Chapter II: Preface: 11 (2)

According to an arrangement regulating the size of merchant vessels, made in the year B. C. 218, the boats which brought goods from the senatorial possessions in Sicily and Sardinia to Rome, had a cargo space of only 786 cubic feet. It is true that descriptions of much larger vessels are found. These ships, from calculations made by Assmann and other authors, must have had a capacity of 26,000 to 200,000 cubic feet. Graser even goes so far as to say, from the quantity of freight carried, that the ship “Alexandreia” belonging to Hiero of Syracuse must have had a capacity of 240,000 cubic feet. Mention is even made of one ship having a length of 120 ells, while for another a depth of 29 ells is given.

All these dimensions are not to be despised even now, but, considering the small size of the ports and navigable highways of those days as well as their lack of depth, they must have been an impossibility. Furthermore, all these numerical data rest only on hypotheses, and cannot be exact.

The short, bluff merchant ship of the Ancients was certainly not longer than the vessel with oars and its average size does not seem to have exceeded that of a “tialque”.

The progress of shipbuilding was gradual throughout Western Europe, and as the same may be said of the Mediterranean, since the Middle Ages, what reason is there, then, for supposing that the vessels of Antiquity were of extraordinary dimensions?

In this order of ideas, the _Prora of Samothrace_, discovered in 1863 and dating from B. C. 306, gives an exact idea of the war ship of the Ancients and proves that this vessel differed little in shape and size from the ships of the Middle Ages.

The bottom was slightly curved near the middle and the hull was made slender toward the ends. The mean draught of water was one metre, while that of the largest vessels scarcely exceeded 1.50 m. (~Assmann~, _Seewesen_, p. 1597, etc.) The stem and the sternpost were ornamented with signs which are unimportant for this study.

Ships with oars of which the stern was rounded at the level of the water line, carried at the bow a ram, which was used to sink the enemy’s ships and to smash their oars. A heavy block of wood, ornamented with the head of a ram, prevented the ram from penetrating too far into the side of the ship which it attacked.

The arrangements of the ram varied a good deal as is shown by the figures, but the form of the vessel itself was not influenced thereby. This element was the emblem of power and was meant to inspire terror. There is nothing astonishing then that, in most of the old drawings, the draughtsman should have dwelt rather on this detail than on the ship itself, thus causing the shape of this latter to become an accessory.

The ram, which was already in use among the Phœnicians, did not appear among the Greeks until B. C. 536. (Dr. ~Em. Lübeck~, p. 13.) Whence it follows, and it cannot be repeated too often, that the art of shipbuilding had reached a higher degree of perfection with the Phœnicians than among the Greeks and that the former exercised a preponderating influence over the peoples dwelling along the shores of the Mediterranean.

Hence, the thesis of uniformity of the boats of the Mediterranean could be sustained, but this would not imply that each people had known but one type of vessel. Boats of sundry types existed at the same time; there were the short bluff merchant ships side by side with the long vessels driven by oars, and perfected types were crowded against the primitive.

History tells us, that Cæsar put to sea with a fleet thirty days after the cutting of the wood to be used in its construction. (~Nicolas Witsen~, p. 12, col. 1.) It would be hard to grant that the boats which composed this fleet were well finished ships moved by oars. They were, doubtless flat bottomed vessels, of the type which is still found in the Adriatic and which is so well reproduced in the “Rascona”. (~Paris~, Vol. II, and _Das Seewesen der Gr. und R._ by Dr. ~Em. Lübeck~, p. 39.)

The rapid construction of the fleet in question furnishes one proof more in favor of the point raised regarding the small size of ships.

In order to show more clearly what is meant by uniformity in the shape of vessels, attention will be called to the “tialque” type of the Netherlands, which is found, with slight changes and under other names, from Denmark to Belgium. All the boats of this type have a common fundamental character; but with the tialque are met still other types which are also found elsewhere.

So, from Denmark to Belgium, there is a series of well defined fundamental types and hence we can speak of common forms.

This remark applies also to the Mediterranean (_Dictionnaire des Antiquités grecques et romaines_, 36th part, p. 24; _Navis_), where these fundamentals have been preserved for centuries: the old types of wooden vessels to be met with at the present time still give an exact idea of them, save in what relates to the rudder and rig.

Sundry types have evidently been set aside or have undergone changes demanded by local conditions, so that, in order to find among them the fundamental characters belonging to a given country, it is often necessary to seek elsewhere.

So, for example, there are found in Holland, at ’s Gravenmoer (North Brabant), an old Rhenish type; in Portugal, small fishing boats which resemble greatly the ancient Egyptian vessels and, in the Arabian Sea, a ship which, aside from the rudder and rigging, resembles, to an astonishing degree, the primitive Roman vessel. And the Arabs claim that they have the oldest and best ships (compare ~Paris~, Vol. III, nᵒ 135, with the relief of the “port of the Tiber” which appears in ~Baumeister~, _Denkmäler des Klassischen Altertums_, fig. 1688).

If vessels moved by oars underwent no changes as the result of the invention of gunpowder, the cause must be sought in the slenderness of their construction required by the small motive power which they could put forth. The number of oarsmen was limited and very soon a maximum was reached which could not be exceeded.

