The Englishman was as proud of his sea-craft as of his war-craft; sword in hand he plunged into the sea to meet walrus and sea-lion; he told of his whale-chase amidst the icy waters of the north.

Hardly less than his love for the sea was the love he bore to the ship that traversed it.

In the fond playfulness of English verse the ship was "the wave-floater," "the foam-necked," "like a bird" as it skimmed the wave-crest, "like a swan" as its curved prow breasted the "swan-road" of the sea.
Their passion for the sea marked out for them their part in the general movement of the German nations.

While Goth and Lombard were slowly advancing over mountain and plain the boats of the Englishmen pushed faster over the sea.

Bands of English rovers, outdriven by stress of fight, had long found a home there, and lived as they could by sack of vessel or coast.