ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE about 1445

This article was downloaded by: [ECU Libraries] On: 29 September 2014, At: 01:46 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK The Mariner's Mirror Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rmir20 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE about 1445 R. C. Anderson Published online: 22 Mar 2013. To cite this article: R. C. Anderson (1925) ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE about 1445, The Mariner's Mirror, 11:2, 135-163, DOI: 10.1080/00253359.1925.10655310 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00253359.1925.10655310 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. 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Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rmir20 http://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080/00253359.1925.10655310 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00253359.1925.10655310 expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions IT ALI AN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE about 1445 13y 1{. (. ufnderson 1\ o NG the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum is a small volume, "Titus, A. 26," containing, amongst other things, a series of :fifteenth-century notes in Italian on naval architecture and sailmaking. The volume, as now bound, consists of several distinct manuscripts. It contains 293 numbered leaves and has had :five leaves cut out between 2 5 and 26. The portion from leaf 2 to leaf 6o, with the :five missing leaves, seems to have formed a book by itself and is apparently in one handwriting and on one kind of paper. The first leaf, in writing of about I 6oo, gives the contents of the whole collection, while the remainder of the volume varies considerably in subject, writing and material. The author, or compiler, of the section with which we are concerned introduces himself on his :first page (f. 2 a), where we read the following: "[in] nomine d[ omi]ni I 444 se fatto questi libro p[er] zorzi tti[m]botta da modo[n]." To judge from his notebook, this Giorgio Timbotta of Modon was a Venetian merchant who was interested in many subjects besides his business. Music, medicine, astronomy, engineering, sail- making, shipbuilding and arithmetic are all represented; there is also a copy of a letter written from India to the Pope. Now and then we come across fragments of accounts, but these are usually crossed out; they all seem to belong to the years I 44 7-9. It is impossible to :fix the exact date at which the notes on shipbuilding were written. As we have seen the :first inscription gives I444 as the date of compiling the book. Apparently the music, or at any rate the lines on which it is written, is of earlier date than the fragmentary business entries, and prob- ably these in turn are earlier than some of the nautical informa- tion. On the other hand the inscription at the head of f. I 2 a, "i[n] nomine d[omi]ni I447 adi 12 lujo i[n] santtuzi," seems to refer to the composing or copying of the rules for sailmaking immediately beneath it. On the whole, allowing for the indica- tions of copying from notes of earlier date, it seems reasonable D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 I36 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 to give I44o-I450 as the period to which the information belongs. The 64 leaves of Giorgio Timbotta's notebook are filled as follows: The first I 5 pages, ff. 2 a-8 a, contain music. Then, on ff. 9 a-I 1 b, with a table of contents on f. 8 b, comes a series of 39 paragraphs on the virtues of rosemary. Nautical interest begins with the nine pages ff. I 2 a- I 6 a, treating of sailmaking and sizes of rigging. The next seven pages, I 6 b- I9 b, deal with astronomical problems; while, on ff. 20 a-23 a, there is a copy of a letter dated I 44 I, written to the Pope from India. From f. 2 3 b to 2 5 b, and again on f. 2 6 b, there are fragments of accounts and the same appears to have been the case on the five missing leaves; 26 a and 27 a are blank. Ship- building begins on 27 b-28 b; 29 a is blank; 29 b-36 a contain illustrations and descriptions of various engineering devices; 36 b is blank. Finally the remaining pages from 37 a to 6o b are filled with a miscellany of notes on shipbuilding and sail- ma.king together with a few arithmetical problems in a nautical gmse. My Italian friends inform me that the dialect is undoubtedly Venetian. Unfortunately they are not able to be equally definite about the measures used. The author himself tells us that I paso was equal to 5 pie or to 7 palmi, but he never uses palms for small measurements; instead he uses the dedo (in normal Italian, dito) and two obscure abbreviations which look most like g! or q" and z! or s ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT I445 I37 A somewhat similar document from the Magliabecchiana Library in Florence has been printed and discussed by Jal in Memoire No. 5 of his ArcMologie Navale. This was considered from its writing to belong to "the first years of the fifteenth century" and to be also of Venetian origin. Unfortunately Jal did not reproduce its illustrations and worked only from a copy written by another hand, while some of his interpretations seem to be based on a vivid imagination rather than on prob- ability; still, with all its faults, his work is indispensable for