In view of the fact that a practical vessel having more than three banks of rowers could not be constructed, and that the old reproductions which are known never show more than three, it seems permissible to conclude that the ancient writers who speak of four banks of oars and more, have allowed their imaginations to run away with them or, which appears more exact, that they had a way of counting other than the one adopted in our time? Doubtless, it was desired to designate the number of oars which passed in banks through the side of the ship.

Huys’s drawing, according to Breugel (dating from the middle of the XVIth century), shows oars grouped thus in sets of threes, and the same process is found in other old pictures; if these pictures show triremes, the question would be simple to explain.

A reproduction of the trireme, often referred to, is that of the bas-relief of the Acropolis at Athens. (_Baumeister Denkmäler des klassischen Altertums_, fig. 1689.) Copies of it are found in all the works, but they do not always agree and hence can offer nothing certain. (Dr. ~Moritz Rühlmann~, p. 62.)

Let a few more words be said now about merchantmen.

[Sidenote: II 26]

For these, the most beautiful drawing known is certainly the aforementioned relief of the port of the Tiber, preserved in the Torlonia Museum. In this is seen a large merchant ship with inclined stem and rounded stern. At about two-thirds of the length of the ship from the bow, the gunwale projects so as to give a support to the steering oar. This mode of construction is still found on several Indian boats, etc. The ordinary mast, set up near the middle of the vessel and provided with a stay, is secured by strong ropes. The square sail can be lowered by means of ropes running through rings fastened thereto. Then the mast carries but a single yard; a jib is attached to its upper end.

A mast called “dolon” stands forward; it was used, in the beginning, to hoist in a small life boat. It is still called the “boat mast” probably for this reason.

The cabin occupies all the available space aft of the mast.

The sails were generally square; they were sometimes of rectangular shape on the Alexandria freight ships.

War ships, like important freight vessels, always had two masts. (Dr. ~Breusing~, _Die Nautik der Alten_, p. 56.) In action, the sails were furled and the masts lowered, in order to save them from being reached by the ram of the enemy’s ships. (Dr. ~Breusing~, p. 71.)

[Sidenote: II 31]

Attention should not bear alone on large ships, but also on the small merchant vessels. The most beautiful picture of this sort of boat is, unquestionably, the old relief of the Cathedral at Salerno. (_Jahrbuch des Kaiserlichen Deutschen Archeol. Instituts_, Vol. IV, p. 103, fig. 1_c_.) Aside from the question of the rudder, the vessel there shown would easily pass for a modern craft.

This boat is in course of being discharged; the bridge is lowered and the forward panel is raised. The mast which is down had to be taken from its step for this purpose; this method was still much in use in our country in the XVIIIth century. The steering oars hang alongside of the vessel, resting against the projecting side.

The boat itself is completed by a stem and a sternpost. The step of the mast is about one-third of the length of the boat from the bow, and abaft this is seen the hold. This last, as in our present river boats, is closed by means of panels. Even the grooves (half-rounds), into which the panels are set, can be made out and, in these grooves, even the openings to let the water run off (shown by little marks) are to be seen.

The panels are on a slope, as shown by the upper lines.

The meaning of these little half-circles was not understood by the author of the Jahrbuch afore-named. (_Jahrbuch des Kais. Deutsch. Arch. Instituts_, Vol. IV, 1889, p. 103.)

Two mooring bitts are seen near the bow and four near the stern; their special form allows it to be assumed that they were to be used as a support for oars, which gave the means for going ahead in a calm.

The mast, which is short and thick, is provided with cleats throughout its entire height, hence it may be supposed that these pieces of wood were placed there for climbing the mast. Hence it is probable that this boat did not have rigging sufficiently strong for this purpose. It is true that no ropes are seen in the figure in question, but it cannot be concluded, however, that the vessel had none.

It is my opinion that this boat could not have been larger than a small “tialque”. Here is another proof in support of the argument that, in the course of ages, boats have been but little changed and that their construction soon reached a high degree of perfection. There is nothing surprising to be found in this assertion, if the masterpieces bequeathed to us by the Greeks and Romans be considered.

It is matter of regret that no positive data exist in regard to the position of the oarsmen among the Ancients, because it is just on this point that vessels propelled by oars were modified in the Middle Ages. It was at this period that the oars handled by one man, according to the primitive fashion, gave place to a single bank of heavy oars each of which was worked by several rowers.

This transition was not coïncident with the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476). In fact, the Emperor Leo (886 to 911) advised the construction of “dromon” biremes (~La Croix~, p. 75), and even in the XIth century, a writer is seen to speak of a _chélandre_ or _sélandre_, to which he attributes a very high speed and which had two banks of oars superposed. (~La Croix~, pp. 75 and 79.)

The change came about gradually, in all probability.

In the XIIIth century, only vessels with one bank of oars, galleys, are mentioned. (See, for banks, ~van Yk~, p. 11; ~Torr~, _Ancient Ships_, pp. 19 et seq.)

Meanwhile, the rudder arose and its appearance brought about changes in the stern of the vessel.

As a general rule, little is known about the condition of the art of shipbuilding at the beginning of the Middle Ages. All the same, however, this period must have seen an important marine on the Mediterranean and, consequently, the art of shipbuilding must have been flourishing. There is no doubt that the Crusades (1096-1291) had a great influence on the old state of affairs. Venice became the centre of progress and Genoa followed closely.

