222 Crossing the Line 



but when they passed by another time, they had to swear a most solemn oath 

 'on salt and bread' that they had already been initiated there.^ 



From the seventeenth century still more testimonies are known. It is 

 evident that the baptism was performed in almost the same way on Danish, 

 Swedish, Dutch and French ships. Unfortunately I can quote no English 

 statements, but most likely the use would not be different among English 

 sailors. 



Also the ship itself had to pay a ransom to the crew, if it had never sailed 

 by before. The pirate Jean Doublet in 1692 had to pay two barrels of vdne 

 for himself and the ship; failing which, the sailors threatened to cut ofiE the 

 figurehead of the ship, a Hon.^ The same use was common on crossing the 

 Line. 



The ducking from the yard-arm was a rather uncomfortable and danger- 

 ous treatment for both sailors and passengers. It was, in fact, also used in the 

 navies of the different Einropean countries as a punishment, not as severe as 

 keel-hauhng, but still rather brutal. Its origin goes back to the Middle Ages,''' 

 and it was still in use in the Danish Navy in 1752 ^ and in tlie French Navy 

 in the 1830's.^ Little by httle a more hrnnane method of baptizing was intro- 

 duced. In fact a Swedish statement of 1686 says ^° that tlie sailors in case of 

 stormy weather were not ducked in the sea, but that a big basket was tilted 

 over them on the deck, whereupon the old sailors poured three buckets of 

 sea water over them. 



In the eighteenth century the plunging into the sea did not usually take 

 place any more. The novices were bound to the mast and douched with sea 

 water.^^ The sailors fooled their yoimg comrades into looking at the moun- 

 tain, and, as soon as they looked, they were required to h0nse or to be soused 

 with water. By and by it seems that the baptism was aboUshed, too; the 

 novices gave their bottle of brandy or their money-gift of their own free 

 will.^^ Sometimes the captain gave an extra ration of brandy for the crew, 

 so that no one had to pay privately. ^^ 



On Danish and otiier West Einropean ships the custom was neglected 

 httle by httle, but in the nineteenth century, when the countries aroimd the 

 Baltic began to build bigger ships, which left their home-waters, passed the 



5 Peder Syvs danske Ordsprog ( 1944), p. 360. 



6 Journal du corsaire Jean Doublet ( 1883), p. 167. 



" A. Jal, Glossaire Nautique ( 1848 ) , p. 386; Etienne Cleriac, Vs, et Covstvmes de la Mer ( 1647 ) , 

 pp. 115 seq. 



8 Kong Friderich den Femtes S^e-Krigs-Artikels-Brev, § 596. 



9 Gréhan, La France Maritime, Vol. I (1852), pp. 206 seq.; J. Lecointe, Dictionn. pittoresque 

 de marine (1835), p. 91. 



10 Sam Owen Jansson: Ett par 1600-talsuppteckningar om honsning (Budkavlen, 1952), 

 pp. 107 seq. 



11 L. Boesen, Helsing0rs Beskrivelse (1757), p. 47. 



12 Carl Tersmedens Memoarer, Vol. I (1912), pp. 143, 146; Rs. Nyerup, Magazin for Reiseiagt- 

 tageher, Vol. II, p. 366. 



13 Logbook of Kronprinsesse Maria 1804, in Handels- og Spfartsmuseet pa Kronborg. 