the proper understanding of this new document. At the same time the diagrams of the British Museum MS. and its slightly different way of presenting its information ought to help in the revision that Jal's translation certainly requires. There can be little doubt that Giorgio Timbotta copied from some other source or sources and that he occasionally copied very carelessly. Spelling goes for nothing, but some of his figures are impossible and every now and then a word is obviously misplaced or substituted for another similar word of quite different meaning. The clearest case of copying is in one of the arithmetical problems on f. 48 a. The question is, how long it will take to up-end a mast lying on the ground, if the tackle can move the end I pace each day and the length of the spar is 40 paces. The calculation ought to run: 8o x Jt = 2 5 If and 2 5 If x ! = 62f. The MS. gives Ji instead of 3} and 357-¥- instead of 25rf but still gets the answer right! The other problem on this page is the old story of the square on the hypotenuse in its simplest form, the question being how far the top of a tree will be from the base if it breaks 6 paces up and lies with its upper part of ro paces sloping down from the break to the ground. In this our compiler has made no mistake. There is such a lack of order in the contents of this MS. that it will be best to give up any idea of presenting it as it stands and to gather its information under several headings: "Galleys and other oared craft," "Ships," "Rigging" and "Sailmaking" are simple headings that will cover everything. As one might expect, the first is the most comprehensive. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 138 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 GALLEYS AND OTHER OARED CRAFT Two types of oared craft are dealt with fairly fully-a galia sottil of 2 9 banks of oars and a Justa of 2 6 banks. We will start with the galley; its measurement'3 are given at some length on ff. 42 band 43 a and are here reproduced in full. Queste mesure sie duna galia sottil e sie longa da ertto pasa 22 e pie 2! E a banchi 29 e se Iongo el morelo che se partte le chorbe pie 2 e 1° zc e ! E si a chorbe 44- a proda e 44 a pope e 4 in mezo E mesurando per me la chorba de mezo de su la zentta e a loro de souvra del magier de bocha dexe pe yo e yo zc El se partte el mezo de la galia e su questo mezo se mette ra chorba e le 2 a proda e una a pope E mesurando da questo mezo de la galia in fina la che fiero con la qudiera chorba de proda dexe pasa 7 e pe I 0! Erze el magier de bocha a limpostura da proda pi 6 e gc E a de Ianzo pie 10 men gc E mesurando de su la zentta e a loro de sovra del madier de bocha dese pe yo e 1° zc de pe E fiero con la qudiera chorba de proda lonzi del piunbin pie 2 Erze limpostura de pope pie 8! mesurando al chavo e Ianza pie 10 meno gc E lieva per me el poselexe del cholttro zc 1° E mesurando de su la zentta e a loro de sovra del ttrigantto dexe 2 e gc E mesurando la loro de fuora de limpostura de pope de la ttimonera dese pie 4 mesurando sotto per la zentta Xure in paraschene pie 2 meno I zc de pe mesurando a loro denttro de le paraschene E a de palmetta a proda pie 6 mesurando da loro de fuora de limpostura in fina a mezo el zovo mesurando per la via del madier de bocha E a de palmetta a pope pie 7! mesurando da loro de fuora dal ttrigantto e a mezo el zovo mesurando per la via del madier de bocha E a latte 59 con li zovi e sie la schaza a latte 20 con el zovo E a bastarde 5 per ladi e la schaza e se la portta del marangon a latte r r con el zovo El sogier da pope se a latte I 2 con el zovo da proda E el sogier da proda de la portta di schrivani va su la bastarda che va in 6 e lo sogier da pope va su el ttrasto da pope El sogier de la portta del schandoler da pope xe sie a latte r 7 con el zovo da pope El sogier da proda se a latte I 9 con el zovo de pope E mesurando per me la cadena da cholo da loro de fuora del madier de bocha e a loro denttro de la bandolina dexe gc 3 de pee xe an pia la schaza pe 1° E xe avertta la chursia a proda zc 1° de pe mesurando lo denttro dele qursie E aure le qursie a meza galia pe 1° e! zc mesurando a loro denttro dele qursie E aure le qursie a pope zc 2 mesurando a loro denttro dele qursie E mesurando a proda de su le ttole de chovertta e a loro de sovra de la chorsia sie pe I 0 t D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 139 E ttantto xe la ertta a meza galia pe 1°! e a pope se ertta pe 1°! e 2 deda E mesurando da !oro de fuora de la qursia e a }oro de fuora de la chorda dese 3 e gc E mesurando da loro de fuora de Ia qursia e a !oro denttro de la banda sie pie 8 men gc E mesurando da loro de fuora de Ia banda e a !oro de fuora de la postiza dese peT! E ttantto a proda e ttantto a pope E Iansera una ttrizola a proda a !oro de sovra dele postize e la ttrizuola va piui ertta cha !oro de sovra de la chorsia ! pe E a meza galia va piau ertta la ttrizuola cha la qursia zc I 0 e a pope va con Ia ttrizuola ingual con lora de sovra de la qursia E mesurando da loro da proda del zovo de proda per /ina al primo schermo postizo sie pie I! e da questo primo schermo postizo in /ina al segondo dese pie 3 e I 0 zc e I 0 declo E dal postizo al tterzaruol dese palmo Io El piania va piui inver pope chal postizo Io palmo E mesurando da loro da pope dal zovo de pope in /ina al prima schermo postizo dese pie 2! gc E se ertti i pie de i