The importance of the navy at this time is attested by the famous navy yards at Venice and by a great number of edicts which relate to the construction of ships. Thus, there is found in the XIIIth century an edict which determines the water line for the vessel loaded and for the vessel empty. (~Jal~, p. 267, article 4.)

In regard to the construction of ships with oars, it is only necessary to refer to the edicts of the Emperor Leo which were observed, even to the Xth century. This Emperor ordered that the galleys should be sufficiently strong and swift, involving thus great length and little beam, but the latter was to be, however, proportioned to the length. These edicts were simple, but categorical.

Later on, people were no longer free to build as they pleased. They had to follow the rules laid down regarding the form of the ships which bore a certain relation to the capacity and to the trips to be made.

The length of the boats was not extraordinary: ~Jal~ gives, for example, a length of about 44 metres for vessels propelled by oars. This figure, as one can see, differs little from that of the vessels of antiquity, and was little exceeded later on.

Just as in the times of the Greeks and the Romans, the Middle Ages had their galleys, and their merchant vessels of more rounded form. Thus, for example, the city of Genoa sent to Pisa, in 1284, a fleet of eight galleys and caravels. (~Jal~, p. 250.)

The galleys, however, were not used exclusively as vessels of war; they also served generally, in the XIVth century, as merchantmen. (~Jal~, p. 250.)

We have from the Middle Ages no drawings or pictures which give the means of deducing with any certainty the shape of the ships. The oldest picture comes to us from Pietro Laurentini, an artist of the XIVth century; then there exists another by the hand of Raphaël (1483-1520), and dating from the beginning of the XVIth century.

These two reproductions appear in ~Jal~’s work (_Archéologie navale_), but their small scale almost destroys their value. They are remarkable however from this that the first shows the double mast of the Ancients and the cabin on the after deck, while Raphaël’s carries a castle at the bow and stern, as well as the vessel’s rudder.

It follows from a comparative examination of old coins that the rudder had come generally into use in the XIIIth century. It is superfluous, however, to recall that, nevertheless, the steering oar was still used on many vessels as a rudder.

The invention of gunpowder, near the middle of the XIVth century, made no changes in the structure of the galleys, because the propelling force was still limited to the strength of the rowers, which made a slender shape a prime necessity for the boat and prevented the mounting of any large number of guns on board.

The galleys reached their apogee in 1600. Shortly afterward, they began to lose their value as war ships by reason of the increasing power of the big, rounded sea-going vessels.

A striking example of the fighting inferiority of the galleys is found in the naval action between the French ship “Le Bon” and 36 galleys, on July 10, 1684. (~Paris~, Vol. III, no. 126.) This vessel was only 41.41 m. long from bow to stern, with a total width of 11.04 m. and a depth of 5.03 m.; the keel was 37.03 long.

The galleys, on the other hand, were 48.77 m. long over all, 21.20 m. on the keel, with a breadth of 5.90 m. on the deck (8.47 m. between the apostis); the oars were 2.5 metres long.

The higher position of the artillery on “Le Bon”, as well as its more solid frame and thicker planking, allowed this ship to hold the enemy at bay and to escape when the wind rose.

If the strength of the crews be examined, the fighting inferiority of the galleys stands out still more clearly; while the French ship carried only 600 to 800 men, the galleys had on board from 12,000 to 14,000 all told. Consequently, from as far back as the XVIIth century, the galleys were used in France almost exclusively for towing. Thus we read that in 1688, the wind having fallen, Duquesne had his ships brought by galleys under the walls of Algiers in order to bombard that city.

The galleys continued to appear nevertheless in the French navy until 1773.

It was at the battle of Zierikzee, in 1302, where the Flemings fought against the French, the Dutch and the Genoese, that, according to the old Florentine historian Villani, the superiority of the broad-beamed vessels of the North Sea, over the galleys, was first felt. The Count of Flanders had fitted out, for this battle, eighty ships or “coques”, built in accordance with the maritime demands of the place. (Villani says: _ottantia navi, overo cahi, al medo di quello mare_.) According to this historian it was also the first time that vessels of this kind had to be fought.

The battle of Zierikzee was the cause, from this time on, of giving more and more attention, in the Mediterranean, to the building of broad-beamed ships. Besides, necessity forced it. The Crusades brought about more frequent relations with the peoples of the North against whom defense must needs be had.

In the beginning, the people from the North called upon the Genoese and others along the shores of the Mediterranean to transport the Crusaders to Palestine. The route by the Mediterranean became thus known to them; but they very soon undertook to build ships themselves so as to escape from the exorbitant transportation charges of the Italians. Nevertheless, Venice, Genoa, etc. remained the principal warehouses; and many ships were still built there, especially for France. Philip the Handsome, in his struggle against Edward I of England, in 1295, and Philip of Valois, in his war against Edward III, in 1337, both made use of Genoese vessels. (~La Croix~, p. 92.)

Furthermore, as ~Jal~ has written (_Archéologie Navale_, Vol. II, p. 352), it can be granted with certainty that the vessels built in the French ports of the Mediterranean, were identical with those used in Italy. The mutual relations between maritime peoples and their common interests inevitably brought about these imitations. Venice yielded nothing to Genoa; Genoa was close on the heels of Pisa and, in the improvements made in shipbuilding, this last city did not allow herself to be out-done by Barcelona, Marseilles or Constantinople.

