The first sailing ships of the Middle Ages appeared during the Crusades. Performing their feats of arms, the “defenders of the Holy Sepulcher” moved around the Mediterranean Sea on sailing naves.
Nave is by no means the name of a specific type of ship; most likely, all the first sailing ships were called that way. Descriptions of the naves of the 10th-12th centuries, unfortunately, have not survived, and we know almost nothing about these ships.
In the 13th century. French king Louis IX begins to assemble a fleet for the first two crusades. He signs contracts for the lease of sailing ships built in Venice, Marseille and Genoa.
Venetian nave
The texts of these contracts, which have survived to this day, became the first accurate descriptions of the naves. Judging by them, the Neft of those years was a fairly large ship with a displacement of up to 600 tons. The bow and stern with equally high cheekbones had high multi-tiered superstructures where crossbowmen were stationed during the battle.
As the naves improved, the platforms for soldiers gradually shifted to the stems. The cabins were located on the deck with ledges extending beyond the stern. There was no rudder yet - as before, it was replaced by two short, wide steering oars, for which special holes were cut out in the stern.
The first naves were single-masted. Subsequently, they began to be equipped with two single-tree masts. A high foremast was installed at the very bow of the ship. The mainmast was located in the middle of the hull and was no longer than the keel. On the tops (tops) of the masts, tops were built - protected platforms for observers and shooters. For huge lateen sails, it was necessary to make composite yards - from two halves, fastened with cable vulings. It was not very easy to control the sails, especially when changing to another tack. Each nave was supposed to have three spare masts - probably because the latter often broke.
Cogg
Wulings are a bandage made of several turns of cable for tightening parts of the lower masts together.
Tack - the ship's course relative to the wind. If the wind blows on the spruce side, then they say that the ship is sailing on a left tack; if on a starboard tack, then on a starboard tack.
A capstan is a device for selecting (raising) an anchor.
There were three boats on the naves and countless anchors - usually up to twenty. In those days, spiers were not yet known. It was often impossible to lift the anchor, which sometimes weighed more than a ton, by hand. Therefore, sailors preferred to part with the anchor that had completed its mission, cutting off the anchor rope without regret.
The crews of some naves consisted of 100-150 sailors. Such ships could carry up to a thousand passengers. However, there was no need to talk about the comfort of sea travel. A piece of canvas one and a half meters wide, suspended by knots, served as a bunk for two people. It was not allowed to take heavy luggage on board the ship. And yet there was no end to those who wanted to go sailing, although not everyone could pay for the passage.
Kogg Hanseatic
XIII century was marked by the convergence of shipbuilding technology in the North and South of Europe. It all started with the invasion of pirates from Bayonne into the waters of the Mediterranean. The pirates sailed on coggs - single-masted ships with a round hull and high sides. Single-deck 30-meter coggs, equipped with straight stems that had bevels to the keel line, a mounted rudder and a bowsprit, could not help but attract the attention of the southerners.
The forecastle and quarterdeck of these ships served as combat platforms. A number of features of the construction of coggs were subsequently adopted by shipbuilders of Genoa, Venice and Catalonia. For the first time on Mediterranean sailing ships, a rudder attached to the sternpost appears. The tiller, which was used to control the steering wheel, was passed through a hole in the stern.
Cogg body design
By the middle of the 14th century. The naves increase significantly in size, beginning to claim the role of powerful cargo ships. The hulls of merchant fleet sailing ships are becoming more rounded and spacious.
The benefits of installing a rudder are beginning to be recognized by most northern boatbuilders. To control the rudder with a high stern, typical of northern ships, a lever was placed on the tiller that rotated in a transverse plane - the so-called calderstock. This mouth-gam, by no means with good intentions, received the name “wolfish” from contemporaries.
Karakka of the late 15th century.
The largest cargo sailing ship of the late 14th and early 15th centuries is considered to be the carrack, which is believed to be of Portuguese origin. Its design combines elements of Mediterranean ships and northern cogga. The karakka differed from the kogg in its large size (its displacement reached 2000 tons) and three-masted sailing rig. Straight sails were attached to the main and foremasts, and a triangular lateen sail was attached to the mizzen.
Over time, they began to install a fourth bonaventure mast, as well as topsails, which complemented the sailing equipment of the mainsail and foresail. A bowsprit appeared on the forecastle, under which a blind sail was not slow to settle. The fort platforms lost their defensive battlements and seemed to merge with the body; at the same time, the front platform extended far beyond the bow tip. The sheathing was placed end-to-end with rows of longitudinal boards and transverse fenders. The ship had a high forecastle and at least two decks on the quarterdeck.
English karakka "Mary Rose". 1536
The forecastle is the forward part of the upper deck.
Blind - a straight sail on a blind yard under a bowsprit.
Quarterdeck - aft section of the upper deck.
With the invention of gunpowder, cannons began to be installed on sailing ships, finally blurring the line between military and merchant ships. At first, the guns were placed on the upper deck, and then special holes began to be cut into the sides of the ship - cannon ports. Karakka, for example, was armed with thirty to forty cannons.
Boarding nets came into fashion, which were stretched over the deck before the start of the battle, preventing the enemy from boarding the ship. In addition, during a naval battle, the net protected the crew from spar debris falling on the deck. Having military weapons and devices, the karakka, in fact, remained a cargo ship, surpassing all other European ships in terms of displacement.
