100 



HISTORY OF THE SEA. 



possessing a strong force upon the ocean, formed, upon his 

 return, the nucleus of a national fleet, for the purpose of de- 

 fending his coasts either against pirates or foreign invasion. 



While the necessity of transporting articles from the East to 

 supply the demand thus created in the West gave a stimulus to 

 commerce and navigation, manufactures were encouraged and 

 developed by the operation of the same cause. The Italians 

 learned from the Greeks the art of weaving silk, which soon 

 resulted in the weaving of cloth of gold and silver. They 

 learned to mould glass in a multitude of new and curious forms. 

 From the manufactories of Syria, where stuffs were made of 

 camels' hair, improvements were introduced into the manufac- 

 tures of Europe, where they were woven of no other material 

 than lambs' wool. Palestine also suggested to crusaders re- 

 turning home the advantages of windmills for grinding flour. 

 Arabia furnished the art of tempering arms and polishing 

 steel, of chasing gold and silver, of mounting stones in rich 

 and massive settings. Constantinople furnished the Chris- 

 tians with many splendid specimens of ancient art, — groups, 

 statues, and the Corinthian horses, and thus awakened European 

 taste. 



Nearly all the Gothic monuments of Europe which still excite 

 the admiration of the tourist owe their existence to this communi- 

 cation with the Greeks by means of the Crusades, and to the 

 wonder which seized the Frank and Lombard at the sight of the 

 churches and palaces of Byzantium. The Europeans carried 

 back with them the architecture of the Saracens. Saint Mark's 

 ;at Venice was built from the plans, and under the direction, of 

 an unbeliever. The Cathedral and Spire of Strasburg, with 

 their gigantic and yet delicate proportions, the Minster of 

 Amiens, the Sainte Chapelle of Paris, were constructed in close 

 imitation of the chef-d'ceuvres of Eastern art. Painting upon 

 glass was also brought from Constantinople, and the early 

 painters of Christendom were speedily employed in tracing in 