Under these circumstances, the writer just quoted was right, then, in saying: “The basin of the Mediterranean had, therefore, but one navy, at least so far as the principal vessels were concerned; it is so to-day and it was certainly so in ancient times.” I add also for my part that the characteristic differences offered by types of vessels among themselves, have undergone no change in the course of ages and this applies not only to the basin of the Mediterranean, but to shipbuilding in general.

These old types, however, are not to be sought among the large vessels, but rather among the small ones and, particularly, among fishing smacks.

Among all nations, even among all seafaring people, fishermen have most preserved their ancient character and modified their manners and customs least. The exercise of their hard calling on the sea has made them hostile to any innovation coming from the shore and has been unable, except in passing over their bodies, to make them give up the old types of ships, the issue of tradition and usage. Hence, fishermen have kept longest the antique forms and it is to them that we must go to find them. Thus there are seen in Norway fishing boats which, aside from the rudder, reproduce almost completely the ancient “Viking ship”. The Dutch “Bom” is, in like manner, a remnant of the “cog”, and Portugal offers barks which call to mind the old mural paintings discovered in Italy.

Naturally many types have disappeared already, and their number is constantly increasing through the use of steel in shipbuilding. Thus it is that there now no longer exist any but a few rare specimens of the galleys and they are used merely for festive occasions (examples: the galley utilized for the naval review of the Hollandsche-Diep, and that used in Portugal on certain holidays).

The oldest work which treats of galleys is called: “Fabbrica di galere”. (~Jal~, _Archéologie Navale_, Vol. II, pp. 6 _et seq._) The first complete information about them dates from the time of Louis XIV and is given by the Chevalier Barras de la Penne (1698). Nor should the work of Fürstenbach, dating from 1623, be passed by in silence. (~Witsen~, p. 186.)

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Although the galleys are sufficiently known, a few more words may still be said about them. These boats were long and narrow and rose but little above the water. Their beam was generally one-seventh or one-eighth of their length and the part out of water rose to only 1 m. to 1.50 m. in height. A galley 40.60 m. long, for example, had a beam of only 5.27 m. The total length of the stem was 3.28 m. and of the sternpost it was 3.62 m. The main frame was placed at three-sevenths of the length of the vessel and was flattened on the under side. The vessel narrowed forward and aft and the deck covered its entire length. Near the middle was built the _corsia_ (guard bridge) into which were let the benches of the rowers. On each side, close by the planking and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vessel, were the apostis, heavy timbers into which were let the thole pins. The oars, arranged in a single bank, were each worked by four or five men who rose from their bench as they pushed forward on the loom of the oar, to prepare for a stroke, and fell back on it as the stroke was completed. The oarsmen were stark naked at this work. A man of average strength could stand it, as a rule, for an hour, and yet this work had sometimes to go on for twelve consecutive hours in time of war. What a painful situation, when it is considered that these men were exposed to the inclemencies of the air and to the fire of the enemy!

In order to strengthen the rowers at their work, bread steeped in wine was put into their mouths. If they fell exhausted, they were mercilessly flogged by the boatswain who walked up and down the bridge, and if they did not rise, death awaited them: they were thrown overboard.

If it be borne in mind, furthermore, that the rowers were rivetted to the ship by irons which were rarely removed; that they generally lived and died on their benches, it will be understood that the galleys were a terror and a shame for the seafaring peoples.

It was rare to meet with volunteers for this trade which included, for the matter of that, only slaves and prisoners of war. Still, the rowers were not all equal; they were divided into three distinct classes: 1ᵒ those condemned to the galleys, their hair and beard being shaved; 2ᵒ the slaves, among whom were Turks, Moors and Negroes, these last considered to be the best rowers, their distinctive mark was a tuft of hair on the head; 3ᵒ the “benevoglie” or volunteers among whom were men who had served their time and been liberated, but who were not able to find a place and so sought a refuge on the galleys, as well as bandits and others who no longer had anything on which to live.

The clothing of the rowers was very simple: they received every year two shirts, two pairs of breeches, a red cloth jacket a sou’wester for winter, a red cap and two blankets per bench of oarsmen.

Rations were issued to them, but they could buy more if the food supplied were not enough.

The part of the hold not occupied by ammunition was reserved for provisions; it also included a bit of a cabin for the captain and officers.

When the galley stopped, a large sail was stretched above and across the ship, one side being raised so as to let the air enter.

Their slender build did not give the galleys sufficient stability at sea, consequently the rowers were often very much tried by the waves.

The armament was simple: three guns were placed at the bow, the principal one of which was in the middle (set in the longitudinal axis of the ship); on the large galleys, there were found, as a rule 18, 48 and 12 pounders and, on the small ships, there were one 12-, one 24-and one 8-pdr.

The fighting value was measured by the amount of iron which could be thrown at once and per man. Take, for example, a galley throwing 44 kilogrammes of iron at once and carrying a crew of about 400 men. There would be hurled, then, 0.110 m. per man. A galley cost 400,000 francs, or 9090 francs per kilogramme of iron.

Compare this galley with an ordinary war ship, carrying 55 pieces of artillery with a crew of 1100 men and able to throw 1000 kilogrammes at once (or 0.910 m. per man), and assume its cost to be 3000 francs per kg. The lower fighting efficiency, of the galleys and their much greater relative cost can be clearly seen. This ordinary war ship throws at once nine times more iron per man while its cost is less than that of the galley considered.