One-pound gun of the 13th century. (top left), a bombard on a wheeled carriage (top right) and a large bombard from the 15th century. (bottom)
The cannons, without which it is difficult to imagine the nave of the end of the Middle Ages, did not arise out of nowhere. The first to seriously use firearms were the Aragonese, who used them in the battle of 1200 against the Anjou fleet. Their guns, which only vaguely resembled cannons, were called “thunder tubes” by their contemporaries. The chronicles of 1281 already speak of a bombard, and at the beginning of the 14th century. One-pound guns appeared on Genoese ships.
In appearance, they resembled a narrow pipe, at the end of which there was a charging chamber. It was used as a lock, and was attached to the iron trunk with a wedge. A cap with gunpowder was placed in advance inside the chamber. The barrel was mounted on a long carriage, clamped into a rotating fork. One-pound guns fired incendiary arrows, a legacy from ancient times. The primitive catapult is decisively replaced by the bombard, which was charged with a stone core.
The powder charge in the bombard's chamber was ignited using a ignition cord or a red-hot iron rod. The rod was heated on an iron brazier located right there, not far from the gun, and a cap containing gunpowder was pierced, followed by a deafening explosion. Small bombards with a long barrel fired lead or iron cannonballs. The bodies of these guns were welded from iron sheets, and large forged bombards were fastened with powerful iron hoops for reliability.
Subsequently, bombards, like church bells, preferred to be cast in bronze. The monumentality of the casting and the massive carriage, which was often mounted on two wheels, made the bombard very similar to a real cannon - a weapon that opened a new era of wars at sea and completely changed the scale of naval battles.
Sailing and rowing ship - galleas
Galeasses were heavy, clumsy, slow-moving ships that could not withstand bad weather on the open sea. We had to put eight or nine oarsmen on one oar.
Galleys and galleasses did not have space to transport goods, military equipment or large numbers of people. For such transportation in those days, short and wide, but high-sided sailing ships were built in Italy; they were called naves. To combat sea pirates, the naves were armed. At the top of the mast there was an observation post - “Mars”, and at the stern and on the bow there were elevations for the shooters.
Gradually, the armed naves turned into warships with superstructures at the bow and stern of several floors.
To make the naves fast, shipbuilders began to build them narrower and longer, but the high bow and stern superstructures were retained. Such ships were called galleons. But the galleons were also very bulky and not sufficiently adapted to sailing in bad weather in the open ocean.
Middle Ages ship - nave
Since ancient times, the peoples of Europe have traded with India, famous for its fabulous riches, rare diamonds, pearls, ivory and various spices. Only a mixed land-sea route to this country was known - through Asia Minor or Egypt. It was a difficult path - merchants had to cross the territory of several states; they encountered many obstacles on their way. But the thirst for big profits forced the merchants to take risks and dangers.
After the conquest by the Arabs and then the Turks (in the 13th and 14th centuries) of all the territories on the land route to India, Arab and Turkish merchants concentrated all trade with this country in their hands. This encouraged Europeans to look for a sea route to India.
That is why European sea voyages to the west and south of the Atlantic, which began in the 14th century, began to become more frequent in the 15th century. The ships of the Portuguese were the first to appear on these routes, then the Spaniards. They moved further and further from the shores of Europe. First the Canary Islands were discovered, then the Azores. Ships sailed even further south along the western coast of Africa, seizing the lands of this continent and enslaving the peoples who inhabited them. In I486, the Portuguese circumnavigated Africa from the south, but did not reach India. The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama managed to do this in 1498.
Six years earlier, in 1492, the Genoese Christopher Columbus, having gone at the head of a Spanish expedition in search of a sea route to India, reached the shores of South America and thereby marked the beginning of the Spanish conquest of Mexico and the countries of South America. By this time, the expedition of the British colonialists reached North America.
Taking advantage of firearms, Europeans imposed their dominance in the newly discovered countries of Africa and America, robbed and destroyed the local population, and turned the natives into slaves.
Thus began the conquest of colonies by Western European states and the enslavement of colonial peoples.
To conquer colonies and rob colonial peoples, to fight capitalist predators among themselves for colonies and their wealth in the stormy expanses of the oceans, well-armed, seaworthy, fast, agile ships that can withstand storms and bad weather were needed.
Already by the beginning of the 16th century, the growing demand for industrial products led to an increase in the number and improvement of the technical equipment of the first capitalist enterprises - manufactories. Material processing technology advanced, metallurgical production began to improve, and shipbuilding technology also improved.
The high and heavy superstructures at the stern and bow gradually became smaller and finally disappeared altogether; the warship lengthened, took on more slender outlines, the number of sails on it increased, and their control was built in such a way that in all cases it was possible to make the best use of even the slightest breeze.
Artillerymen improved ship guns in every possible way in order to better use them in naval combat. And they tried to build the ships so that more guns could be placed and so that their fire would cause the greatest damage to the enemy.
In 1571, 250 ships of the Spanish-Venetian fleet and 300 ships of the Turkish fleet met in battle near Lepanto (Greece). As before, ships went into battle with oars, “fell down” on board and decided the battle by hand-to-hand combat. But, in addition to throwing machines, the ships already had cannons. The number of cannons on the ships of the Spanish-Venetian fleet was several times greater than that of the Turks. Most of the Spaniards and Venetians were armed with firearms - arquebuses. The Turks relied more on bows and crossbows. The battle ended in victory for the Spanish-Venetian fleet. And although the guns, which were not yet fast enough and accurate enough, did not play a decisive role in this battle, it became clear that these weapons had a great future in military operations at sea.
