The World Of The Medieval Shipmaster

Despite a background of war, piracy, depopulation, bullion shortages, adverse political decisions, legal uncertainties and deteriorating weather conditions, between the mid-fourteenth and the mid-fifteenth centuries the English merchant shipping industry thrived. New markets were developed, voyages became longer, ships and cargoes increased in size and value, and an interest in ship ownership as an investment spread throughout the community. Using a rich range of examples drawn from court and parliamentary records, contemporary literature and the codifications of maritime law, this book illuminates the evolving management and commercial practices which developed to regulate the relationships between shipowners, shipmasters, crews and shipping merchants. It also brings to life ship performance, navigation, seamanship, and the frequently harsh conditions on board.

This series provides a forum for the most recent research into the political, social and ecclesiastical history of the 14th century.

“Rose looks at every aspect of English naval power in the Medieval period . . . an excellent study of a somewhat neglected period of English naval history.” —History of War We are accustomed to think of England in terms of Shakespeare’s “precious stone set in a silver sea,” safe behind its watery ramparts with its naval strength resisting all invaders. To the English of an earlier period from the 8th to the 11th centuries such a notion would have seemed ridiculous. The sea, rather than being a defensive wall, was a highway by which successive waves of invaders arrived, bringing destruction and fear in their wake. Deploying a wide range of sources, this new book looks at how English kings after the Norman Conquest learnt to use the Navy of England—a term which at this time included all vessels whether Royal or private and no matter what their ostensible purpose—to increase the safety and prosperity of the kingdom. The design and building of ships and harbour facilities, the development of navigation, ship handling, and the world of the seaman are all described, while comparisons with the navies of England’s closest neighbours, with particular focus on France and Scotland, are made, and notable battles including Damme, Dover, Sluys and La Rochelle included to explain the development of battle tactics and the use of arms during the period. The author shows, in this lucid and enlightening narrative, how the unspoken aim of successive monarchs was to begin to build “the wall” of England, its naval defences, with a success which was to become so apparent in later centuries.

A groundbreaking history of how the Black Death unleashed revolutionary change across the medieval world and ushered in the modern age In 1346, a catastrophic plague beset Europe and its neighbours. The Black Death was a human tragedy that abruptly halved entire populations and caused untold suffering, but it also brought about a cultural and economic renewal on a scale never before witnessed. The World the Plague Made is a panoramic history of how the bubonic plague revolutionized labour, trade, and technology and set the stage for Europe’s global expansion. James Belich takes readers across centuries and continents to shed new light on one of history’s greatest paradoxes. Why did Europe’s dramatic rise begin in the wake of the Black Death? Belich shows how plague doubled the per capita endowment of everything even as it decimated the population. Many more people had disposable incomes. Demand grew for silks, sugar, spices, furs, gold, and slaves. Europe expanded to satisfy that demand—and plague provided the means. Labour scarcity drove more use of waterpower, wind power, and gunpowder. Technologies like water-powered blast furnaces, heavily gunned galleons, and musketry were fast-tracked by plague. A new “crew culture” of “disposable males” emerged to man the guns and galleons. Setting the rise of Western Europe in global context, Belich demonstrates how the mighty empires of the Middle East and Russia also flourished after the plague, and how European expansion was deeply entangled with the Chinese and other peoples throughout the world.

The Newport Medieval Ship is the most important late-medieval merchant vessel yet recovered. Built c.1450 in northern Spain, it foundered at Newport twenty years later while undergoing repairs. Since its discovery in 2002, further investigations have transformed historians’ understanding of fifteenth-century ship technology. With plans in place to make the ship the centrepiece for a permanent exhibition in Newport, this volume interprets the vessel, to enable visitors, students and researchers to understand the ship and the world from which it came. The volume contains eleven chapters, written by leading maritime archaeologists and historians. Together, they consider its significance and locate the vessel within its commercial, political and social environment.

The relations between medieval East Anglia and countries across the North Sea examined from a variety of perspectives.

Numerous aspects of the medieval economy are covered in this new collection of essays, from business fraud and changes in wages to the production of luxury goods. Long dominated by theories of causation involving class conflict and Malthusian crisis, the field of medieval economic history has been transformed in recent years by a better understanding of the process of commercialisation. Inrecognition of the important work in this area by Richard Britnell, this volume of essays brings together studies by historians from both sides of the Atlantic on fundamental aspects of the medieval commercial economy. From examinations of high wages, minimum wages and unemployment, through to innovative studies of consumption and supply, business fraud, economic regulation, small towns, the use of charters, and the role of shipmasters and peasants as entrepreneurs, this collection is essential reading for the student of the medieval economy. Contributors: John Hatcher, John Langdon, Derek Keene, John S. Lee, James Davis, Mark Bailey, Christine M. Newman, Peter L. Larson, Maryanne Kowaleski, Martha Carlin, James Masschaele, Christopher Dyer

A comprehensive review of the laws and regulations governing the shipmaster including customary law, case law, statutory law, treaty law and regulatory law, covering: • A brief history of the shipmaster • Manning and crewing requirements in relation to vessel registration • Comparison of regimes of law of agency for shipmasters and crews across jurisdictions • Examination of shipmaster liability (civil and criminal)