In conclusion, it will be stated that the speed of the galleys was 2.50 m. per second or 5.6 miles per hour, and that sails were available in addition to the oars. They carried two masts, one at the bow and the other about midship, both provided with lateen sails (~Jal~, _Clos. nautique_, p. 749), which were furled while the vessel was in action.

[Sidenote: II 43]

No further demonstration is necessary to show that the galley was not suited to take the Ocean, which was more and more frequented. The invention of gunpowder soon brought out this vessel’s inferiority for fighting. Hence endeavors were made to improve it.

[Sidenote: II 45]

Thus there is seen to arise in the XVIth century a ship, the “galliass”, of which the bow and stern recall the boats of broad beam, and of which the intermediate part brings the galleys to mind. This ship had more beam than the galleys; its breadth being to its length as 1 to 5½.

With a length of 50.01 m., the galliass had a beam of 9.01 m. and drew 3.35 m.; its greatest depth was 6.52 m. There were 25 oars on each side and the benches of the rowers were 1.30 m. apart. The oars were handled at times by 7 or 8 men and as the sides were higher above the water than those of the galleys, the rowers were better protected against waves.

The galliass carried generally from 700 to 1000 men. Fifty guns were mounted in the towers and between the benches of the rowers.

The galliass was more stable on the water than the galley, protected the rowers better and carried more guns; but, just on account of these advantages, it was less agile as its propelling force was limited by the restricted number of rowers.

The galliass, like the galleys carried three masts furnished with lateen sails. These were very hard to work, so that in violent winds the large sails were replaced by others of smaller size.

It is not astonishing that even the galliass should have been inferior to the broad-beamed ships. Furthermore, they were never numerous; at the end of the XVIth century, in the naval battle of the allied powers against the Turks at Lepanto, only six of them could be assembled. (~Jal~, _Archéologie Navale_, p. 394.) It is therefore very doubtful whether the invincible “Armada”, the famous fleet of 1588, included a division of twenty-two galliass; the greater part of these vessels were undoubtedly galleys.

In the same way, there existed among the Ancients, beside the _naves longæ_, broad beamed ships which were used in the beginning solely for commerce and transportation.

The invention of gunpowder, and still more the closing by the Turks of the old route to the Indies, at the end of the XVth century, made a change in this situation. From this time, trade moves toward the ocean; a new route to the Indies is sought and the New World is discovered.

Then too, the nations of the North greedy for riches and no longer content with the Baltic Sea, take their chances toward the South.

All these circumstances brought in a turning point for the history of the naval architecture of the Mediterranean. In spite of the efforts made to preserve the supremacy of the old types of ships, by building larger vessels with oars, such as the galliass etc., it was necessary to retreat, not only in Italy but also in Spain and Portugal before the more powerful fleets of the peoples of the North.

Hence it can be said, in the order of the ideas already expressed in speaking of the battle of Zierikzee, which occurred in 1302, that the XIVth and XVth centuries saw the naval architecture of the Ocean make its way into the Mediterranean. On the other hand, the art of the Mediterranean was not without its influence on the former.

It is not easy to reconstitute the types of ships inherent to the Mediterranean; indeed, but few data remain concerning these vessels. All that can be done is to refer to the contracts above mentioned of Louis IX. The first reliable information dates from a period subsequent to the middle ages, and notably from the XVIIth century.

All the old drawings known at present leave something to be desired and are always out of proportion. The only conclusion to be drawn from them is that there were several kinds of boats.

It is really to be regretted, as ~Jal~ says, that we have no more exact information. There is no doubt, however, that, even in the middle ages, there were good broad-beamed ships (~Jal~, _Clos. naut._, p. 1057; ~La Croix~, p. 86; idem, p. 96) which allowed at least five hundred fighting men to be carried. (~Jal~, _Archéologie Navale_, p. 380, 2d part, note.) Even horses were loaded on board. (~Jal~, _Archéologie Navale_, p. 386, etc. ~Holmes~, p. 68.)

In order to reconstitute the types inherent to the Mediterranean, it is necessary to find out, first of all, what models were still existing at the end of the XVIIIth century, at the time when wooden vessels exclusively were used.

It will be remarked, before beginning this examination, that boats were constantly beached when not under way; let it also be noted that the waters of the Mediterranean were calm, when compared with those of the Ocean. This latter point especially explains why vessels with oars were there so long in use. (~Paris~, Vol. IV, p. 206.)

In order to ground the boats, the bottom of the hull had to be flat and, as a matter of fact, the centre body of the vessels under consideration is wide and flat, wider even than that of the vessels from the North. The beam of these latter was to the length as 1:4, while in most of the Mediterranean vessels this proportion varies between 1:2½ and 1:3½ (generally, 1:3).

The Mediterranean boats are pointed toward the stem and the sternpost, which is the contrary of what exists for the Northern vessels and this shape gives the former an appearance all their own. Furthermore, the sides of these ships do not come at all together toward the top; at most, they are vertical; in other words: the greatest width is at the top.

Among the old models, some are found which have: 1ᵒ a straight sloping stem; 2ᵒ a straight vertical stem, and 3ᵒ a curved stem which is convex or concave at the top.

Alongside of the broad-beamed vessels, there are a few longer ones, of which the beam is to the length as 1 to 5.