At the beginning of the 16th century, shipbuilders began cutting holes in the sides of ships - ports - for cannon barrels and laying solid, even decks for cannons.
They began to build large ships with two or three lines of ports and the same number of cannon decks. This was of great importance for the development of large, heavily armed sailing ships.
Previously, guns of various calibers were located in the stern and bow superstructures and on the upper deck without any system. Now the cannons were lined up in orderly lines along the sides of the ship in two or three tiers.
High superstructures and turrets were left for the shooters at the stern and bow of the ship. The artillery of these ships began to play a large role in naval battles. The number of guns increased sharply, and the fire of linearly positioned artillery
Western Europe
End of the 19th century
Silver; casting, embossing, engraving
In Germany and Holland, the tradition of goldsmiths making miniature naves-ships dates back to the Middle Ages. Being symbols of life, votive objects, they served as vessels for wine at social meals, salt shakers or bowls for spices, and, finally, table decorations that were placed in front of especially honored guests. Thanks to the sacred significance attached to them, naves were supposed to protect spices from poison and, therefore, protect their owners from poisoning, as well as from adversity in the sea of \u200b\u200beveryday or promise salvation during a shipwreck. However, already in the 16th century. ship cups lose this meaning, becoming simply table decorations. Miniature models of ships with appropriate equipment and full rigging, distinguished by their complexity in execution, thoroughness and finesse of work, became most widespread at that time, which was a kind of response to the great geographical discoveries and successes of navigation. European jewelers of the second half of the 19th century again turned to “reproducing” such table decorations, working in the “historicism” style, a style that was characterized by reconstruction, repetition of old forms and borrowing of ornamental motifs from the art of bygone eras.
A table decoration and at the same time a vessel in the shape of a two-masted ship with waving flags and banners, with four raised straight sails. There are engraved images on the sails and flags. On each mast there is one basket (the so-called “mars” or “crow’s nest”) with forward-looking sailors in them. The ship's hull is decorated with chased images of sea gods and Nereids. The rigging (equipment) of the ship, its large crew and passengers, as well as cannon guns, the barrels of which are visible through holes located on the side on both sides, are reproduced in the smallest detail.
In the middle part of the ship there is a building in the form of a castle with corner towers and a flag. Tower-like buildings complete the bow and stern of the ship (in the lower part of which there is a control element - a propeller/rudder). The bow of the ship is decorated with the sculpture "Perseus with the Head of Medusa", the model for which was the work of an Italian sculptor of the 16th century. Benvenutto Cellini. The nave ship is mounted on four openwork wheels, each of which is decorated with an overlay in the form of a dolphin.
There is an engraved inscription: "3 March 1891".
From the collection of John Churchill Pearson, 3rd Viscount Cowdray (1910-1995).
No matter how difficult the road by sea was, people believed that it was easier than the land route: after all, in the old days, caravan routes sometimes passed through the possessions of peoples and tribes at war with each other, while the sea belonged to no one. Moving overland, one could lose not only property, but also life. The same thing could have happened at sea, but the elements there were hostile, which people at that time were less afraid of than other people!
Drakkars of the Sea Kings
Brave Sailors
Safety and success in navigation largely depended on the design and properties of the ships used by travelers - their strength and stability, seaworthiness, and carrying capacity. It was during the Middle Ages that people were able to create ships that changed the entire course of the history of navigation. Several types of such ships are known, but the first among them are rightfully the drakkars of the legendary northern warriors and travelers - the Vikings. The abundance of wood - oak and pine, as well as the presence of first-class iron ore, which allowed the Scandinavians to have excellent iron tools, contributed to the rapid construction of many ships, which became the real basis of their civilization. The Vikings called ships that could be used for both transport and military purposes “carf”. Purely combat ships were called " drakkar"(dragon) and " auger" (snake). Many of the heads (noble Normans) had ships with purple sails embroidered with gold, and on gilded masts they had golden lanterns or weather vanes in the form of birds with outstretched wings. Viking ships were from 22 to 26 m in length (but by the end of the Viking era there were ships 30 and even 50 m long), and their width in the middle part ranged from 3 to 5 m. An important advantage of the drakkar was the keel - a longitudinal beam made of solid oak trunk, running along the entire bottom from bow to stern. The keel made the ship strong and stable in the waves and allowed the ship to be dragged ashore without damaging the hull. In the middle of the ship there was one mast, which in calm weather could be removed and stored on the deck, 10-12 m high, and the same yard. The length of the oars could be 4-6 m, the number of rowers from 14 to 20 rows or even more. The steering oar, which was turned using a short transverse handle - a tiller - was usually located at the stern on the right.
Knorr- a merchant ship - was smaller than a drakkar, but wider. Vessels of this type had not one, but two decks - at the bow and at the stern, and all the space between them was occupied by cargo. On longships, cargo and supplies were stored in the hold below deck. The shape of the sail was important. It was believed that the Normans should have it rectangular. If the sailors saw a sail in the sea in the shape of a square expanding downward, then the ship was already considered alien and, possibly, enemy. Most often, such enemies of the Normans were given, or representatives of other northern people. In this case, the Vikings prepared for any outcome of the meeting on the high seas. Thus, in the old days, the sail played the same role as flags in later times: identifying an oncoming ship as one’s own or someone else’s, being ready to greet sailors in a friendly manner or to hold the line.
