I'm reading a book about an American traveller who comissioned a viking boat replica (knarr) to be built to retrace the route taken by Leif the Lucky on his travels to find Vinland (Newfoundland) from Greenland a thousand odd years ago. http://www.rambles.net/carter_viking.html
Anyway, one thing the author wanted to do was to try out a traditional viking (yes, I know they weren't called 'vikings' but it'll do for now..) garb against the modern sailing clothing for arctic waters. Obviously sailing an open decked square rigger across the Acrtic seas would involve getting pretty wet and cold. The modern gear did just that and no matter what they did they couldn't keep the wet out and once in they froze. The author was wearing layers of linen undergarments then layers of wool kyrtles, then a leather 'overcoat'. As he was wandering around the boat, the warm air expelled from the wrist cuffs kept his hands reasonably warm, and even after a good soaking, he remained warm. After one day of this superior clothing, he decided to remain in his viking garb for the whole journey (apart form days stuck on land when they went hiking etc) and he was convinced it was far superior to the modern clothing. So much for technological advances! The only snag was of course the weight of the clothing, even before it got soaked, but it didn't hinder him he just got used to it.
The book is a great read and recommended to anyone interested in viking history and Acrtic adventuring. As the author said, historians say all kinds of things which he could contradict because he had actually tried them out and found different theories based on experience. For example, they say that vikings went travelling far to trade and find new land. As the author states, the adventurous 'feeling' they experienced would have been enough to inspire the vikings to travel on it's own!
Anyway, one thing the author wanted to do was to try out a traditional viking (yes, I know they weren't called 'vikings' but it'll do for now..) garb against the modern sailing clothing for arctic waters. Obviously sailing an open decked square rigger across the Acrtic seas would involve getting pretty wet and cold. The modern gear did just that and no matter what they did they couldn't keep the wet out and once in they froze. The author was wearing layers of linen undergarments then layers of wool kyrtles, then a leather 'overcoat'. As he was wandering around the boat, the warm air expelled from the wrist cuffs kept his hands reasonably warm, and even after a good soaking, he remained warm. After one day of this superior clothing, he decided to remain in his viking garb for the whole journey (apart form days stuck on land when they went hiking etc) and he was convinced it was far superior to the modern clothing. So much for technological advances! The only snag was of course the weight of the clothing, even before it got soaked, but it didn't hinder him he just got used to it.
The book is a great read and recommended to anyone interested in viking history and Acrtic adventuring. As the author said, historians say all kinds of things which he could contradict because he had actually tried them out and found different theories based on experience. For example, they say that vikings went travelling far to trade and find new land. As the author states, the adventurous 'feeling' they experienced would have been enough to inspire the vikings to travel on it's own!