Michael Baizerman Author

 Hello, my readers and listeners!    First, thank you for reading this blog. I have never dreamed of reaching almost 36 K viewers. Your silent support encourages me to continue my research. It still focuses on the seafaring of galleys in medieval Mediterranean, though it might be the last chapter in this section.    I am currently developing the Venetian maritime trade archive, with the emphasis on the Galleys of Flanders. I guess the future article will cover the Florentine galleys as well. Also, in addition to Flanders, I will present English destinations. I may show the differences in Venetian, Florentine, and Genoese seafaring along the Atlantic line.    I want to elaborate on the final voyages and explain how and why the galley service became a burden for maritime republics. Additionally, I will comment on the pirate activities in the Atlantic, especially in the fifteenth century. I will use English, French, and Italian sources to create a more nu...

 After uploading my latest article,  https://www.academia.edu/145269678/The_War_of_Chioggia I seem to have reached my full potential, with 16K views. To move forward, I need to conduct new studies. I will devote the first of them to the galleys of Flanders, i.e., Venetian and Florentine merchant ships, which set sail from Venice or Porto Pisano to Sluys and London. I have collected a lot of material in the first file, and now I will process the data to see what is missing. I will cover the crisis in the Italian merchant marine in the late fifteenth century, the change in terminals, and the shift in customers' attitudes. However, it is too early to outline the future article. I have to understand the facts and opinions that I have found.  I will also translate one of my previous articles for a new Zoom lecture for Russian-speaking listeners.  https://www.academia.edu/130330389/The_Battle_of_Meloria_August_6_1284_

  I have just uploaded a new article, which is my sixth account of medieval naval battles. You can find it here: https://www.academia.edu/130330389/The_Battle_of_Meloria_August_6_1284_. The article includes five main points: 1. The Dogged Rivals 2. The Escalation of Violence 3. The Final Confrontation 4. The Outcome 5. The Re-imagining This version draws upon Matthew E. Parker's dissertation, "Sinking Pisa: The Decline of a Commercial Empire in the Thirteenth Century" (Saint Louis University, 2019). It also references "The Templar of Tyre," translated by Paul Crawford (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003), which is an anonymous fourteenth-century chronicle.   You read the sixth article from the cycle devoted to maritime battles in the medieval Mediterranean. The Pisans and Genoese went face-to-face, battling for the hegemony of the key islands, and, by extension, of the entire western basin of the Inland Sea. Only one of them could taste victory, though the geopolitical ...

 A friend asked me whether I retell the known circumstances in my writing. I find it a tricky issue. Of  course, I base my narrative on familiar descriptions, trying to relate the events in my words. I search for lively expressions to convey the meaning. However, I check the well-known descriptions with the sources, applying logic to estimate the value of both the sources and modern rendering.  I have recently finished writing a new chapter, The Battle of Meloria (August 6, 1284), which pitted the Pisan and Genoese fleets in the view of Porto Pisano.  Before that, the Pisan fleet made an abortive effort to blockade the port of Genoa, taking advantage of the fact that a decent-sized Genoese squadron under Benedetto Zaccaria engaged elsewhere. The Ligurian war council recalled the ships, and Zaccaria entered the harbor unharmed. How could it be when the Pisans surrounded the entrance to the port? Why didn't the Genoese attempt to squeeze the less powerful rival navy an...

  I have finished writing this chapter. It starts with a small introduction about Byzantine chronicles. I added this section because my narrative primarily draws from these chronicles, and I want   to caution the reader about their credibility. Often penned by monastic historians poorly versed in naval and military matters, they contain hagiographic material or facts biased by the witnesses' viewpoints and political agenda. I also attached the Reassessment, the summing up of my story. As usual, I will keep it on hold. My next chapter will deal with the Battle of Meloria, August 1284, which pitted the Pisan and Genoese fleets off Porto Pisano. Like the Battle of Chandax, it was a decisive confrontation that put an end to the naval domination of the City on the Arno. It also supplies an excellent  example of the encirclement of  hostile forces, worth discussing in military academies. I also received an OK from the Institute of  Integration coordinator for a s...