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Multi-oared sailless ships of ScandinaviaWitness of antiquity
How do we know what Viking ships looked like? Why are they now depicted with striped sails? Scientists know about this thanks to the most famous embroidery of the Middle Ages - the “Queen Matilda Carpet”, which immortalized the exploits of her husband, King William I the Conqueror.
On a huge strip of canvas, 68.3 m long and 50 cm wide, that has survived to this day (the “Bayenne Canvas”), 58 scenes of the conquest of England by William I the Conqueror are embroidered. Each scene is accompanied by explanatory inscriptions in Latin. The contours of the design are made with a stem stitch, and the remaining parts are made with satin stitch. On the wide border above and below are embroidered scenes from Aesop's fables, scenes of plowing, hunting and the battle itself. The embroidery used woolen threads in eight colors: three shades of blue, bright green, dark green, red, yellow and gray. There is some whimsicality in the coloring of the plots. For example, on it you can see a blue horse and a man with green hair.
In addition to people and horses, this embroidery depicts the ships on which William I transported his army from Normandy to England. Striped sails and masts decorated with “golden” weather vanes are clearly visible - wind indicators, most likely made of slotted gilded tin. Then, in 1066, to transport his troops, and primarily his large cavalry, William I assembled a fleet of several hundred longships, on which he crossed the English Channel. Due to the fact that even with a load they were immersed in the water by only one meter, that is, they had a shallow draft, they could go into very shallow water, where they could only be tilted a little in order to quickly land people and horses on the ground. This was the last known use of longships in war, after which their use was gradually abandoned in favor of shorter, wider and heavier vessels. The images on the “carpet” are confirmed by archaeological finds. The ancient Norwegian sailing ships found in the 19th century in Thun and Gokstad, and later in Oseberg, and in 1935 in Ladby gave a complete picture of what they really looked like. It got to the point that in 1893, in the Norwegian city of Sandefjord, Captain Christian Christiansen built an exact copy of the ship from Gokstad, called the Viking. In just 40 days he crossed the stormy Atlantic.
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The sailors believed that the figures of deities and fantastic creatures would help them cope with the powerful natural elements. Ancient poets-storytellers of the Normans - skalds- in his poems könningah They called the Ship “horse of the sea” and “serpent of the waves.” The Normans treated the ship as a living creature. On ships of subsequent centuries, the figures on the bow of the ship played the role of identification marks of the owners or noble patrons of the ship, and then completely turned into decorations, in the creation of which prominent artists and sculptors often took part. |
The skin on the longships was overlapped, like modern siding. Shown here is the assembly of the sheathing using nails or flexible wicker rods (or rope). The holes, after the oars were removed from them, were closed with plugs. |
Scientists are still debating where the word “Viking” came from. It is translated both as “children of the bays” - from the Norwegian word “vik” - “bay”, and from the Norman root, the meaning of which comes down to the Russian word “wander”. One way or another, we are talking about people who left their home and hearth for a long time and went on long voyages under the leadership of their military leader - the king. These dashing people were called Vikings if they wanted to talk about their robber lifestyle, but Normans - when they emphasized their belonging to the peoples of the North. After all, the word “Norman” translated from Old Scandinavian means “northern man”.
Speed, strength, pressure
After the collapse of the powerful Roman Empire and the death of the Western Roman Empire in 476, maritime trade in the Mediterranean basin was in decline. The art of building magnificent sailing-rowing triremes and penthers has also been forgotten. Yes, they were not needed. After all, who now opposed the same Byzantium, which remained an outpost of civilization among the boundless sea of barbarian tribes that flooded Europe? The Slavs, on their one-tree boats, were dangerous in numbers. But to fight them, the famous “Greek fire” was enough - a flammable mixture that continued to burn even on water. The Arabs, who annoyed them a lot at the beginning, could not resist the “Greek fire,” even if they already had ships with sails. In northern Europe, in Scandinavia, there were no land roads at all, and here the ship became the main means of communication. It was in these places that the Normans lived - North Germanic tribes, excellent shipbuilders, sea pirates, warriors and traders, who played an important role in the history of many states and peoples of Europe.
The first Viking longships did not yet have benches for rowers. During calm seas, the Vikings rowed while sitting on their chests. The presence of a large sail gave the drakkars unprecedented speed at that time. The Vikings boldly rushed to board warships or merchant ships they liked. To break through the hull of enemy ships, the Vikings threw sharp stones at it. The outcome of the battle was decided by hand-to-hand combat. The Vikings often used two types of battle axes: the “bearded” one, named after the shape of the blade, and an ax with a wide crescent-shaped blade. Long spears with grappling hooks, clubs, and massive war hammers were widely used in battle. The Vikings were skilled at throwing spears.
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Having landed on a foreign shore, the Vikings dragged their “dragons” onto land and set up camp. After their scouts reported the strength of the future enemy, the Vikings, with a sudden, swift attack of a heavily armed phalanx, broke through his defenses and continued their merciless offensive. If the enemy's tactics were unclear and his army was outnumbered, the Vikings would hide one of their troops in ambush. The Viking battle formation on land was a phalanx, in the front ranks of which stood heavily armed warriors with large, almost man-sized shields. The shields were covered with ox skin, and with their lower part they easily stuck into the ground. The Vikings also knew the wedge formation, when each subsequent row had one more warrior. The Vikings had almost no cavalry: they were experienced sailors and brave “sea paratroopers.” The most desperate Viking warriors were called berserkers - “brave”. They fought in the front ranks, without hiding behind shields and often naked to the waist or dressed in wolf skins. At the moment of the attack, they lost their sense of self-preservation; no fortifications or the number of the enemy embarrassed them. Feeling no pain, they growled like wild animals, howled and banged furiously on their shields. Then they could only be stopped by a mortal wound or an enemy spear.
