Chapter I: Preface

I desire to acknowledge the courtesy of the Master and Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge, for having permitted me to reproduce the three illustrations facing pages 212, 228, and 230. These are from MSS. in the Pepysian Library. The Viking anchor and block tackle are taken from Mr. Gabriel Gustafson’s _Norges Oldtid_, by permission of Messrs. Alb. Cammermeyer’s, Forlag, Kristiania. The two illustrations on pages 123 and 132 are here reproduced by the kind permission of Commendatore Cesare Agosto Levi from his “Navi Venete.” The Viking rowlock and rivet are taken from Du Chaillu’s “Viking Age,” by the courtesy of Mr. John Murray. To all of the above I would wish to return thanks.

E. KEBLE CHATTERTON.

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi

I. INTRODUCTION 1

II. THE BIRTH OF THE NAUTICAL ARTS 10

III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MARINE INSTINCT 18

IV. MEDITERRANEAN PROGRESS 29

V. ROME AND THE SEA 56

VI. THE VIKING MARINERS 85

VII. SEAMANSHIP AND NAVIGATION IN THE MIDDLE AGES 114

VIII. THE PERIOD OF COLUMBUS 150

IX. THE EARLY TUDOR PERIOD 169

X. THE ELIZABETHAN AGE 186

XI. THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 221

XII. THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 249

XIII. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 274

GLOSSARY 291

INDEX 293

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

A Ship of Yesterday (a tea clipper before the wind)
_To face title-page_

A Seventeenth-Century Dutch Dockyard _Headpiece to Preface_

Spithead in the Early Nineteenth Century 2

Old-fashioned Topsail Schooner 8

“River sailors rather than blue-water seamen” 13

“Mine be a mattress on the poop” 34

Cast of a Relief showing Rowers on a Trireme 38

Vase in the form of a Trireme’s Prow 42

Portions of Early Mediterranean Anchor 44

Shield Signalling 49

Greek Penteconter from an Ancient Vase 51

The Egyptian Corn-Ship _Goddess Isis_ 58

The “Korax” or Boarding Bridge in Action 63

Sketches of Ancient Ships, by Richard Cook, R.A. 64

Ancient Coins illustrating Types of Rams 65

Bronze Figurehead of Roman Ship 66

Sketches of Ancient Ships, by Richard Cook, R.A. 66

Two Coins depicting Naumachiæ 68

A Roman Naumachia 68

Chart to illustrate Cæsar’s crossing the English Channel 71

Hull of Roman Ship found at Westminster 78

Details of Roman Ship found at Westminster 80

Details of Roman Ship found at Westminster 82

Primitive Navigation of the Vikings 89

Details of Viking Ships and Tackle 99

Vikings boarding an Enemy 102

Viking Ship with Awning up 111

Thirteenth-Century Merchant Sailing Ship 123

Fourteenth-Century Portolano of the Mediterranean 124

Prince Henry the Navigator 126

Fifteenth-Century Shipbuilding Yard 132

A Fifteenth-Century Ship 134

The Fleet of Richard I setting forth for the Crusades 139

A Medieval Sea-going Ship 146

Fifteenth-Century Caravel, after a Delineation by Columbus 158

“Ordered the crew ... to lay out an anchor astern” 162

Fifteenth-Century Caravel, after a Delineation by Columbus 164

Three-masted Caravel 166

Sixteenth-Century Caravel at Sea 166

Sixteenth-Century Caravel at Anchor 170

Sixteenth-Century Astrolabe supposed to have been on board a Ship
of the Armada 172

