no room for error in as such that if the vessel sank due to faulty construction, the shipwane himself could be held financially liable for all goods and life lost!
Obtaining the lumber and supplies was never really easy either. The brackets, nails and all other parts were crafted by the local blacksmith and the wood was made available by a King or noble who would permit the cutting of trees in his forests. Vessels improved very much during the time of the Crusades when it was necessary to ferry men and supplies from parts of Europe to the Holy Lands."
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