Some Mediæval Sea-fights
"The King's own galley, he called it _Trenchthemer_
That was first on way, and came the ship full near.
. . . . . . . . . . .
The ship cast hooks out, the galley to them to draw;
The King stood full stoutly, and many of them slew;
Wild-fire they cast, the King to confound;
. . . . . . . . . . .
The King abased him not but stalwartly fought.
. . . . . . . . . . .
The ship that was so great, it foundered in the flood;
They counted fifteen hundred Saracens that drownèd were,
Forty and six were selected, and were all that were saved there.
The sum could no man tell of gold that was therein
And other riches to sell, but all they might not win.
. . . . . . . . . . .
It sank soon in the sea, half might they not get.
Richard bade, 'Haul up your sails, may God us lead,
Our men at Acre lie, of help they have great need.'"
PETER OF LANGTOFT (modernized), thirteenth-century poem.
ONE of the most interesting episodes of mediæval war afloat was the
sinking of the great Turkish _Dromon_, off Beyrout, by King Richard I.
After having effected the junction of his fleets off Messina, he had
gone on to Cyprus, where fighting, and other matters with which we need
not concern ourselves, had delayed him for some time. At length he and
his "busses"[16] and galleys set out for Acre. The following day--6th
June, 1191--the British fleet made the Syrian coast, near the Castle of
Margat, and continued their way, pretty close under the land, for the
town of Acre. About noon the day following, when near Beyrout, it was
reported to the King, who led the fleet in his galley _Trench-the-Mer_,
that an enormous ship was in sight. None of the English had ever seen
such a leviathan. "A marvellous ship," says an old chronicler, "a ship
than which, except Noah's ship, none greater was ever read of--the Queen
of Ships!" It was a fine and beautiful summer morning, with but little
wind. The strange ship showed no distinguishing colours, and was putting
on as much sail as she possibly could; but she made little, if any, way
at all:
"The weather was full soft, the wind held them still,
The sail was high aloft, they had no wind at will",
to quote an ancient poem dealing with the fight that ensued. The big
ship was of great bulk, painted green on one side and yellow on the
other, probably to render her inconspicuous against either a sandy or a
green background, or at sea, when her green side was towards the enemy.
But in spite of this curious colouring she is said to have presented a
very beautiful appearance, and her decoration was considered "very
elegant".
The vessel is stated to have carried 1500 men--an enormous
complement--which included 7 Emirs and 80 chosen Turks, for the defence
of Acre. She was equipped with bows, arrows, and other weapons, many
jars filled with the dreaded Greek fire, and "200 most deadly serpents
prepared for the destruction of Christians". Most historians consider
that these "serpents" were some kind of firework used as a missile,
since "serpentine" was an early name for one of the smallest-sized
cannon. Personally, I do not see why we should not accept the word
"serpents" in its everyday meaning. The adjective "deadly" is
suggestive, and in one old account it is particularly stated that "the
200 serpents were _drowned_". There have been instances of hives of bees
being hurled as missiles from war-engines, so why not baskets of deadly
snakes? But it is more probable that these serpents--since none of them
were expended in the battle that took place--were intended to have been
introduced into the camps of the Crusaders after being landed at Acre.
As soon as the big _Dromon_--as she is generally called by old
writers--was sighted, Richard dispatched Peter de Barris in his galley
to find out who she was. The word _Dromon_, by the way, was used at that
time to denote any exceptionally large ship; just as we use
"Dreadnought" in a similar way. But the actual and original meaning of
the word was not a big, but a fast, ship. The word is connected with
speed and racing, and is of Greek origin. We use it in its proper sense
now in hippodrome, velodrome, aerodrome, &c.
As De Barris pulled alongside the _Dromon_, she showed the French king's
colours on a lance, and, on being hailed, stated that she was taking
French Crusaders to Acre. Further interrogated, another story was tried.
She was a Genoese, bound for Tyre. All this was suspicious enough, but
in the meantime one of the men in the King's ship announced that he
recognized her--he had seen her once at Beyrout--and was brought before
Richard. "I will give my head to be cut off, or myself to be hanged,"
asserted this mariner, "if I do not prove that this is a Saracen ship.
Let a galley be sent after them, and give them no salutation; their
intention and trustworthiness will then be discovered." Richard adopted
the suggestion. Another galley shot out from the fleet and surged up
alongside the towering _Dromon_. There was no mistake this time. Down
came whistling flights of arrows, while pots of Greek fire crashed into
flame as they struck the galley. Off dashed Richard in the
_Trench-the-Mer_ to the rescue. "Follow me, and take them," he cried to
the other galleys, "for if they escape, ye lose my love for ever; and if
ye capture them all their goods shall be yours!" The Turk could not get
away, she was practically becalmed, and the oar-propelled galleys of the
Crusaders closed around her.
But the assailants were in the same predicament as were the Romans when
they attacked the lofty ships of the Veneti. The sides of the _Dromon_
towered far over their heads, and do what they would they could not get
on board her. The Turks had thrown a grapnel and made fast to the King's
galley at the very beginning of the fight. Greek fire and missiles of
all kinds rained upon the heads of the English, fully exposed on the
decks and benches of their low galleys. The apparent hopelessness of
their situation began to affect the efforts of the Crusaders. Richard
saw that "something must be done", and he rose to the occasion.
"Will ye now suffer that ship to get off untouched and uninjured?" he
shouted. "Oh, shame! after so many triumphs do ye now give way to sloth
and fear? Know that if this ship escape, every one of you shall be hung
on the cross or put to extreme torture!"