Astrolabe used by the English Sixteenth-Century Navigators 173

Sixteenth-Century Navigator using the Cross-staff 176

Sixteenth-Century Compass Card 177

An Old Nocturnal 178

Sixteenth-Century Four-Masted Ship 186

Elizabethans boarding an Enemy’s Ship 187

Elizabethan Steering-Gear 189

Sixteenth-Century Ship chasing a Galley 190

Waist, Quarter-deck, and Poop of the _Revenge_ 192

Sixteenth-Century Three-masted Ship 192

Riding Bitts on the Gun Deck of the _Revenge_ 195

Plan of Early Seventeenth-Century Ship 197

Sixteenth-Century Warship at Anchor 198

Drake’s _Revenge_ at Sea 201

Sixteenth-Century Mariners learning Navigation 206

Chart of A.D. 1589 211

Ship Designer with his Assistant 212

Chart of the Thames from the First Published Atlas 214

Diagram illustrating the use of the “Geometricall Square” 215

Sixteenth-Century Ship before the wind 216

Early Seventeenth-Century Warship 218

Early Seventeenth-Century Harbour 222

Early Seventeenth-Century Dutch East Indiamen 226

“The Perspective Appearance of a Ship’s Body” 228

“The Orthographick Simmetrye” of a Seventeenth-Century Ship 230

Early Seventeenth-Century Dutch West Indiamen 232

Fitting out a Seventeenth-Century Dutch West Indiaman 236

Seventeenth-Century Dutch Shipbuilding Yard 240

Seventeenth-Century First-Rate Ship 244

Section of a Three-Decker 246

Nocturnal 247

Building and launching Ships in the Eighteenth Century 248

Collier Brig 250

Boxhauling 252

Eighteenth-Century “Bittacle” 253

Interiors of Eighteenth-Century Men-of-War 254

Quarter-deck of an Eighteenth-Century Frigate 255

Collier Brig discharging Cargo 256

Eighteenth-Century Man-of-War 258

Collier Brigs beating up the Swin 259

Model of H.M.S. _Triumph_ 260

“Compelled to let the ship lie almost on her beam ends” 261

An interesting bit of Seamanship 262

An ingenious Sail-Spread 264

Eighteenth-Century Three-Decker 266

Sterns of the _Invincible_ and _Glorioso_ 268

Model of an English Frigate, 1750 270

A 32-gun Frigate ready for Launching 272

Launching a Man-of-War in the year 1805 274

Sheer-Hulk 276

H.M.S. _Prince_ 278

An Early Nineteenth-Century Design for a Man-of-War’s Stern 280

Course, Topsail, and Topgallant Sail of an Early Nineteenth-
Century Ship 281

Stern of H.M.S. _Asia_ 282

A Brig of War’s 12-pounder Carronade 283

A West Indiaman in Course of Construction 284

A Three-Decker on a Wind 285

The Brig _Wolf_ 286

A Frigate under all Sail 287

Man in the Chains heaving the Lead 287

H.M.S. _Cleopatra_ endeavouring to save the Crew of the Brig
_Fisher_ 288

H.M.S. _Hastings_ 289

Model of the _Carmarthenshire_ 290

PLANS

(_At End of Volume_)

I. Body Plan, etc., of Early Nineteenth-Century 74-gun Ship.

II. A Portable Crab Winch of the Early Nineteenth Century.

III. Longitudinal Plan of Early Nineteenth-Century 74-gun Ship.

IV. A 330-ton Merchant Ship of the Early Nineteenth Century.

V. Shrouds of Mainmast on Early Nineteenth-Century Ship.

VI. Design of the Stern of Early Nineteenth-Century 330-ton
Merchant Ship.

VII. Midship section of Early Nineteenth-Century 330-ton Merchant
Ship.

VIII. Longitudinal Plan of Early Nineteenth-Century 330-ton Merchant
Ship.

IX. Plans of Early Nineteenth-Century 74-gun Ship.

X. Iron Clipper Sailing Ship _Lord of the Isles_.

XI. The Wooden Clipper Ship _Schomberg_.

“The sea language is not soon learned, much less understood, being only proper to him that has served his apprenticeship: besides that, a boisterous sea and stormy weather will make a man not bred on it so sick, that it bereaves him of legs and stomach and courage, so much as to fight with his meat. And in such weather, when he hears the seamen cry starboard, or port, or to bide alooff, or flat a sheet, or haul home a cluling, he thinks he hears a barbarous speech, which he conceives not the meaning of.”

(SIR WILLIAM MONSON’S _Naval Tracts_.)