The Viking sword was an expensive weapon. It was often obtained in battle. The cross-shaped handle was held with one hand. To prevent the sword from slipping out of the hands, a small ball was attached to its end. The Normans did not use captured weapons until they were magically painted (chased or inlaid with whale teeth or animal bone) and sacred spells were recited. Particular importance was attached to the decoration of sword hilts: the Vikings believed that the design contained power that was transferred to the warrior’s hand. The second most important Viking weapon, the axe, was attached to a long handle. Possessing such leverage when striking, the Viking could break not only the enemy’s armor, but also hit his cavalry, cut thick ropes, oars and masts, break the sides of ships, powerful boards of gates and wooden fortifications.
The Vikings did not always win. The grueling ten-month Viking siege of Paris in 885-886. ended in failure. The city militia, led by Count Ed of Paris, bravely withstood the siege. And only 25 years later the Normans recaptured part of the coast from the French king, on which they founded their duchy of Normandy.
Ushkuy - Volga freemen
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Long before the Baptism of Rus' in 988, the Slavs were brave sailors and more than once approached the walls of Constantinople on their one-tree ships. Well, what happened in Rus' later, when it strained its strength in the fight against the Mongol invasion? It turns out that there was no stagnation in shipbuilding at this time. On the contrary, it was at this time, at the end of the 13th century, that a new type of ship was created in Rus' -. Perhaps its name came from the polar bear, which in northern Russia was called ushkuy.
Novgorod shipbuilders built ears from pine wood rich in resin. The keel was hewn out from one trunk, after which the ends and frames-springs, which were made from thick branches with natural curvature, due to which the frames had great strength. The casing of the hull was made of hewn boards and secured to the frame with wooden nails (the ends of which were wedged together with wedges). The boards were sewn together with willow twigs. The internal lining consisted of a flooring on the bottom and two belts: upper and middle, on the upper edge of which the rowers' benches rested. The oars were covered with leather at the points of contact with the skin of the eye. Since the ends of the bow and stern of the ship were symmetrical, it could move away from the shore without turning around, which was important for a ship that was often used in battles. However, merchants used them just as willingly. The glory of the Ushkuys is associated with the Novgorod Ushkuyniks, whose campaigns began at the end of the 13th century. In England, such people were called outlaws - “outlaw people.” In Rus' they had their own appropriate name - freemen. Separated from their communities, the brave Ushkuin warriors (like the Cossacks later) made a living by robbing the opponents of Rus': Norwegians and Swedes, and even dared to attack the Golden Horde. So, in 1360, 20 years before the Battle of Kulikovo, they marched along the entire Volga and, attacking Horde cities, captured great wealth. The Khan of the Golden Horde demanded that the Russian princes hand over the ushkuyniks, and they... agreed: they secretly approached their Kostroma camp, captured the soldiers, and then handed them over to the Horde. The ushkuyniks could not forgive such treachery and since then they took revenge on the princes of Rostov and Nizhny Novgorod in every possible way and Suzdal, who participated in this evil deed, and Kostroma itself was robbed every time they sailed past. Several times the Ushkuiniki ravaged the Horde city of Bulgar near Kazan, and in 1374 they went down the Volga and even captured Sarai, the capital of the Horde! The end of the history of the Ushkuiniks is associated with the name of Grand Duke Ivan III, who in 1478 defeated Novgorod and thereby deprived them of shelter, and they did not find a new place in Rus'.
Ushkui were divided into sea and river. Both had one removable mast. Instead of a rudder, just like on Viking ships, a stern oar was used. River abalones could take on board up to 30 people. The dimensions of the ears could be 12-14 m in length, 2.5 m in width, draft - 0.4-0.6 m, with a side height of up to 1 m.
Nave, dromon - ships of the Mediterranean Sea
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While Viking ships plied the northern seas of Europe, completely different ships sailed in the south, in the basin of the warm Mediterranean Sea. Indeed, despite the death of the Western Roman Empire, its eastern part survived, and with it the knowledge necessary for the construction of large and complex ships, such as, for example, a galley. As time passed, people learned to build merchant ships that were equipped to transport grain, silk and spices from Egypt, Asia Minor to Greek and Italian ports. However, such a profitable trade was at the same time very dangerous: sea robbers were rampant here.
Flying on the waves
Byzantine galleys, known since the 7th century, were warships that had one or two rows of oars and one or two masts with oblique triangular sails. There were two steering oars, as before, and the ram protrusion was still retained in the bow. However, now it was practically no longer used, since the galleys of the Byzantines, in addition to traditional throwing machines, also had on board installations for launching their mysterious fire mixture - “Greek fire”. A lot of recipes have come down to us, so it’s difficult to say which of them the Byzantines themselves used. But its long and persistent flammability (it could not be extinguished) is beyond doubt. The main feature of both large and small ships of the Mediterranean were triangular, or “lateen” sails: they create a “wing effect” and allow movement at an angle to the direction of the wind (up to 30 degrees relative to the axis of the ship). Such a sail converts even the lightest breeze into useful thrust. The size of the ships grew during the Crusades of 1096-1270, when it was necessary to transport heavily armed crusaders, soldiers and pilgrims from Europe to Palestine.