banchi pie 2 meno l gc E chi vuol inbanchar metta la ttrizuola su el schermo postizo e faza la andar el bancho de la ttrizuola per me la qursia gc I 0 e fa la andar el bancho de la ttrizuola per me e1 pe del bancho pe Io men 2 deda E se longo el ttrigantto pie 7 E fiero con la qudiera chorba de pope lonzi dal pionbin pie 23 meno gc E xe anpio el madier de bocha palmo Io [Here is a diagram) E quando che ttu azonzi le chiave del magier de bocha de una galia sottil ho grosa partti la peza del magier de bocha in 3 partte le 2 partte lasa inttro el vivo de la chiave de sovra per el morso de la latta che non tte schavaza Ia chiave. An attempt at a translation follows: These measurements are those of a ga/ia sotti/ and she is 22 paces and 2! ft. (rr2! ft.) long on deck. And there are 29 banks and the distance between the frames is 2 ft. and land p. And there are 44 frames forward and 44 aft and 4 amidships. And measuring at the midship frame from the top of the wale to the top of the clamp is I l ft. 2 And the middle of the galley is taken and I frame is placed on this middle point and 2 forward and 1 aft. 3 1 This is inexplicable, since there were 92 frames in a total length of I 1 z! ft. Later on we are told that the thwarts were 3 ft. and land 1 in. apart. Possibly we should read /Jane hi for chor!Je and correct the figures also. z The magier de /Jocha was a heavy longitudinal stringer on the inside of the frames. The ends of the deck beams rested on it. 3 This accounts for the four midship frames. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 I40 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 And measuring from this middle point of the galley as far as the fore "tailframe" should be 7 paces and If ft. (36! ft.) 1• The height of the clamps where they meet the stem (i.e. the depth in hold at the stem) is 6!- ft. and it (the stern) rakes (at this height) 9! ft. 2 And measuring from the top of the wale to the top of the clamp should be I! ft. And the distance of the fore "tail frame" from the perpendicular is 2 ft. 3 The height of the transom is 8! ft. measuring vertically. The rake (aft) is 9! ft. And the keel at the scarf of the stern post rises ! ft. And measuring from the top of the wale to the top of the transom should be 2! ft. And measuring from the outer side of the stern post at the level of the transom, the "steerage" ought to be 4 ft. measuring down by the wale4• She should have I i ft. of rail, measuring on the inner side of the rails5• And she has 6 ft. of open deck forward, measuring from the outer side of the clamp to the middle ofthe "yoke" along the clarnps6• And she has 7! ft. of open deck aft, measuring from the outer side of the transom to the middle of the "yoke" along the clamps. And she has 59 deck beams including the yokes 7 and the mast-trough is at beam 20 including the yokeS. And she has 5 half beams on either side of the mast-trough and the carpenter's hatch is at beam 1 r counting the yoke. Its after coaming is at beam I 2 counting the fore yoke. 1 The "tail frame" (qudiera chorba--or chodera chorba in Jal's MS.) was the last frame with a true floor timber corning down to the keel. Before and abaft the tail frames the floor rose above the keel and the frames were Y-shaped. This qudiera chorba is what is called in Paris' French galley of I66o (Souvenirs de Marine, pl. 3 r 5) the madier des farons. 2 Jal's explanation of impostura is evidently wrong. The idea that it was the point where the clamps met the stem or the transom met the sternpost seems to fit the various cases where the word occurs. 3 By comparison with the measurements of the justa this means the distance from a vertical line dropped from the stern at the deck level. Clearly 2 ft. is wrong. The half length was 56! ft. and we have been told that the tail frame was 36! ft. before the midship section. The measurement ought therefore to be zo ft. minus!· Very possibly the later figures have been cut away in repairing the page. 4 The timonera appears to have been the gallery overhanging the stern abaft the rudder. I imagine this means that its overhang was 4ft. 5 The word is certainly paraschene as given in Jal's text and not parascht'fJI! as he suggests. It seems, however, probable that he is right in interpreting it as the rail or bulwark round the timonera. The measurement is perhaps its overhang aft. 6 The "yoke" (zovo, giogo, joug) was the heavy timber across the deck at either end of the space occupied by the oars. Before or abaft the "yokes" carne the open deck called the palmetta. 7 The deck beams at the ends before and abaft the yokes were not included in the numbers given. This can be shown from the figures given for the justa and is definitely stated by Crescentio. 8 A slot was left in the deck to allow of lowering the mast. This began at beam 20 and ended at 26-there being 5 "bastard" or half beams each side. