[gothic-l] Gothic and Gotlandic Sailing

[Tore Gannholm]

>For some the issue of sailing of Goths, Eruls and Vandals
>is very sensitive. Very early migration would have involved
>sailing ships. The pre-viking raids of the Goths and the
>Eruli on the Black Sea involved skilful sailing also into
>the eastern Mediterranean. The Vandals operated war fleets
>of sailing ships in the western Mediterranean long before the
>Vikings.
>
>The Vandals were notable as a seagoing nation. Many have
>expressed surprise that a nation with a long history
>of overland migration developed such an aptitude with
>sails. The Goths also developed those techniques. It most
>likely antedates the late Roman era and harks back to
>the coasts around southern Scandinavia around the Baltic Sea
>and elsewhere.
>
>On an island,  travel on water would have developed
>very early on Gotland. Wonder if Tore could recommend
>any of Nylén's writing that deals with early sailing and
>shipping near Gotland.
>
>What about "Bygden, Skeppen och Havet" in Antikvariskt
>Arkiv 1973 or _Bildstenar_ 1978? or the German language
>"Voelker und Kulturen-Schiffe und Meere" in Archaelogia
>Baltica 1974. There must be later works. This is a very
>interesting subject to reject the hypothesis that the cultures
>along the coasts of Scandinavia were backward. That the
>the Viking era sailing skill and shipbuilding quality was
>just a accident of history, as some seem to suggest.
>
>Gothically
>
>Bertil
>
>
>Erik Nylén says that the oldest dating of a picture stone with sails in
>Gotland is about 600 or somewhat earlier.
>That shows that the Gutnish people used sails at least in the 6th century.
>
>As we have no earlier pictures of sailing ships in the Baltic does
>not mean that they did not use sails earlier.
>

Bertil,
You have covered the list of literature that I know. Unfortunately 
there is very little written on the subject. When I spoke to Erik the 
other day he lamented that not more has been written about it.

Most of my knowledge is personal discussions with people of knowledge.
Tore

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