Ships were an important part of Viking society, not only as a means of transportation but also for the prestige that it conferred on her owner and skipper.
The "firearm" was invented in China in the 13th century for celebration or for signaling.
The Chinese used gunpowder in the following centuries without ever testing it on the battlefield.
The Hulk vessel was invented in the early medieval period - it was a sea craft that is known as the predecessor of the more advanced carrack and carvel vessels.
A Knarr was a vessel used for cargo storage - it was a cargo ship that had a wide hull and was deeper and shorter than the standard longship. The reason for this was for it to store more cargo and for much smaller crews to operate it.
People in the middle ages had it rough, the early medieval period from 5th to 10th century was so messed up that people came up with the term "Dark Ages" but, that did not stop them from enjoying the fun part of life.
According to texts that have come down to us from Alamut, Hassan-i Sabbah liked to call his disciples Asasiyun, meaning people who are faithful to the Asās, meaning "foundation" of the faith.
There were professional spies employed by the kings that were spread everywhere. They didn't have a 007 look to them but they still had a good set of skills.
In this way, jesters also played a role to prevent over-oppression due to political affairs and they also helped the members of the nobility to rule well.
In the Medieval period, every kingdom was at war, everyone was fighting against everyone and it was just a mess.
As technology developed a lot of things changed.