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 141 The fore coaming of the purser's hatch goes on the half beam which goes at No. 6 (before the midship section) and the after coaming goes on the after cross beam (of the mast-trough)l. The (after) coaming of the scandolar hatch2 is at beam I7 counting the after yoke. Its fore coaming is at beam I9 counting the after yoke. And measuring along the beam ends from the outer side of the clamp to the inner side of the bando/ina should be f ft. 3 and the mast-trough is I ft. wide. And the width of the corsia forward is l ft. measuring inside the two upright planks of the corsia. And the corsias are Il ft. wide amidships measuring [as before]. And the corsias are i ft. wide aft measuring [as before4]. And measuring forward from the deck planking to the top of the corsia is I! ft.5; and the same amidships; and aft it is If ft. and 2 in. high. And measuring from the outside of the corsia to the outside of the stringer6 is 3! ft. And measuring from the outside of the corsia to the inside of the banda is 7! ft. And measuring from the outside of the banda to the outside of the apostis should be I l ft. And the ;arne forward and aft7• And if a line is stretched across the upper side of the two apostis forward it will be ! ft. higher than the upper side of the corsia. And amidships the line will go l ft. higher than the corsia and aft it will go with the line level with the upper side of the corsia. And measuring from the fore side of the fore yoke to the first postizo thole pin is If ft. And from that first postizo thole pin to the second should be 3t ft. and I in. And from the postizo to the (corresponding) terzaruo/ should be I palm (t ft.). I The "half beam at 6" would be No. 25, since the difference in the two palmettas gives 30 beams forward and 29 aft. I think trasto da pope must mean the first beam abaft the mast-trough, No. 26. 2 The scando/ar was the principal compartment in the after hold. 3 The cholo or col/o was the turned-up end of a deck beam rising to support the apostis. I think the bandolina must have been a longitudinal stringer under- neath these beam ends. Jal is certainly astray over these two terms. 4 These widths for the corsia, or fore and aft gangway, seem impossibly small. Perhaps they are taken from the centre line outwards and should therefore be doubled. 5 Jal makes several mistakes in the paragraph corresponding to this and the next. He makes tole de choperta into the covering of the poop and wrestles with a word cero when what he prints as cero si e should undoubtedly be corsia. 6 The chorda, which Jal or his copyist made into chOfJerta, was a stringer let into the deck beams and running parallel to the corsia. 7 The only available meaning of banda seems to be the ship's side, but this is impossible, because the distance from the corsia is too great and because it clearly ran parallel to the corsia and the apostis, the straight edge of the overhanging platform where the thole pins were situated. The banda would appear to have been some sort of longitudinal stringer a little inside the apostis, D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 142 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 The piania goes I palm further aft than the postizo1• And measuring from the after side of the after yoke to the first postizo thole pin should be 2! ft. and t· And the height of the thwart stanchions is 2 ft. minus i· And when wishing to fit the thwarts put the line on the postizo thole pin and make the thwart go l ft. from the line at the corsia and make the thwart go I ft. minus 2 in. from the line at the stanchion2• And the transom is 7ft. long. And the distance of the after tail frame from the perpendicular is 2 3 ft. minus!· And the width of the timber is I palm. And when you drive in the fastenings of the clamps of a galia sottil or galia grosa divide the clamp into 3 parts and leave 2 clear above the fastenings for the mortices of the deck beams, so that you do not cut into the fastenings. ge 1 yuesto .sesto sie duna galia . 9 c3 sottil- da pope "' questo e la mittade de la ~ b hade rd ia sotti ' ~ ·a, ~~ 1:~ ~;;, c i.1 .~ oc unag pie 6!-z e It gc pie 6 e gc lfE ,\_ pie 6 lz gc \\pie5 egc3 \\. pteoe 1~ '---" p.e ~ pte e" pie5egc !pie 4- 'pieJ !Pie2 !Pie J!~ el - Fig. I questa sesto sie de prova duna galia sottil The diagrams relating to this galia sottil are on ff. 43 b and 44 a. They are drawn very roughly with little attempt at scale. I have redrawn them in Fig. 1 assuming that there were I 6 I Of the three oars of a bank the pi ani a was the longest and had its thole pin furthest aft, while the ttrzaruol was the shortest and had its thole pin furthest forward. The postizo thole pin was thus the middle one of each group of three. 2 This gives the position and angle of a thwart. At the inner end it was !- ft. abaft a line drawn athwartships from the middle thole pin. At the stanchion near its outer end (standing on the chorda or stringer) it was I4 in. abaft this line. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT I445 I43 inches in a foot and that I zc = i- ft. and I gc =!ft. These values give a fairer curve than any others that I have tried. It will be noticed that the stem and sternpost are drawn out by means of a series of offsets from a triangle with its base running from the scarf to the spot where the deck line cuts the stem or sternpost-the impostura of the text. They are not defined, as in later times, by means of arcs of circles of given radius. The same is the case with the midship section; instead of "sweeps" we have the half breadth noted at intervals of I ft. or! ft. The fourth' diagram is that which appears between the last two paragraphs of the dimensions and is presumably intended to illustrate the final paragraph. On p. 56 b there are less detailed measurements of a slightly larger galia sottil. They are interesting as giving directly the difference between the beam of the actual vessel and that of the superstructure. Per gali e sottil : E se longa pasa 23f· E si la vuol q. pie de bocha. e si vol 8 pie de fondi. E si la vuol ess ertta in mezo pie 5!