Intentionally, no mention has been made of the sternpost as this has been modified in most cases by the adoption of the rudder.

[Sidenote: II 48]

Besides, many boats have a flat projection at the stern furnished with a balustrade,--a detail which is found also on the Greek and Roman vessels. This position was originally reserved for the helmsmen who operated the steering oars.

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Among the more important types must be counted the _Xebecs_, with three masts furnished at the beginning with lateen sails. These latter were replaced later on by square sails. The ship thus modified was then called a _mystic Xebec_ or a _polacca Xebec_. The _Polacca_ also existed at this time.

[Sidenote: II 53]

The length of these vessels--about 15 metres--was to the beam as 3½ to 1. The stem, sensibly straight at the top, becomes curved at the foot and is provided with a ram similar to that of a “Galleon”. The sternpost is straight but it leans back and the after deck projects. This type of vessel can be compared to a broad-beamed galley, Astern, the _Polacca_ more nearly resembles ocean vessels.

All these vessels are originally from the West of the Mediterranean. (~Paris~, Vol. II, nᵒˢ 78 and 90; _idem_, Vol. I, nᵒ 25.) The Genoese “pink” can be placed in the same category. (~Paris~, Vol. II, no. 119.)

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[Sidenote: II 39]

There is still found in Tunisia the “Carèbe”, from 12 to 15 metres long with a beam of one-third of this length. This boat seems to have a double stem (the plank sheer reenters). Let this type be compared with the reproduction which appears on the tower of Pisa, etc. (~Paris~, Vol. IV, nᵒ 201), which also shows a boat with a double stem.

Alongside of the “Carèbe”, are the Arabian “Sandales”, 12 metres long, 2.85 m. wide and 1.30 m. deep. Jal considers this kind of boat as one of the oldest types.

The Arabian “Sandale” is a very slender vessel, narrower amidships than most of the others.

[Sidenote: II 54]

[Sidenote: II 60]

The Maltese boats, the “Speronare”, are still more singular; they are 15 metres long, 4.40 m. beam, 1.20 m. draught with a capacity of about 17 tonnes. The stem and the sternpost are vertical. These boats have sometimes at the stern a flat projection and at the bow a truncated ram.

The same type, 5.30 m. long, 1.95 m. beam and 1 metre deep, becomes a “Tarella”. This boat has no ram. There is no doubt that these are very ancient forms. (Compare, for example, the “Speronara” with Layard’s reproduction.)

The “Schifarro” and “Laoutello” of Sicily, with their curved stem and sternpost, are not less remarkable. These vessels also recall reproductions of the middle ages which present the same characteristics.

On the East coast of Italy are found the “Tartana”, 17.90 m. long, 4.90 m. beam, and drawing 0.80 m. of water and the “Braca da Pasca”, 12.20 m. long, 2.30 m. beam and 1.60 m. deep; both of them flat-bottomed and solidly built. (~Paris~, Vol. II, pl. 85, 86 and 87.)

It should be noted that still other types of flat-bottomed boats are met with on the Adriatic, among them are the “Rascona”, a very narrow vessel for its length (1 to 5), and the “Topo”. The former is also steered with the oar.

Greece and Turkey have between them many points of contact. Two types are found there: one with a straight sloping stem, the other with a curved stem: the “Scaphé” and the “Sacobeva”. (~Paris~, 3, nᵒˢ 91, 89 and 88.)

The Arabian Sea, to go no further, gives the “Baggala” and the “Dungiyah”; the latter has probably now disappeared. These are very old types with a strongly sloping stem. Allusion has been made above to Greek figures in which the analogy with these vessels is complete.

Some types have shifted their ground. The best proof of this is the “Balancella” of Spain which came originally in all probability from Naples (~Paris~, Vol. II, nᵒ 61) and which resembles greatly the “Trabocola”.

All these boats, and only the principal ones have been mentioned, allow the reconstitution of a few fundamental types which are still to be found now and which were in existence several centuries ago. The development of trade, expeditions to points further and further away, which had to be undertaken, have caused the old types to be replaced long since by others intended for navigation beyond the seas. This explains why the primitive types no longer exist except in vessels of small importance. For these latter, it was not necessary to seek new forms, because the small builders continued to follow traditions and to work from models. Steel has gained ground very slowly among them, and insensibly and only as the new generations come to replace the old, will the types of the primitive boats disappear.

Although several types exist, it follows from what precedes that the Mediterranean types are broad in comparison to their length, and flat amidships; besides, they are pointed at bow and stern. With these data, Fürstenbach’s work, which dates from 1629, acquires more value in our eyes, because it contains reproductions of a Dutch ship and a few Mediterranean vessels, in which can be discovered many known types, although they are called by separate names.

The difference of form between the types of the North and those of the South, already pointed out before, is shown there clearly; it appears in all its force when the midship frames of the two boats are brought together. (Compare “die Mittlere Stamenale”, fig. II, with “die Stamenale” of fig. 16, as well as the plans of the ships.) The difference in the height of the stem and sternpost is not less noticeable, and indeed, the Mediterranean ships really appear higher than ours. It will be seen further on that, under the influence of the South (_i. e._ of the Mediterranean) the people of our country began to make their vessels higher.