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The heavy cargo on the Genoese ship was placed in the hold. Horses were transported suspended from the ceiling - the animals barely touched the floor with their hooves. This made it possible to transport them in strong rolling conditions. The ship did not yet have high superstructures. It was steered using a single steering oar. At night, the naves were illuminated by lanterns, and according to the laws of that time, the number of lanterns had to correspond to the size of the team. |
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Heading for Europe!
The galleys, most of which were occupied by slave rowers chained to their benches, could not transport crusaders and pilgrims to Palestine. Mediterranean shipbuilders built huge, clumsy, but very heavy-lifting ships - naves. Their plating was covered, but the sails were lateen, and the hulls had residential superstructures for passengers rising 10-15 m above the water. At the stern there were two short and wide steering oars. The nave crew consisted of comita with a silver whistle for giving commands; cartridge who controlled the sails; pilot plotting a course; two helmsmen and physically strong Galiots-rowers.
The voyage from Venice to Jaffa in Palestine lasted ten weeks. Pilgrims who had already visited the Holy Land recommended that those departing take with them their blankets, pillow, clean towels, a supply of wine and water, crackers, as well as a cage with birds, pork hams, smoked tongues and dried fish. All this was provided on the ships, but, as the pilgrims said, the linen and towels were stale, rancid crackers were hard as stone, with maggots, spiders and worms; spoiled wine. But more often they talked about the need to take incense with them, because on the decks in the heat there was an unbearable stench from horse manure and the excrement of pilgrim passengers who suffered from seasickness. The decks were covered with sand, but it was only removed upon arrival at the port. On the approach to the island of Rhodes, shipbuilders could encounter pirates, from whom they often paid off. During the journey, there were cases of passengers dying from disease. And yet, despite all the difficulties, voyages to the shores of the Middle East and Africa were made more and more often. During the journey, rich passengers indulged in luxurious meals and entertainment. They took with them pages, a majordomo and valet, and even musicians to entertain them. Along the way, the pilgrims landed on the island of Corfu, where they hunted goats. We also landed on other islands to stretch our legs and rest.
Koggi - round ships
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Drakkars stopped appearing in the northern seas in the 13th century. New ships appeared - pot-bellied, high-sided, single-masted sailing ships carrying goods. They were called "round ships" - coggami(from ancient German kugg - round). They could not develop high speed, but they carried a large load on board, which was what the merchants, who were strengthening their position, required. The design and rigging provided the loaded coggs with good stability.
Floating fortresses trade and defend
A characteristic feature of the North Sea coggs were tower-like platforms - castles (castles) - at the bow and stern for archers. Ship castles were built on both military and merchant ships. A mast assembled from several logs was installed exactly in the middle of the ship. A special “barrel” was attached to the mast for observers and archers, equipped with a system of blocks to lift ammunition up. Later, the “barrel” was structurally improved on karakkas and received the name mars, which could accommodate up to 12 archers or crossbowmen.
Strong frames at a distance of 0.5 m from each other, oak plating 50 mm thick and a deck laid on beams - transverse beams of the hull, the ends of which were often brought out through the plating - these are the important features of these ships. The steering wheel, which was replaced in the 13th century, also became a novelty. a steering oar, and straight stems, strongly beveled towards the keel line - the bow and stern ends of the vessel. The stem ended with an inclined mast - a bowsprit, which served to stretch the sail in front. The greatest length of the coggs of the Hanseatic Trade Union was approximately 30 m, waterline length - 20 m, width - 7.5 m, draft - 3 m, carrying capacity up to 500 tons.
Light naval gun - falconette 1492 Such guns were installed on the ships of Columbus's squadron. They were attached to turrets (a). Each gun had several charging chambers with carrying handles (b), which were loaded in advance and stored separately from the barrel. The hole in the chamber was covered by a wad: (c), while the cannonball (d) was rolled into the barrel before firing, into which a wad was also inserted before so that it would not roll out. Then a charging chamber with gunpowder was attached to the barrel and locked with a wedge (e). Two arcs on the swivel served to vertically aim the gun barrel (e). The technology for manufacturing such tools (g) was labor-intensive and complex. The barrel was forged from iron bars, they were welded and red-hot iron hoops were put on them, tightening the muzzle of the gun.
It is interesting that many large ships of that time, as well as modern ferries and car carriers with horizontal unloading, were equipped with side ports that served for loading and unloading goods. This allowed them to take cargo on deck and at the same time unload the brought goods through the same port. In the second half of the 15th century. two-masted and later three-masted coggs appeared. Their displacement was 300-500 tons. To protect against pirates and enemy ships, Hansa merchant ships had on board crossbowmen and several bombards - powerful weapons for that time that fired stone cannonballs. The length of military coggs reached 28 m, width 8 m, draft 2.8 m, and displacement of 500 tons or more. At the stern and bow of the trading and military coggs there were still high superstructures. In the Mediterranean Sea, two-masted coggs with slanting sails were sometimes found. At the same time, despite all the improvements, coggs remained coastal ships - suitable for sailing only near the coast. Meanwhile, Europe needed more and more spices, and their flow through the Mediterranean ports began to dry up due to the fact that even before the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Turks had captured all the coasts of Syria and Palestine, as well as North Africa.
