The people, and especially the chiefs, took great pride in the appearance of their ships, both in regard to ornamentation and sails, and kept them well painted. We may form an idea of the labour bestowed on their embellishment, from the carved pieces of wood found on board of the Gokstad ship;[135] what, then, must it have been on such ships as the long serpent and others mentioned in the Sagas? Insignificant objects are adorned with exquisite and tasteful designs. Some of them seem to have been designed without the aid of mechanical appliances, and others before being engraved must have had their drawings traced with compasses, &c. The dragons were gilt, both on the stem and stern, or covered with thin sheets of gold, thus presenting a magnificent appearance as they sailed with the sun shining upon them. These and other ornaments which were placed on a ship were not fixed on till it had left the rollers and was in the water. “Olaf had a ship made in the winter, called Visund (the bison-ox), which was larger than any other. On its prow there was the head of a bison, gilt” (St. Olaf, c. 154). “King Olaf had a ship called Karlhöfdi (man’s head); on its prow was a king’s head, which he himself had carved. That head was for a long time afterwards used in Norway on ships steered by chiefs” (St. Olaf, c. 45). “Rand had a large dragon, with a gold-ornamented head, which had thirty large rooms” (Olaf Tryggvason’s Saga, c. 85).[136] On the top of the belfry (clock-tower) in Ghent is found the figure of a dragon, of which a woodcut is here given (p. 152). It consists of gilded copper-plates, nailed on a kind of iron skeleton. The back between the wings is open.[137] * * * * * As King Sigurd was ready to go home, we read— “Thereupon King Sigurd made ready for his journey homeward. He gave the Emperor all his ships, and there were gold ornamented heads on the ship which the king had steered; they were put on Peter’s church. There they may be yet (_i.e._ 1220–1240‘)”’ (Sigurd Jorsalafari’s Saga, c. iii., Heimskringla’s text). The date here given is that of Norri Sturluson. * * * * * Beautiful sails were highly prized; these were generally made of _vadmal_, or coarse woollen stuff. The Sagas often mention that they were striped, of different colours, red, blue and green,[138] being sometimes embroidered and beautifully lined with fur; but some were as white as the newly-fallen snow. They were square, and consequently good speed could only be attained with fair wind. The following poetical names were given to sails:—The cloak of the wind; the tapestry of the masthead; the sheet spun by women; the cloth of the wind; the beard of the yard; the fine shirt of the tree (mast). [Illustration: Fig. 933.—Runic stone, Hallingbo, Götland, 3 feet 9 inches above ground. ]