It was the South which inaugurated the system of castles which were built on the ships in the Middle Ages. It is to be noticed that already, in the Xth century, the Emperor Leo laid down rules concerning their construction. (~La Croix~, p. 6.) Some castles are found even on old Roman engravings. Hence, there is every authority for supposing that these castles rose progressively.

The improvements of the means of defense, and hence the changes in military tactics, after the invention of gunpowder, contributed a great deal toward enhancing the importance given to these castles.

It was known in Holland that the Mediterranean vessels were more pointed than ours, and a proof of it is found in the passage (p. 355) from van Yk’s well known work, where this author tells us that the special qualities of our ships as sailers was attributed to the greatly curved stern and hence to the full bow. And it is surely not uninteresting, then, to read further on (p. 85~A~) that the father of the author of the work, accompanied by his three sons, went to Genoa to build vessels able to advance even against the wind, something unknown until then in that city. Hence the art of tacking was not known at Genoa at that period, a manœuvre, furthermore, which the lateen sails did not allow. It was not until later that these sails were replaced by square sails. Hence it was not at all strange that ships with oars remained so long in use on the Mediterranean. On the other hand, it may be considered as proved that, from the earliest times, there existed broad vessels alongside of the long craft fitted with oars. (~Jal~, _Glossaire nautique_, p. 1049.)

Still, the few ancient boats which have been exhumed, seem to have reached such a high degree of perfection, that naval architecture must have attained a wonderful development even in the most distant ages. This should not surprise us, however, when we see the masterpieces left by the Mediterranean races, masterpieces which bear witness to their esthetic and practical sense.

As the progressive developments of the ship in the middle ages are studied and as the dimensions of docks and other installations among the Greeks and Romans are considered, it can be stated positively that giant ships were unknown to Antiquity and that the descriptions given thereof should be examined in the light of the conditions which dictated them to the author. Just, for example, as the importance of the city of Babylon, and the excavations made there show, it was singularly exaggerated by the ancient writers. Besides, do we not daily read communications about the extraordinary sizes of ships and engines, sizes which, after a little while, are surpassed by others still more extraordinary? And so will it ever be.

In conclusion, let it be said that the ancient models are still to be found in small wooden vessels and in fishing smacks. These models have come down through the course of the centuries without other changes than those wrought by the rudder and by decoration.

If then an exact idea of the types of the ships of the Ancients be desired, thorough investigations should be started so soon as possible in order to find them, to measure them and to make of them drawings with dimensions, as has been done for the Netherlands.

This rapid comparative study allows the mutual relations which exist between the nations to be established and to show that the ancient types special to Southern France, to Spain and to Portugal all belong to the Mediterranean family, that is to say: to the Southern centre.

Het varen met weynig volk, het nauw en zober behelpen in leeftocht en
ons ingeboren zindelijkheid, die de schepen langdurend macht, doet
den Nederlantschen scheepvaart bloeyen, en niet het scheepsfatzoen.

~Nicolas Witsen~, 1671.[4]

These remarkable words are characteristic and show that something else than the determined forms of ships is necessary to make a people prosperous and great. If this were not so, our types of vessels, says Witsen, would have been copied immediately by other nations.

Sobriety and cleanliness are two capital virtues of the Dutch race, but, beside these virtues, our ancestors possessed one other important quality: they were builders of economical ships and our present builders have preserved this quality.

Let us hope, with full confidence, that this will always be so in the future.

Witsen maintained--and this fact acquires a certain significance if it be compared with what goes before--that foreigners who have come to Holland to learn our art of shipbuilding, could not after returning home, imitate our processes. I am not surprised, therefore, to see these foreigners write that they could not use our architecture or our measures.

Many a ship, says the author mentioned, has been analyzed and measured abroad, but never has it been imitated; nor have our builders ever harvested any praise for their work.

What Witsen then says about the English is quite characteristic: “In deze braveeren zy (de Engelschen) opentlyk allen Landaert en wanen niemant huns gelyk in deze konst te hebben”[5]. He imputes this unfavorable judgment on the Dutch to the fact, that nothing relating to naval architecture has ever been published in the Netherlands. It will be seen, further on, that, as a matter of fact, people abroad hold another opinion.

Data, which may not be doubted, teach us that, even in the highest antiquity, the peoples living on the shores of the Mediterranean were acquainted with navigation. Again, at the present time, the most savage, the least civilized nations, settled by the banks of rivers, had their boats, however primitive their forms may have been. Several ancient ships were exhumed in Northern Europe during the second half of the last century. It may be concluded from this that the people who lived near the water were familiar with navigation from the earliest times.

Moreover, it is evident that the long, narrow “canoe” obtained from the hollowed out trunk of a tree was the oldest form of boat. The pole, which was the primitive mode of propulsion, was soon replaced by the paddle and the oar.

Man, by nature, seeks his ease; hence there is no cause for astonishment that he should from the beginning have called the wind to assist him in moving over the water. This accessory means soon became the principal agent of propulsion.

The oldest inhabitants of the Netherlands were acquainted with navigation, long before the Roman domination, and it is to be supposed that they could only have reached the various points of their territory by water.

Cæsar tells us (~Holmes~, p. 52) that the Britains used very light vessels composed of a frame of linden branches covered with skins. On the other hand, Pope Marcellinus (A. D. 293-304) relates to what an extent the Saxons were to be feared because of their agility and adds that their boats were made of buffalo skins stretched tight over flexible wood.