· E si vuol ess ertta in pope pie 7t· E a prova pie 6!. E si vuol eser largo da prova la prima latta pie 6!. E si vuol avrir la ditta prima latta pie I St. E si vuol ess larga da pope la prima latte pie 8 e si vuol ess avertta pie I 8. E lalboro vuol ess largo da prova pasa 8 e la prima portta da la banda dretta si vuol ess larga da prova pasa 4f· E lalttra portta si vuol ess larga da lalboro inver pope pasa 7! da la banda dretta. E lalttra portta da la banda senestra si vuol ess larga da lalboro inver pope pie 3f· E la ttimonera si vuol ess larga da loro de lasta de fuora pie 4!· E si la vuol9o chorbe per in fina in chavo del sesto. E si la vuol 59 latte da pope a prova. The following is a simplified translation: Length I I7! ft. Beam I4 ft. Floor 8 ft. Depth amidships 5! ft., aft 7t ft., forward 6! ft. Distance of the first (long) deck beam from the stem 6! ft. Length of this beam 1 8! ft. Distance of the aftermost deck beam from the stern 8 ft. and length I 8ft. Mast 40ft. from the stem. Foremost hatch on starboard side zzt ft. from stem. Second hatch on starboard side 37! ft. abaft the mast. Port side hatch 3t ft. abaft the mast. Steerage overhangs stern 4! ft. 90 frames for the sides and bottom. 59 deck beams. A third set of measurements for a galia sottil are given on f. 55 b. They read as follows: raxon de galie sottil. de chavo a prova pie 5 meno do deda perfina a !oro del spiron. E dal spiron in suso pie 3!· Lanza pie Io meno mezo !· di chavo in pope pie 8. E lanza pie IO meno [me]zo !· E alta in chovertta pie 5· E averze in bocha pie 12f. E di pian pie 7t· D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 I44 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 Depth forward 5 ft. minus 2 in. to the beak and 3! ft. above the beak. Rake ro ft. less l· Depth aft 8ft. Rake ro ft. minus l· Depth amidships 5 ft. Beam 1 2! ft. Floor 7! ft. The MS. gives in addition a few particulars and three rough diagrams relating to a galia grosa. The drawings are on ff. 39 b and 40 a. They show that the beam was I 7 ft. with a depth amidships of 8 ft. and a floor of IO ft., the stem rose rot ft. to the level of the beak and raked I ot ft., while the stern post was Fig. 2 I 3 ft. high and raked rot ft. The written particulars on f. 56 a add to this that the stem head rose 5 ft. above the beak and that the length of the keel was 2 3 paces and 3 ft. (I I 8 ft.). She would therefore be I 39 ft. long on deck as against the r _r z! or 1 I 7! of the galia sottil. The drawings have no offsets gtven. A drawing of a galley (Fig. 2) appears on f. 48 b to illustrate the following problem: A galley has three sails and goes from Pisa to Palermo in 5 days with the first, 6 days with the second D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 145 and 10 days with the third. How long will she take with all three set. The answer, 2T\ days, appears to be correct arith- metically, though probably wrong as a matter of dynamics. This is the only indication of more than one mast for a galley. The artist apparently drew each sail without considering the others t, but the oars and thole pins in groups of three are very well shown. The gap where one bank is missing was occupied by the cook-room--one can hardly say the "galley" in this context. Particulars are given of a large Justa of 2 6 banks, almost as large as the smallest galia sottil. These again I give in full with an attempt at a translation. With its illustrations-stem, sternpost and two similar drawings of the midship section- this description occupies three pages, 27 b to 28 b. se longa questa fusta de banchi 26 da ertto pasa I9 E si a de bocha la qudiera chorba da proda pie 4 e I zc in voltto pie 7t E a chorbe a pontti 39 a proda e 39 a pope e 2 in mezo Ertto el madierde bocha a linpostura da proda pie 5 e I zc al oro e Ianza pie 7t Erze Iinpostura de pope pie 7 mesurando al qaro e Ianza pie 8! Erze per me el poselexe del cholttro de pope l pe men I dedo groso E fiero con Ia qudiera chorba de proda lonzi dal pionbin pie I7 e fiero con la qudiera chorba de pope lonzi dal pionbin pie I9f a de palmetta a proda pie 6 men gc mesurando dal oro de fuora de linpostura e a mezo el zovo mesurando per Ia via del magier de bocha E a de palmetta a pope pie 7 men gc mesurando dal oro de fuora del ttrigantto e a mezo el zovo mesurando per la via del magier de bocha E mesurando a linpostura de prova de su la zentta e al oro de su del magier de bocha si xe pe I e gc men I dedo groso E tantto xe la anche per me la chorba de mezo pe I e gc men I dedo groso E mesurando de su la zentta e al oro de souura del trigantto sie pie If e l gc E a latte 53 con Ii zovi e sie an pia la schaza gc 3 E sie la schaza a latte I 7 con el zovo de prova E va el sogier de proda de la portta del marangon a latte I I con el zovo de prova E lo sogier da pope va a latte I 2 chon el zovo de proda El sogier da pope de la portta del schandoler sie a latte I 2 con el zovo da pope E lo sogier da proda xe a latte I4 con el zovo da pope E lo sogier da pope de la portta dei schrivani va su el ttrasto da pope E lo sogier da proda va su la bastarda che va in 6 a prova E mesurando a proda de su le ttole de chovertta e al oro de souvra de la qursia sie pe