10 NAVAL SCIENCES. 



by means of subterranean canals, so that it could be quickly dried for the 

 exhibition of the gladiatorial contests. The last spectacle of this kind was 

 given by Aurelian in honor of the victory over Queen Zenobia. 



2. Navigation of the Middle Ages. 



During the period which we call the Middle Ages, that is, from the fall 

 of the Western Empire and the succeeding centuries, the results of naviga- 

 tion were very insignificant, since it shared in the general depression of 

 science and art at that time. The most important naval enterprise was 

 the expedition of Belisarius against the Vandals in 533, with a fleet of 500 

 sail, 15,000 warriors, and 20,000 sailors. Triremes had then gone out of 

 use, and there was no convoy for the army but 92 light brigan tines, which 

 could not resist a serious attack. 



1 Anglo-Saxons, Normans, and English. Meantime, the northern 

 nations of Europe appear on the theatre of history, and the first maritime 

 expedition of which we have any account was the voyage of the Anglo- 

 Saxons to Britain under Hengist and Horsa, a.d. 449. This was performed 

 in light, frail vessels, with keels of light timber, and sides of wicker-work, 

 laid over with skins. The vessels in which the Normans undertook their 

 piratical expeditions in the seventh century were of little better construc- 

 tion. The Grecian and Imperial navy at that time consisted of galleys 

 with two banks of twenty-five oars on each side, making one hundred oars 

 in the whole. 



From the ninth century, England was the most important maritime 

 nation. Alfred the Great, who was in conflict with the Normans and 

 Danes, effected such great improvements in her navigation, that in the 

 year 897 her ships were without an equal in any nation. They were 

 built as galleys, with from forty to sixty rowers on each side, while William 

 of Normandy, in his expedition against England in 1066, which, after the 

 battle of Hastings, gave him the name of Conqueror, used only vessels 

 {pi. I, jig. 15) of such diminutive size, that they could carry no more than 

 twenty armed men besides the rowers. 



A great impulse was given to navigation in the middle ages by the 

 crusades, and the frequent wars of the English, French, and Spanish. In 

 the battle of Sluys, 1339, the French fleet consisted of 400 vessels, among 

 which were 120 large ships. The number of men who fell in this battle is 

 variously stated from 10,000 to 30,000, from which we may infer the magni- 

 tude of the ships engaged. The construction of vessels at that period is shown 

 from the remains of tapestry, and from pictures in ancient manuscripts. 

 The English ships were not so long as those of the Normans. The stem 

 and stern were quite sharp, beak-like, and of equal height. They were 

 ornamented with dragons' heads, and the stern often had two projections 

 in the shape of wings. The steering oar was managed at the side. The 

 mast was amidships, and the rowers worked standing. The anchor was 

 very large, with a stock. The Norman vessels were sharper and higher 

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