That was _his_ way of bestowing the cross--a wooden one, not an "iron"
one! But it had its effect. The galley-men dived overboard, and,
fastening ropes to the enemy's rudder, "steered her as they pleased". It
is rather difficult to understand the precise advantage gained by his
manoeuvre, unless the wind had sprung up and the big Turkish vessel was
gathering a good deal of way and dragging the whole press of galleys
along with her, and that many were in danger of being swamped. However,
after this they were able to climb up her sides by means of ropes, and a
desperate hand-to-hand conflict took place on her decks. Here the
martial prowess of the Crusaders had full play. Wielding their heavy
trenchant swords, they drove the Saracens right forward into the bows of
the ship; but just when they thought victory was in their grasp, up came
a torrent of fresh assailants from below, and in such overwhelming
numbers that the boarders were hurled back into their galleys.
Things were now very black indeed, but Richard once more showed his
generalship. He ordered the whole of his galleys to cut loose from their
elephantine enemy, to draw off and form line abreast with their bows
towards the foe. Then, at his signal, down went the long oars with a
great splash into the water, and, every rower putting his full strength
into his stroke, the galleys roared through the sea at the big yellow
and green _Dromon_. There was a series of rending crashes as the iron
beaks of the galleys struck her sides, like sword-fish attacking a
whale. The Crusaders backed their oars for all they knew, to get clear,
and, staggering and rolling to her doom, the huge Saracen gradually
foundered as the water poured in cataracts through the gaping holes in
her sides. Only fifty-five of her crew were saved, being men whom the
Crusaders considered would be useful to help them to make the military
engines, for which, it would seem, the Saracens were renowned. The
remainder who had escaped the swords of the English were "sent home by
water", according to the custom of Chaucer's "schipman" at a later date.
This cruel habit would seem to have died hard, for we find one of the
English captains in the Armada fight regretting that they had not "made
water-spaniels" of the crew of a captured Spaniard who were reported to
be short of provisions.
* * * * *
We will now forge right ahead through a couple of hundred years, and
take a glimpse at a sea-fight in the days of Richard II. The merchants
of Flanders, La Rochelle, and some other places had agreed to sail
together in considerable force for mutual protection to La Rochelle, in
order to buy wine and other merchandise. The English had wind of this
expedition and had every intention of catching them _en route_. But the
Flemings contrived to elude them and get safely to their destination.
There was nothing for it but to make another attempt, and cut them off
on their return journey.
"The English navy", says Sir John Froissart, "lay at anchor before
Margate at the Thames mouth, toward Sandwich, abiding their adventure,
and specially abiding for the ships that were gone to La Rochelle; for
they thought they would shortly return. And so they did...."
When he saw he would have to fight, Sir John de Bucq, the commander of
the Flemings, made ready his 700 cross-bowmen and his guns.
"The English ships approached," continues Froissart, "and they had
certain galleys furnished with archers, and these came foremost rowing
with oars, and gave the first assault. The archers shot fiercely, and
lost much of their shot; for the Flemings covered them under the decks
and would not appear, but drave ever forward with the wind: and when
they were out of the English archer's shot, then they did let fly their
bolts from the cross-bows, wherewith they hurted many.
"Then approached the great ships of England, the Earl of Arundel with
his company, and the Bishop of Norwich with his; and so the other lords.
They rushed in among the Flemings' ships, and them of La Rochelle: yet
the Flemings and cross-bows defended themselves right valiantly, for
their patron, Sir John de Bucq, did ever support them: he was in a great
strong ship, where he had three guns shooting so great stones, that
wheresoever they lighted they did great damage. And even as they fought
they drew little and little towards Flanders; and some little ships,
with their merchants, took the coasts of Flanders, and the low water,
and thereby saved them, for the great ships could not follow them.
"Thus on the sea they had a hard battle, and ships broken and sunken on
both sides; for out of the tops they cast down great bars of iron,
sharpened so that they went through to the bottom. This was a hard
battle and well fought, for it endured three whole tides; and when the
day failed they withdrew from each other, and cast anchor, and there
rested all night, and there dressed their hurt men: and when the flood
came, they disanchored and drew up sails and returned again to battle.
"With the Englishmen was Peter du Bois of Ghent, with certain archers
and mariners; he gave the Flemings much ado, for he had been a mariner,
therefore he knew the art of the sea, and he was sore displeased that
the Flemings and merchants endured so long. But always the Englishmen
won advantage of the Flemings, and so came between Blankenburgh and
Sluys, against Cadsand; there was the discomfiture, for the Flemings
were not succoured by any creature; and also at that time there were no
ships at Sluys, nor men of war.... By this discomfiture of Sir John de
Bucq, as he came from La Rochelle, the Englishmen had great profit,
specially of wine, for they had a nine thousand tuns of wine; whereby
wine was the dearer all the year after in Flanders, Holland, and
Brabant, and the better cheap in England, as it was reason. Such are the
chances of this world; if one hath damage another hath profit."
There are one or two very interesting points in this account. One, of
course, is the fact that there were three guns mounted on John de Bucq's
ship, which evidently was exceptional at the time, or attention would
not have been so particularly drawn to them. Moreover, they were not
little guns, like those which were mounted in such numbers a few years
later, but of some size, since they fired "_great_ stones". But the most
noteworthy point that emerges from the story of the fight is that not
only were the cross-bowmen able to fire from under cover on the English
without exposing themselves, but their bows had actually outranged the
long-bows. Now we know that a long-bow in expert hands would kill at 400
yards, so that the effective range of the cross-bow must have been
considerable.
FOOTNOTE:
[16] "_Bus_", "ships of the largest size, with triple sails".