How Great Galleys Moved

 

The three-week session of my first paper has concluded, receiving over 400 views and several comments. One respondent suggested consulting pilotage books for the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, which provide monthly sea conditions and general recommendations. However, because these books originated in the mid-19th century, they are not applicable to the 14th to 16th centuries, the period addressed in my article. 

https://www.academia.edu/176668099/Pioneering_the_Atlantic_Route_The_Genoese_Vessels_Unlock_the_Maritime_Route_to_the_North_Sea 

 I received a response from Steven Lowe, who has constructed models of Venetian merchant ships. We discussed the central thesis of my article: the introduction of the cog in the Mediterranean and the emergence of the early carrack, a two-masted vessel with dual propulsion and a stern rudder.

Next week, I intend to upload my second paper, which examines the Venetian response to the opening of a new sea route to northwestern Europe. 

I have begun developing my third paper, tentatively titled "How Great Galleys Moved." This work will focus on the technical aspects of the Galleys of Flanders, including propulsion, speed, safety, and security. In the propulsion section, I will address Lawrence Mott's argument regarding square-rigged galleys and discuss the hazards posed by shifting sandbars along the coasts of England and Flanders.

See: Lawrence V. Mott, Square-rigged Great Galleys of the Late Fifteenth Century. The Mariner’s Mirror, 74:1, 1988

I am continuing to study "The Gunpowder and Galleys" and plan to incorporate relevant information from this source into my future research.