I! men I dedo groso e ttantto xe la ertta anche a proda e ttantto a pope cho al mezo E xe auertta la qursia a meza galia pe I men 2 deda grosa I I have left out the cloths of the sails. IO D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 146 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 E mesurando dal oro de fuora de la qursia e al oro de fuora de la chorda sie pie 3 men! zc a de giron pie 7 men I zc mesurando dal oro de fuora de la qursia e al oro denttro de la banda e ttantto de giron a proda e ttantto a pope E mesurando a meza la fusta dal oro de fuora de la banda e al oro de fuora de la postiza sie pe I e gc e ttantto a proda a ttanto a pope E mesurando a proda lo se ttira una ttrizuola al oro de souvra de le postize e la ttrizuola va piu ertta cha la chursia gc I de pe E al mezo della fusta va piu ertta la ttrizuola cha loro de souvra de la qursia gc I e I dedo groso :- E a pope va !oro de souvra de la postiza igual con !oro de souvra de la qursia :- E mesurando da loro da proda de lo zovo da proda infina a lo schermo postizo sie pe I e gc 2 E mesurando da loro da pope de lo zovo da pope infina al primo schermo postizo sie pie 2 men gc E da un postizo a lalttro sie pie 3t gc:- Thisfusta of 26 banks is I9 paces (95ft.) long on deck. And the fore "tail-frame" has a width of 4! ft. or 7! ft. round the curvet. And she has 39 frames forward and 39 aft and 2 amidships. The height of the deck at the stem is 5 ft. vertically and the rake 7! ft. The height of the deck aft is 7 ft. measuring vertically and the rake 8! ft. The rise at the scarf of the stern post is ! ft. minus I inch full. And the distance of the fore "tail frame" from the perpendicular (from the stem at the deck level) is I i ft., and the distance of the after "tail frame" from the (after) perpendicular is I9t ft. She has 5! ft. of open deck forward, measuring from the outer side of the stem-head to the middle of the yoke along the clamps. And she has 7ft. minus! of open deck aft, measuring from the outer side of the transom to the middle of the yoke along the clamps. And measuring at the stem-head from the top of the wale to the top of the clamp is I l ft. minus I inch full. And it is the same at the midship frame-r! ft. minus I inch full. And measuring from the top of the wale to the top of the transom is I l ft. and -k· And she has 53 deck beams including the yokes and the width of the mast- trough is ! ft. And the mast-trough begins at beam 17 counting the fore yoke. And the fore coaming of the carpenter's hatch goes at beam I I counting the fore yoke. And the after coaming goes at beam I 2 counting the fore yoke. And the after coaming of the scandolar hatch is at beam I 2 counting the after yoke. And the fore coaming is at beam I 4 counting the after yoke. And the after coaming of the purser's hatch goes on the after cross-beam (of the mast-trough). And the fore coaming goes on the half-beam which goes as No. 6 forward (from the midship frame). And measuring forward from the deck planking to the top of the corsia is I! ft. minus I inch full and it is the same height forward and aft as it is amidships. I This is really the half width. The translation of in 'Ooltto is merely a guess. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 147 And the width of the corsia amidships is I ft. minus 2 in. full. And measuring from the outer side of the corsia to the outer side of the stringer is 3 ft. minus i· She has 7 ft. minus l of giron measuring from the outer side of the corsia to the inner side of the banda and the same amount of giron forward and aft1. And measuring amidships from the outer side of the banda to the outer side of the apostis is I! ft. and the same amount forward and aft. And measuring forward a line is drawn at the upper side of the apostis (from one side to the other) and the line is ! ft. higher than the corsia. And amidships the line is ! ft. minus I in. full higher than the upper side of the corsia. And aft the upper side of the apostis is level with the upper side of the corsia. And measuring from the fore side of the fore yoke to the postizo thole pin is I ft. and 2 fs. And measuring from the after yoke to the first postizo thole pin is 2 ft. less t· And from one postizo to the next is 3 ft. and l· Two smaller types of Justa are treated less fully. The draw- ings, without offsets, are on ff. 37 b to 39 a and the written descriptions on 55 b. The fusta of 15 banks had a stem rising 3i ft. to the beak and 2 ft. 2 in. above it with a rake (at the deck level) of 5 ft. Aft she was 5 ft. deep with a rake of 6 ft. The depth amidships was 3 ft., the beam 8! ft. and the floor 4! ft. On deck her length was 12 paces and 4 palms (62-4-ft.). The smallest Justa, of 10 banks, had a stem rising 3! ft. and 4 inches2 to the beak and 2 ft. above it with a rake of 5 ft. The sternpost rose 4! ft. less 3 in. full and raked 6 ft. The midship section was 3 ft. less ! deep, 7! ft. wide and 5 ft. on the floor. The length on deck was 48 ft. and the keel, "from one scarf to the other," 38 ft. a After the Justa came the ship's boats, or rather galley's boats. On f. 55 b, and repeated on f. 6o b, we find the written "rason de barche de galie grose" with the corresponding diagrams on f. 40 b, while the seven pages 57 a-6o a are filled with slightly more elaborate drawings of boats varying from I 5 ft. to 3 5! ft. in length. I This confirms what was said about banda in the notes on the galia sottil. The giron was clearly the space between the corsia and the banda and was the same for the whole length. 