Deer of the surf. Reindeer of breezes. Sea-king’s deer. Reindeer of the shield wall. Elk of the fjords. Sea-king’s sledge. Horse of the home of ice. Soot-coloured horse of the sea. Horse of the gull’s track. Mare of the surf. Horse of the breeze. Raven of the wind. Gull of the fjord. Carriage of the sea. The sea-wader. Ægir’s steed. Sea steed. Lion of the waves. Hawk of the sea-gull’s track. Raven of the sea. Snake of the sea. The general name for all ships was _skip_, but these were classified under different appellations. The war-ships were also classified under several names, viz: _Dreki_ (dragon), _Skeid_, _Snekkja_, _Skúta_, _Buza_, _Karfi_. The _herskip_ (host or war-ship), also called the _langskip_ (long ship), was their most powerful ship of war. The _Dragon_ was the finest and largest vessel of the North, and derived its name from the prow and stern being ornamented respectively with the head and tail of one or more dragons. The most celebrated for its beautiful proportions was the _Ormrinn Langi_ (the long serpent), which, long afterwards, even during the time of Harald Hardradi and Sigurd Jórsalafari, served as a model (11th and 12th centuries). The _skeid_ (swift sailer) was another kind of long ship, which held from twenty to thirty or more rowers’ benches, and was occasionally as large as a dragon-ship. The largest _skeid_ mentioned is that of Erling Skjalgsson, which had thirty-two rowers’ benches, and carried two hundred and forty or more men. He used it on viking expeditions, or when he was summoned to participate in war. “Erling Skjálgsson, the king’s brother-in-law, had his large _skeid_; it had thirty rooms, and was well manned” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 105). “It was then told to the king that Erling Skjálgsson had many men gathered in Jadar. His skeid lay fully equipped near the shore, and many other ships owned by the bœndr, such as _skutas_, _lagnarskip_ (fishing ships) and large _rodrar-ferjas_ (rowing ferries)” (St. Olaf, c. 184). The _snekkja_ was a somewhat smaller long-ship, of which frequent mention is made; but sometimes it must have been as large as a dragon-ship. “Erling had prepared a twenty-seated _snekkja_, a fifteen-seated _skuta_, and a _vistabyrding_ (store-ship)” (Magnus Erlingsson’s Saga, c. 25.)[123] The _Skuta_[124] was a small vessel, much used and often mentioned, containing probably fifteen seats. In it the upper part of the gunwale was so built that the crew could easily step on it, and more easily board the enemy.