SHIPS AND SEAMEN 



acquainted from contemporary pictures. The ships still had a big sheer 

 forward and aft. The poop, generally hung round with shields which 

 were then little more than decorative, was horizontal, while the long 

 forecastle had a sharp sheer. The big mainmast, surmounted by a top 

 and frequently having a topmast and topsail, was still placed amid- 

 ships, which is as it was in Viking days, but by this time there had long 

 been small masts both on the forecastle and poop. From the illustra- 

 tions that are left to us, most of which are somewhat fragmentary and 

 many of which are taken from stained glass windows in churches, it 

 would appear that these ships must have been both slow and unhandy, 

 but at the same time a distinct efTort was being made to obtain more 

 seaworthy qualities. 



Progress of Shipbuilding in the Mediterranean. 



Living entirely on their shipping as they did, it is not surprising 

 that the Venetians and Genoese forged ahead in the matter of ship 

 construction, far ahead of the English. As early as the middle of the 

 fifteenth century it is reported that ships of 1,500 tons burthen were 

 being built at Genoa but the most famous of them all was the Santa 

 Anna, which was built for the Knights of Malta at Nice in 1530. She 

 was the mightiest ship of her time and was of over 1,700 tons burthen. 

 She had six decks, of which two were under water. Her armament 

 consisted of fifty heavy guns and an " immense number of lesser 

 ordnance." Against the great enemy of the shipwright of those days, 

 the worm, she was protected by a thick lead sheathing which must 

 have made her handle very sluggishly. Her crew consisted of three 

 hundred men. Her whole history is not known, but she certainly took 

 part in the expedition to Tunis which Charles V led in 1535. 



The Galleasse. 



When artillery was placed on shipboard and the size of ships in- 

 creased rapidly the Mediterranean powers evolved the galleasse, which 

 in its original form was a large galley, decked both for strength and con- 

 venience, and carrying guns on its broadside among the rowers. It 

 was a very inconvenient compromise, the reduced number of rowers 

 being compensated by three tall masts carrying lateen sails, but it was 

 a big step in the direction of the broadside men-of-war which lasted 

 for centuries. 



The Galleon. 



The galleasse was hopelessly unsuitable for Atlantic work and 

 accordingly all the powers having a sea-board on that coast resorted to 

 a new type which grew into the galleon. Instead of starting with the 

 man-of-war which was the direct descendant of the Viking ship they 

 worked up from the slow but seaworthy sailing merchantman and did 

 without oars altogether. For greater strength and to keep their heavy 

 guns as near to the centre line as possible these ships were built with 

 sides that " tumbled home " very sharply, the deck being very much 

 narrower than the water line. The fighting fore- and after-castles were 



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