2 There is no doubt about this remarkable measurement. It occurs on two separate drawings of the stem and in the written dimensions. 3 There appears to be a mistake of I ft. somewhere. 10-2 D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 148 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 The "big galley's boat" was 5 paces ( 2 5 ft.) long, 6! ft. wide, 4 ft. on the floor, 2 ft. 2 in. deep amidships "con tutto el barbara," which must mean "including the gunwale," 3 ft. deep forward and 3! ft. and 3 in. deep aft. She had I 9 frames. The rakes are not given, but, judging from the drawings, must have been about 3! ft. forward and 2 ft. aft. Longo pie 23:- Fig. 3 The drawings of other boats are so similar that it will be enough to reproduce one in Fig. 3 and to tabulate the figures. Depth Rake Frames "Legno in Ramo" . ; " .. 8 "E "E u "E "' "E o£1 .. ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 149 SHIPS Dimensions are given for eight different ships, ranging from 1000 to 200 botte. Two of these, the ship of 1000 botte and one of those of 700 are illustrated by diagrams of stem, stern post and midship section and by general views drawn from the starboard quarter. Fig. 4 is the drawing of the ship of rooo botte. Fig. 4 The text and diagrams for the 1000 botte ship are on f. 44 b; the text reads as follows : queste mesure sie duna nave de botte rooo Ela vuol ess longa in cholomba pasa 17. ertta in prova pie 45! ertta in pope pie 3 5· etta de bocha pie 34· etta de ttrepie pie I 3! etta de fondi pie 5!· ertta in chovertta pie 12. These measures are those of a ship of rooo botte. She wiii be 17 paces (85ft.) long on the keel, 45 i ft. high at the stem, 3 5 ft. at the stern post. And has a beam of 34 ft. And a half-beam at 3 ft. above the keeP of I 3! ft. And a floor (half) of St ft. Depth (amidships) 12ft. I According to Fincati, Le Trimni, the depth of a galley was divided into three equal parts and the two dividing lines called trepiedi and upiedi whatever the actual depth. Judging from the diagrams and measures given for galleys in this MS. it uses "3 ft." and "6 ft." in their real sense, I have assumed that this is so for ships also. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ISO ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 To this the diagrams add that the half-beam at 6 ft. was I 6f ft. The fore and aft rakes are not noted. The stern post is straight and the stem much the same in shape as that of a galley, evidently defined by offsets, though these are omitted. A good deal of the information can best be tabulated. The figures for the ship of I ooo botte are on f. 44 b, those for the first 700 botte ship on f. 4 5 b; the ships of soo-200 botte are on ff. 46 b and 4 7 a, the second 700 botte ship on f. 55 b and the ship of unknown tonnage on f. s6 b. Stern- Tonnage Keel Stem post Beam Floor 3 ft. 1000 botte 8 5 45! 35 34 II 27 700 a 700 b 500 72! 36 21 28 10 19f 70 36 2I 28 72! 34 25 25 63 35 19 25 300 62! 25 15! 22! 250 6o 27 19 20! 200 6o 25 r8! r8! 10 9 10 7 8! 6ft. Depth 33 12 23f I I 25 II 10 7! 8! Tran- som 20 13 Most of these figures seem reasonably possible though the 7i ft. depth of the 300 botte ship makes her midship section look very saucer-like. The 33 ft. for the beam of the 1000 botte ship at 6 ft. is almost certainly wrong. Probably 1 6f for the half-beam should read I Sf or even 14f· It may perhaps be worth mentioning, if only as an interesting coincidence, that the formula K x B 2 --;- 1000 gives a pretty close approximation to the tonnage in botte of all except the two 700 botte ships. The description on f. 56 b has so many difficulties that I think it best to give it in full: Una nave ch' avese 2 5 pie de bocha si vorave I 2 pasa e 3 pie de cholomba. E de linferir la chorba dale onze quela da prova pie 4 in suxo e quela da pope pie 6 da loro de lasta de fuora. E si vuol de chavo a prova pasa 7. E a pope si vuol de chavo pie I 9 e si vuol I o pie in chaden' e altrottanto de mortto. E si vuol de stela a pope in chavo del sesto pie 5· E a prova si vuol de stela in chavo del sesto pie 2. E si vuol ess' ertta in spale a prova e a pope pie 8. E si vuol de tripie pie I7. E si vuol de battigiola pie 22. E si vuol ess' avertta pie I I. E si vuol ess' I4 pie de battigiola dentro da la nave. E de fuora 8. E si vuol IO pie de fondi. The simpler parts of this have already been entered in the table. When working out the lines every fifth frame (in a galley at any rate) was drawn out by formula and these were D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT I445 ISI called corbe di onza. The second sentence seems to refer to the two endmost of these chorbe dale onze, those called in a MS. quoted by Fincati caposesti. Ertta in spale is beyond me. Stella seems to have meant "deadwood," but I do not grasp the meaning of in chavo del sesto. Evidently chadenada (as it appears on f. 55 b) was equivalent to depth in hold and mortto meant the height from the beam to the bulwarks in the waist. Purely as a guess the battigiola must have been the forecastle, which was thus 22 ft. long (8 ft. projecting beyond the stem) and I I ft. wide-at the after end, no doubt. Similar measurements are given on f. 55 b for the battigiola of a ship of 700 botte; it was 3 I ft. long