Some ships were specially built for speed. Among them we find long ships—_skeid_ and _skuta_. The fast-sailing _skutas_ were called _lettiskuta_ (light skuta), and _hleypiskuta_ (running ships), a kind of yacht. “Eyvind went quickly with a few men on a _lettiskuta_” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 83). “Geirmund went with a _hleypiskuta_ and some men with him” (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 41).[129] The _Knerrir_ (sing. _Knorr_) or merchant vessels must sometimes have been large, and were occasionally used as war or transport vessels. We infer from the Sagas that they could stand heavy seas better than the long ships. “King Olaf left behind in England the _longships_, and went thence with two _Knerrir_, on which he had 220 picked men, fully armed” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 27). “Sigmund told Hakon Jarl that he wanted to leave off warfare and go to the Faroes; he said he no longer wished to hear that he had not avenged his father and be upbraided for it; he asked the Jarl to aid him, and advise him how to manage it. Hakon answered that the sea to the islands was hard to cross, and the breakers strong; ‘you cannot go on longships thither, but I will have two knerrir made for you, and get a crew to man them’” (Fœreyinga Saga, c. 23). Among vessels of other nationalities mentioned are _Galeid_ (galley) and _Drómund_ (war-ship), both as sailing in the Mediterranean. [Illustration: Fig. 914.—Ship on a stone-wall of the Church of Skröbelef, Langeland, Denmark. ] “Harald went to the _galeids_ of the Væringjar and took two on which they rowed into Sjavidarsund. When they came to where iron chains were stretched across the Sound, Harald told his men to sit down at the oars on both _galeids_, and those who did not row to go aft with their hammocks (used for holding baggage and for beds) in their arms. The _galeids_ were thus run up on the chains; but, as soon as they got fast and slackened speed, Harald ordered all the men to run towards the prow. The _galeid_ on which Harald was then turned down and slid off the chains, but the other burst asunder as she rode on the chain. Many were there drowned, but some swam and were picked up” (Harald Hardradi’s Saga, c. 15). “Rögnvald Jarl and Erling met a _drómund_ on the sea and attacked it with their nine ships” (Ingi’s Saga, c. 17). From the Sagas we infer that ships had but one mast. Sometimes they had a _Hún-Kas’ali_ (knob castle), or crow’s-nest, at the masthead, large enough to hold several warriors, who from such a height could throw missiles at their enemies. King Hakon Herdibreid was going to battle against King Ingi. [Illustration: Fig. 915.—On a stone. Alsnö parish in Upland, Sweden. Ship with crow’s nest. ] [Illustration: Fig. 916.—Bautastone. Harestad, Upland, Sweden. Ship with crow’s nest. ] “He (Hakon) had two east-journey _Knerrir_, which lay outside his ships. On them, and also in the prows of both, were _húnkastalis_” (c. 5, Hakon Herdibreid).