Karakka, caravel - long-distance ship
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One of the features of shipbuilding in the Mediterranean was planking, in which the boards were tightly fitted with edges one to another, and did not overlap each other, as with the Vikings and Venetian naves. With this method of building a ship, building material was saved, since half as many boards were required for the hull, and most importantly, ships with such plating were lighter and faster. New methods of construction, spreading across European countries, also contributed to the emergence of new ships. In the first half of the 15th century. became the largest European ship used for military and commercial purposes. It had developed superstructures at the bow and stern, covered on top with special roofs made of beams, over which fabric was stretched to protect from the sun, and a net to protect against boarding. She did not allow enemies to jump onto the deck from the superstructure of her ship and at the same time did not interfere with shooting at them. The sides of this vessel were bent inward, making boarding difficult. The length of such a carrack could reach 35.8 m, width 5.7 m, draft 4.1 m, carrying capacity 540 tons. The crew of the vessel was 80-90 people. Trade karaks had 10-12 guns, and military ones could have up to 40! Such ships have already gone on long and long voyages. Later, caravels - ships of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries - began to be built in Europe in the 15th century, based on the type of carracks and coggs with three masts and smooth plating. It is believed that the first such ship was built by a shipwright, the Frenchman Julian, at the Zuider Zee shipyards in Holland in 1470. Columbus's ships "Pinta" and "Nina" were also caravels, while his flagship ship "Santa Maria" ( in his notes he calls it “nao” - “large ship”) most likely it was a karakka, which means it belonged to the same “round” ships.
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Multi-deck carracks had three masts with different sails: on the fore and main masts (first and second) they were straight, and on the last third mizzen mast there was an oblique lateen sail, which made maneuvering easier. On the mars with a supply of weapons, sentinels or riflemen were located. |
The Hanseatic League, centered in Lübeck, united the merchant Hanse from about 170 European cities (including the Russian Novgorod, Pskov and Smolensk), built many strong cargo-lifting ships. Much attention was paid to the construction of military cogs, the team of which included experienced shooters and artillerymen. |
Curragh, ganyi, mtepi, or What is stronger - a thread or a nail?
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Those centuries, which in relation to Europe we call the Middle Ages, became an era when peoples living far from each other began to actively study each other’s life and customs. This was facilitated not only by land crossings of trade caravans and military expeditions, but also by bold journeys across the seas and even oceans. Long voyages became more and more commonplace. The Irish and Eskimos, Arabs and Africans, the Chinese and Japanese equipped a wide variety of warships, fishing and merchant vessels: dried apricots, kuttumarams, mtepis, umiaks, dhows, junks, etc. The technology for assembling many of them was unusual for modern people. But this did not prevent such ships from successfully crossing the sea.
Medieval chronicles indicate that the inhabitants of Ireland made long voyages (even to America!) on ships covered... with leather. Leather pieces of sheathing were sewn together, and the body set was fastened with strong straps. A bold experiment conducted in 1977 by Irish historian and writer Timothy Severin helped confirm that sailing on ships made of leather was possible. He decided to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a leather boat - a curragh or carre.
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Pictish boat - . The Romans first learned about the Picts and Scots precisely as skilled sailors who carried out raids from the sea. Celtic boat - was a frame covered with bull hides. |
"Saint Brendan" - a ship made of leather. The sails depict a “cross in a halo” - the symbol of the monks of Ireland. For the construction of this dried apricot, 49 bovine skins were processed. |
The wood of the Arabian ship that Timothy Severin built was selected from the forests of South India, where the material was also obtained by ancient shipbuilders. Just like a thousand years ago, elephants carried logs out of the forest. Wood glue was also collected there, which was then used to seal the joints of the sheathing. The sails were made from cotton fabric. |
The curragh could be up to 15 m long. On Ahlekta coins, the curragh is depicted with seven oars on board and one sail. Curraghs reconstructed in Ireland have nine oars on board, plus a helm on the starboard side. Mast with straight sails on a transverse yard. There are several more images of the curragh, the weight number fluctuates around seven. Each oar was rowed by two or three oarsmen. There is evidence of fleets of over a hundred boats. Such a fchot could transport more than a thousand people. At least one major naval battle took place in 719.
According to legend, he made a similar voyage in the 6th century. Irish monk Brendan. To make the hull waterproof, the skins were impregnated with wax. The boat, named "St. Brendan", had a length of 10.9 m, a width of 2.4 m. It was equipped with two masts with straight sails and a wide-bladed steering oar on the right side. The voyage of the brave traveler and his crew continued intermittently for about two years. They were able to cross the Atlantic and reach the coast of North America.
Arabs teach Europeans
Who doesn’t know, for example, the word “varnish”? However, few people know that this is an Arabic word and only one example of the influence of Arab culture on medieval Europe, which is still noticeable today. Indeed, in addition to the word “varnish”, the words “algebra”, “admiral”, “arsenal”, “bazaar”, “barrack”, “barge”, “guitar” passed into European languages from Arabic and the languages of other countries that were part of the Arab Caliphate. , “decanter”, “sofa”, “camisole”, “caravan”, “kaftan”, “pouch”, “shop”, “marinade”, “marmalade”, “mattress”, “cucumber”, “peach”, “ talisman”, “tulip”, “sofa”, “bird cherry”, “digit”, etc. The Arabs taught the Europeans how to make sugar, candy and perfume.
