Medieval Sea-Fight

Sea-Battles in the Round Ships

This Naval History continues on from: "Impermanence to Permanent"

In the days of the Old Navy of England, before Henry VIII had introduced the great battering guns into his ships, a battle at sea was not really a sea-battle at all, as we understand it. In theory it was a land-battle on water.

The ships had steep, high sides with the curving decks of the ships taking the place of strongholds on land. And most of the weapons used were personal ones that were used in land-fighting; swords, spears, maces and battle-axes, representing the men's arms, darts, arrows from long-bows or cross-bows representing the missile weapons.

All of these were designed to kill men; they could not possibly wound or sink the ships in a sea-fight. There was nothing which could do that, to the heavy Round Ships of the north. Even the classic "ship-killer" of the Galley, the Ram, was absent here, which usually proved to be a useless weapon.

The Round Ship had niether the speed or the precision of movement to launch the Ram on the enemy; and even by good fortune it could be delivered to its destination, it would not do much damage to its target's material, but would probably inflict as much damge upon itself.

Impermanence to Permanent

They were Man-Killer weapons only

The weapons of northern sea-warfare were normally man-killers only. There were others, and some of them were intended to hurt, and even destroy, the enemy's ships; but they were rare, and seldom successful.

Therefore a part of the ship's armament was sometimes a pile of big stones and heavy iron bars, often much too heavy and lacking in precision to be intended only to be thrown at the enemy's men.

They were housed in the castles fore and aft, and in the close fighting which took place in those days, they had obvious potentialities. No attempt was made to throw them, so far as we can gather, although, on land, these types of machines had existed for centuries.

On a ship grappling with the enemy, if a man on the "castle" found himself looking down upon any part of a hostile ship, he had only need to nudge the object overboard, and gravity would do the rest of his business.

Gravity was highly important

Until the development of the battering ram and the dropping of fire, gravity was the most important factor in all warfare, especially siege-warfare; and the main requirement then was always Height. There are early examples of really high towers being erected on ships which had been detailed to attack the land fortifications.

But such monstrosities would not engage in a fight upon the open sea. Details of damage done by these most primitive of weapons is hard to access.

It was probably not great, but it could not have been negligible, because in some navies the practice of carrying them continued until a surprisingly late date. Some ships in the Spanish Armada, actually have them in their lists of stores.

The large stone-throwing machines like mangonels, petrariae and tre'buchets were quite often carried in medieval ships. One of the later was carried on the flahship, of Eustace the Monk when he was defeated by Hubert de Burgh in the great Battle off Dover in 1217.

The only part which it plays in the story of the affray is that the unfortunate Eustace was offered a choice between it and the bulwark as a block upon which he should be beheaded. It is believed he had little desire for either, but anyhow they cut off his head.

No proof these weapons were used aboard ship

The presence on board of these weapons does not prove that they were ever used there. Most probably they were not. They were the normal battery-pieces for use against land fortifications which was what they were designed for.

When we read of their presence we ought to remember that the most important function of ships was that of furnishing transport for the troops and their equipment. When a King went a-warring overseas there was no other way of taking his heavy artillery with him.

Fire A formidable weapon in all ages

Much the commonest "ship-killer" of the Middle Ages, was Fire. And especially in the age of the wooden ships. But unless the user could throw the fire, it was a double-edged weapon.

To set the enemy's ship alight, once one had grappled her, was obviously dangerous, since it was far easier to entangle two ships than to disentangle them in a hurry.

The fate of that historic ship, Henry VIII's Regent, is only one example of that particular peril. She was bound firmly to the great "Carrack of Brest" when the latter took fire; the flames quickly spread and destroyed them both.

Was this the first incendiary weapon

The incendiary weapon which enjoyed the greatest reputation during the Middle Ages was the famous Greek Fire. Its nature and its composition have been much discussed, but the various conclusions reached are confusing and sometimes contradictory.

It is not certain that the incendiary device contained an explosive. But if those authorities are right who placed the three main ingredients amonst the components used, then it probably did because the three ingredients they mention are what makes gunpowder.

It was an incendiary device there is no doubting when we read about the volatile oil that was used with it. It is not clear how it was launched though it was thrown in some way; possibly puffed by bellows through tubes, or thrown in special pots, sometimes by hand or rock-throwing machines.

The reason for all of these doubts and mysteries is clear. Its composition was a closely guarded secret, won by the Saracens, from the Byzantines; and its reputation being as great as its efficiency.

All sorts of people pretended that they had the folmula-and all sorts of inferior imitations of "Greek Fire" flooded the market. "Greek Fire" became recognized as the main weapon designed to set ships alight.

Crusaders from England must have met the genuine article; but the "Greek Fires" we read about in northern waters were probably all of them the less effective imitations.

The ingredients most commonly used in these waters was pitch, an unpleasant substance to be flung, alight, on or into a wodden ship, but far more extinguishable than the real thing; it could only be put out by sand, vinegar or urine.

Modern-day Pages Fast Boats Pages Joe Wezley Pages

Old vessels were made into Fireships

The "Fireship" was not unknown in medieval sea-warfare; not the scientifically prepared sort of later days, this would have been an improvised one fashioned out of some old vessel. But this was more of a southern than a northern device.

Much the commonest fire-carrier was an arrow, specially prepared with one of the known incendiary substances.

The great point to grasp about all ship-killers of that age; is that they seldom achieved a success. Battles were never won or lost by them.

What did decide the day was the bording and enterring of the enemy's ship by resolute men armed with man-killing weapons, and the capture by hand-to-hand fighting. This needed plenty of Courage and plenty of Skill.

Much was expended on the problem, and a number of quite ingenious weapons of this order were employed, sometimes in combination. Quicklime was a fairly common one; and this had to be launched downwind, the commander who would use it had to manoeuvre his ship into a windward position ready for the discharge.

Another idea showed considerable ingenuity was to spray soft soap onto the enemy's deck. This method of attack does not sound very leathal; until we learn that as the deck is being sprayed tripple pointed bits of iron known as "triboli" were scattered there also.

These stuck as they fell, with two of their points upwards. His eyes almost blinded with the Quicklime, a defender who slipped on the soft soap and received on falling several triboli in the back must often have been fatally discouraged.

The continuation of this Naval History will be: "Battle off Dover 1217"

Medieval Sea-Fight Battle off Dover 1217

"Pirates Trilogy" $20