By the side of the long vessels with oars, there must have existed very soon broader and less swift boats. These boats were propelled by sails and finally they wholly displaced the ships with oars.

Nothing concerning these primitive boats has been preserved.

It is well known that the oldest inhabitants of our country came from the East. They, doubtless, were acquainted with the art of shipbuilding and they must have adapted their types to the necessities forced upon them by the state of the navigable highways of our low-lying lands.

It can be assumed that the cradle of the naval architecture of the Netherlands was in the Baltic Sea. So, let us turn our eyes first in that direction where, from the most distant times, the art of shipbuilding must have reached a high degree of perfection. This follows not only from the vessels of the time of the Vikings which have been found, but also from the researches made in late years. These researches have authorized the conclusion that, even in ancient times, the peoples of the North seem to have crossed the North Sea. The Swedish archeologist Montelius even assumes that there were already continuous relations between the West coast of Sweden and the East coast of England at the close of the age of stone.

Long before the expeditions, properly so called, made toward the South by the Vikings, the latter crossed the sea, and it is settled beyond question that they were given to navigation at the beginning of our era. Tacitus speaks of the powerful fleets of the Swedes which, in his time, did not use sails but only oars. The author of the work _Vesterlandenes indflyelse poa Nordboenes og saerlig Nordmaennenes ydze kulture leveesat og simfundfs Jorhold i Vickingetiden_ af ~Alexander Bugge~[6] 1905, seems authorized, under these conditions, in saying that the navigation of the North owes its origin to the Suevi and the Goths settled on the shores of the Baltic, whence it passed later to the Norsemen and the Danes. It may also be added, we believe, that the same was the case with regard to the Netherlands, Great Britain, Belgium and a part of the North of France.

The celebrated German philologist and archeologist, Professor H. Zimmer, supposes that the Norsemen visited the Shetland Islands between the years 590 and 644. This supposition has been confirmed by the researches of Dr. Jacob Jacobsen, who lived for a long time in these islands in order to study there the Norse names of the villages and to pick up still other traces of the Norse language. This savant also concluded that the Norsemen must have already visited the Shetland Islands about the year 700.

[Sidenote: II 75]

If these facts be compared with what used to be done on the Mediterranean, where the endeavor was always made to land at night, it is impossible to repress a sentiment of admiration for the Norsemen who crossed the sea fearlessly as far as Iceland and Greenland. Their naval architecture must even then have reached an extraordinary degree of perfection, full proof of which is found in the construction of the superb ships “Oxberg” and “Gokstad”, found in the neighborhood of Sandefijord (Christiania Museum of Antiquities).

Hence it is scarcely probable that the peoples of the North should have learned anything at all about shipbuilding during their expeditions across Western Europe. On the contrary, this part of Europe, including the Netherlands, must have borrowed the art of shipbuilding from them. It was also only very much later that a navy and fleet were spoken of in England. (See ~Holmes~, _Ancient and Modern Ships_, 1900.)

Afterwards, the Norsemen extended their excursions more and more toward the South; they settled in Normandy and took possession of England. It was in the course of these expeditions that they became acquainted with the naval architecture of the Mediterranean. It is needless to say that they must then have appreciated the perfection which the latter had reached. Furthermore their interest demanded it. They borrowed, in particular from the nations of Southern Europe the anchor which these, in their turn, had learned from the Greeks. The Norse word “akkeri”, which means _anchor_, seems to be borrowed from the Anglo-Saxon “ancor” which owes its origin to the Latin word “ancora”. The word “forkr”, meaning a boathook, is also of foreign origin; it comes from the Anglo-Saxon “forca” and from the Latin “furca”.

The types of the Norse vessels have, however, not been changed as the result of contact with the South. The extraordinary life of the Vikings and their continual piracies justify the conclusion that the merchant ship was not improved among them, but rather among the peoples engaged in a more regular trade. There is really, in my opinion, no cause for astonishment that this development should have taken place in the North-Western part of Europe. There are some even who claim that the vessel “busse”, generally in use during the Middle Ages, came to us from Normandy and dates from the beginning of the XIth century. In order to support this claim, they take their stand on the fact that the word “busse” appears first at about this time in the Chronicles.

J. Steenslup has called attention to a people of seamen called the “Butsecarlas” (mentioned in the old Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of the year 1066 and in the book of Florent Wigorniensis, dating from 1052), who occupied the coasts of Hasting and Yorkshire. This writer also calls attention to the second part of the word, which belongs to the Norse tongue, while the word “buza” occurs frequently in the Old Norse and the Old Swedish, near the XIIIth century, and means a boat of sharply curved form. This word, however, is of Romana origin: it corresponds, so it said, to the Old French _buse_ or _buce_ (dating from about 1080); hence it is considered that the vessel “buce” is originally from Normandy.

This, however, does not seem to be so sure. It has been shown, as a matter of fact, that the same shapes of ships have been preserved for ages even though under other names.

The fact that the word _buse_ is used for the first time about the year 1050 is, therefore, no proof that the type of vessel in question only appeared at this time. I am rather inclined to think that the type under consideration was already in existence, but that it was named _buse_ or _buze_ in Normandy only toward 1050 and, probably, after having undergone a few unimportant changes.

Shipbuilding was imported from the Baltic into the Netherlands by the most ancient inhabitants of this country, the Frisians and the Saxons, who then developed it aside from any foreign influence.