The Arabs made a great contribution to the development of navigation and shipbuilding; they turned out to be tireless travelers and skilled shipwrights. Some navigational instruments were invented by Arab sailors. Many stars have Arabic names. For example, the name of the star Vega in the constellation Aira means “Falling Kite”, Deneb in the constellation Cygnus means “Tail”, Mencalinan in the constellation Auriga means “Left Shoulder of the Charioteer”, and Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion means “Armpit of the One in the Center”. Of course, such names helped navigators who knew the main constellations find this or that star and, based on how much it shifted in the sky, determine the location of the ship. If you, reader, ever have the opportunity to visit the United Arab Emirates, on the sultry Arabian Peninsula, next to modern snow-white liners you will see ancient Arab ships - dhows, which have not changed a bit for a whole millennium! Nowadays, one of these ships was built by the famous traveler Timothy Severin, who, after sailing on the St. Brendan, decided to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Sinbad the Sailor from the Arabian Nights tales. In full accordance with the traditions of Arab shipbuilders in 1980-1981. a 27-meter copy of the ship was made -. Moreover, all the boards of the body were sewn using cords twisted by hand from coconut fiber! Arab craftsmen, as it turned out, did not use nails at that time. Modern researchers had to weave 740 km of cord, and then drill many holes in the boards to tie them into a single whole. All materials were brought to the Sultanate of Oman, where local boat builders manufactured and launched this ship. In total, the research and construction of the vessel itself took 30 months; For another five months, future travelers learned the art of sailing, and then successfully completed their planned voyage. The travel route was laid from Oman to China. Together with Severin, 25 people went on an eight-month voyage, who decided to completely reproduce the life on the ship, the control of the ship and the methods of navigation that were used in the 9th century. Arab merchant seafarers. It turned out that the “stitched” ships were in no way inferior in strength to those assembled on nails, and besides (by the standards of the medieval era) they were much cheaper.
Junks and fair winds of the celestial empire
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Jonks were the first ships in the history of navigation to have watertight bulkheads. The rudder passed through the stern appeared on these ships several centuries earlier than on the Hanseatic cogg, and in general their design turned out to be so perfect that it did not change for centuries. According to many historians, shipbuilding in China originated even earlier than in Ancient Egypt. Information has reached our days about the voyage of the Chinese to an overseas country, which, according to its description, is very similar to Mexico. But this was several thousand years before the new era. In the 3rd century. AD The Chinese also invented the first magnetic compass, which made navigation very easy for them.
Detailed descriptions of medieval Chinese junks were left to us by the famous Venetian merchant Marco Polo after his famous journey to China in 1271 - 1295. What struck him most was that some of them had four masts, and spare ones could be added to them to raise additional sails. European shipbuilders recognized such advantages of junks as simplicity and high efficiency of sailing equipment. Thanks to their shallow draft, they had access to both river mouths and coastal sea areas.
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Multi-masted ocean junk. Such ships were equipped as military ships and formed the fleet of the Emperor of China. So in the 13th century. 1000 sea junks with 100,000 (!) soldiers on board were sent to the Japanese archipelago. If this fleet had not been destroyed by a powerful typhoon, the development of the countries in this region would have taken a different path. |
The large sails of the junks, made of reed mats, were reinforced with horizontal bamboo slats - stiffening ribs, which allowed them to withstand strong winds without much harm. |
Japanese junks were somewhat different from the junks of China, since they had to sail among the islands of the Japanese archipelago where it would be difficult for large flat-bottomed ships to withstand the pressure of the ocean elements. |
Curious Zheng He
It is known that more than 300 different types of junks were created in China, often unsightly in appearance, with mat sails, but nevertheless exceptionally seaworthy and well-handled. Preserved to this day, they amaze with their quality, spaciousness and practicality. All of them - regardless of their purpose - were very similar: they had a flat bottom, vertical sides of the hull, and a slightly pointed nose. As on ancient Greek European ships, eyes were painted on the bow of the hull. The superstructures in the stern protruded beyond the hull. On some junks the rudder could be raised and lowered through a special hole in the stern. Such a rudder did not have steering loops and was held in place by cables that passed under the bottom of the ship and were secured to the bow. The hull of a junk about 45 m long could consist of 35-37 frames, ensuring the strength of the hull, and waterproof bulkheads, making it unsinkable. Some large junks had a crew of 200 and could carry up to 1,000 passengers and about 1,000 tons of cargo. Large junks formed the squadron of the famous Chinese traveler Zheng He, who, between 1405 and 1433, commanding a fleet of more than 300 ships with a crew of 70 thousand people, made seven long-distance expeditions to the West in a row. His ships passed through six seas and two oceans and reached the city of Hormuz, located at the narrowest point of the Persian Gulf. He also visited Aden, Mogadishu, after which he reached the eastern coast of Africa south of the island of Zanzibar. At that time, ships of either Chinese or European merchants had never come here, especially such large ones as those of Zheng He. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that they could be so large: the largest are 140 m long and 58 m wide. Medium ships were not much inferior to them: 108 m in length and 48 m in width. Of course, it was quite difficult to control such giants, but they were obedient to the sails, and in calm conditions they could move with the help of oars, and each oar was controlled by 30 rowers!
Zheng He rendered outstanding services to his country, but after the death of the emperor who patronized him, his memory began to be eradicated, and reports of his voyages were destroyed. For some reason, they began to believe that Zheng He’s campaigns depleted the treasury, and in return they brought only luxury items and rare animals. The fact that thanks to them, knowledge about distant lands and countries was accumulated and sea routes were laid out was not of interest to officials.
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Literature
Shpakovsky V. O. Knights. Locks. Weapon: Sci-pop. edition for children. - M.: JSC "ROSMAN-PRESS", 2006.
New Soldier 044 - Picts 297-841
New Soldier #107 - Viking Drakkars
