Appeared in Print

 My second book, "The Enchanting Encounter with the East," has appeared in print and was published by AuthorHouse UK. I feel elevated and relieved. I hope I have improved the content through careful editorship, and my readers will enjoy traveling across the pages.

My book is set in the European Middle Ages, and its main characters are Latin scholars who had imagined the lands and people of the Far East long before they set off to visit them. 

There are four main topics that I focused on while writing. The first one is geography: how come that geography being of trivial importance for Latin academics, had gained traction and invited travel? 

The second one is history. Who were the horrible Tartars who had nearly conquered western Europe in 1241-1242, where did they spring up, and what would they do next? 

The third one is mythology. I picked up two medieval legends: Alexander Barrier and Prester John. I researched the development of these tall tales and showed how they were incorporated into history, for good or bad. 

The fourth one is ethnography. European travelers visited Mongolia, India, and China. What did they learn about the Far East, with its fascinating sights and sounds? What did they carry on from this beautiful encounter?

The circle of the readers of this blog has broadened and hit 6 K viewers. I can't think of a better gift for you all than sending you to my site, https://independent.academia.edu/BaizermanMichael, where you can find most chapters of my second book. I will continue uploading other chapters except for conclusions. 

In my third project, I have reached the stage where I can arrange my notes for the first part of Chapter 2, The Slender Giants of the Wine-Dark Sea. In this part, I deal with light galleys. I continue researching adjacent topics, such as horse transport galleys and the warships' life expectancy. I must also study the other seven files I have collected about battle galleys. 

I have read a fascinating book recently: J. Marteilhe, Galley Slave. (Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing, 2010). These are memoirs of a former galley slave, a French Huguenot, who was sent to French galleys for his ill-favored attempt to escape from his homeland, where his religion was not tolerated. He served many years on galleys of Dunkirk and those of Marseille. What struck me was that such injustice and ignorance were widespread in France even at the beginning of the 18th century. 

The Mysterious Letter

I have just started a discussion on my latest paper 

https://www.academia.edu/82514995/The_Mysterious_Letter

This chapter from my book, "The Enchanting Encounter with the East," continues the exploration of the popular character (Prester John) and his impact on multiple fans worldwide. I invite you to take part in the debates. 

In the abstract, I wrote: "The mysterious letter penned by the elusive potentate, Prester John, became the talk of several European royal courts. The writer invited heads of state to visit his fascinating country abounding with marvels and wonders. The audience was divided between enchantment and skepticism, leaving nobody lukewarm". 

Meanwhile, I devoted much time to developing my current topic: the evolution of war galleys in the medieval and renaissance Mediterranean. I think I have found a reference point, the Byzantine fleet, especially its ebb and flow between the sixth and the eleventh centuries.   

The rise of the Italian fleets hangs on an extraordinary discovery: placing the two rowers side by side on one bank of oars instead of positioning them in two tiers is more practical. Some researchers do not distinguish between the two meanings: in Byzantine dromons, all oarsmen sat on two levels, whereas in Italian galleys, each pair occupied the same bench. Both watercraft are called biremes, but the difference allowed the latter to have the edge over their rivals and paved the way for all other fleets, Christian or Muslim, to follow. 

Another interesting note concerns the visibility of sailors at sea. Byzantine experts advise putting reconnaissance ships in front of the fleet, at three and six miles. At such a distance, sailors could communicate by signaling with flags. This gap is more important than overall visibility from the masthead, i.e. about 12 miles. The issue was how to convey this info to other vessels in the shortest possible time. 

I chose three books that I need to reread before making headway. The first is JOHN H. PRYOR & ELIZABETH M. JEFFREYS, THE AGE OF THE DROMON. In a book for specialists, I skipped many pages but there is a pleroma of useful notes and citations. The second is Angus Konstam, Peter Dennis, and Peter Bull, Byzantine Warship vs Arab Warship. This is a popular book with useful conclusions concerning the interaction between hostile fleets. The last one is Charles D. Stanton, Medieval Maritime Warfare. A resourceful book with many insights that I can apply to different events and situations. I hope that when I finish reading these books, I will have a better view of the subject.

 

The Slender Giants of the Wine-Dark Sea

 

A model of a sixteenth-century Maltese galley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galley 

This is the title of the second chapter of my new manuscript. To put it simply, it is about war galleys in the Mediterranean. I have entered the stage of assessing and developing data. It will take a long time, and I will probably write several blog entries concerning this topic. Why does it take so long?

The chapter will have at least four divisions: light galleys, the monster galley, the intricacies of naval warfare, and the shipborne artillery. For each section, I need to read the collected data, decide on its relevance, and write what I call "scraps," i.e., a memorable phrase, sentence, or a paragraph attached to that piece of info. I also need to check the details. For example, one source says that Ottoman shipwrights produced inferior galleys because they used "green" timber (unseasoned wood). An extraordinary claim that may need an additional quest. What was wrong with the Ottoman shipyards? 

Another issue is about the practice of tying the galleys with cables or iron chains to form a battle line. War galleys were trained to be arrayed in battle formations. Bonding the vessels together would hinder any maneuvers, which spelled disaster during a naval battle. Some of them might run aground or be unable to prevent a boarding attack. I even read a paper saying that it is fake news written by landlubbers, mostly sometime after the events. However, when galleys fought in a static position (in narrow confines), blocking the enemy's advance was more critical than maneuvering. I need to review the cases when these tactics took effect.  

I also reject the claim that medieval and renaissance war fleets could control the sea, neither the entire Mediterranean nor any of its water bodies, i.e., the Adriatic or the Aegean. An observer from the crow's nest elevated at several meters could watch a few miles ahead, and even scout ships could provide reconnaissance within 20 nautical miles. Many water expanses were infested with pirates. On the other hand, they didn't need to control the sea. Narrow straits can be monitored with the navy, and the war fleet provided with good intelligence could predict the enemy's movement along conventional sea lanes. Let's remember that galleys would not sail direct voyages but had to stay close to the shoreline. 

I have collected a mountain of info and sometimes need to navigate between too specific data that might not interest my reader and very superficial, widely known data. 

Meanwhile, I will continue reading books devoted to  Mediterranean shipping and naval warfare to grasp various approaches to the theme.