and I Sl ft. wide. On f. 56 a are a number of short paragraphs relating to the design of sailing ships: Raxon a chi volese far batteli de nave. Longo el grando pie 2 per paso de que! che la chovertta xe longa da pope a prova E per asichar la piedega partti la chovertta in 7 partte le 4 lasa a pope e le 3 a prova e la I' asichar. Ho vol mexurar la cholomba e partti per 5 lasa da pope ]a 3 meno un pie e ]a asicha la piedega El gindazon vol ess' Iongo ttantti mezi pie quantti pasa xe lalboro da chovertta insu. E die volzar ttantti pie quantto xe Iongo e ! piui El ttimon vol e!S' piui Jongo de lasta pie 2. e largo in la pala el quartto de zo che le Iongo ttutto. e largo da ertto el quartto men de zo che le da baso la soa arguola die ess' Jonga ttantto quantto xe Iongo ttutto el ttimon alboro duna nave. dai dalboro 3 grade e meza quantto la nave a de bocha. e alborase anchora per questa alttra raxon. El se da ttantti pasa dalboro quantti pie 1a nave averze el so 3 pie E vol volzer l palmo per paso de que! che xe ttutto Iongo raxon danttena. vole danttena chadauna nave 3 grade quantti la de bocha siando chavalada e die volzer una quartta de palmo de la soa chroxe per paso In English these would read much as follows: Rule for building ships' boats. The large boat is 2 ft. long for every pace (5 ft.) that the ship is on deck from stem to stern. To fix the mast-step-Divide the deck into 7 parts and leave 4aft and 3 forward 1. Or divide the keel into 5 and leave 3 (less 1 ft.) aft. The windlass should be as many half feet long as the mast measures in paces from the deck upwards. And it should be as big round as it is long and ! more. The rudder should be 2 ft. longer than the sternpost, and in width at the 1 Forward and aft must have been reversed in copying. If we take the "deck" as meaning the length "over stems" and put~ aft and t forward, we get a point within a foot of that obtained by the keel method. This is on the 700 6otu ship as shown in Fig. 5· D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 I f2 IT ALlAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT I 44 5 bottom ("in the blade") ! of its total length, and at the top ! less than at the bottom. Its tiller is as long as the rudder. Mast of a ship-3! times the beam. Or by this other rule-5 ft. of mast to I ft. of width of the ship at 3 ft. above the keel. And it should measure round! palm for r pace oflength-i.t. r\; of its length. Rule for the yard-Any ship wants a yard of 3 times her beam when it is scarfed and it should measure round ! palm for every pace. There are two drawings of the ship of 700 botte, a full-page drawing on f. 42 a and one very much smaller on f. 37 a. Both are almost exactly similar to that of IOOO botte (Fig. 4). An interesting feature in these drawings is the indication of the upper-deck beams, showing a very definite "break" amidships :-:::.-_-_-_-_-_-~ /f--·---L __ _J ' -"' , __ :::., .>J ____ , - - e"- ... ;:o.;::-..::--_-_-:::; ' ,·:.:-- .!-- -:,• " ... --::._- ----~ --l' ..... ' -tr-v-..w-~(.J ... .... _ - '.......... ,--------:.-{ .!....-!.--, I ___ ........ _ ,::::.::J-::..-:.r.-:-.:r--- I I ---':::...__ , --"7 I _____ _,.'F" ___________ L d L t sr lf I I L~~ I r 21' I 11' I I I I _!_ I ~ 1 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 153 Fig. 6 As regards the actual "lines" of a ship and of a galley we find on f. 4 5 a two rather mysterious diagrams which are copied in Fig. 7· The text to the upper diagram reads as follows: Avri el parttior quantto e longo el morelo de la parttison e mena lo mezo da un ladi e mezo da lalttro e puo partti le chorbe con un compaso A parttir el morelo de le chorbe duna nave fa a questo muodo zo e a parttir chon mezo redondo. Without pretending to translate this I feel sure that the method is the same as that described on p. 4 7 of Crescentio's D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 I54 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 Nautica Mediterranea. The radius of the circle is the half-beam and each quadrant is divided into as many equal parts as there are stations. The successive lengths down the vertical line give the amounts by which the half-beam is reduced at each station. The second diagram consists of a series of equilateral tri- angles with a common apex and of heights progressing in pro- portion to the series 1, 2, 4, 7, I I, I6, 22, 29 and so on, i.e. each interval being one more than the last. Crescentio describes "tL ~l ... 'll'" x,cJ.. ~,p ~r& ./ '-"'? l\f IU ~:c o5 L ~ "~ Q)~/ 1': '\.Q-< ....., ,.., I q, \ I .B \ I ~ \ I l:::r-< I """" llllllllllllllllll 0 Fig. 7 what is in effect the same thing on p. 2 I. The result of using these successive heights as reductions of the half-beam is a curve very slightly flatter than that obtained by the semi-circle method. The following is the text, which I will again leave untrans- lated, though its general drift is clear. Se ttu vuol parttir le chorbe de una galia con un schagion ttuo el morelo de la partixon quantto le longo e partti tantte partte quantte chorbe che ttu vuol metter che le partte sia ttantto largo una cho lalttra e puo ttuo le 2 partte e ttantto tte larga con e1 schagion e puo segua le con la schuara. e ttuo le con el morelo e segua le su el sesto. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 155 RIGGING The first five pages devoted to rigging (ff. 12 b-14 b) are so difficult that I feel bound to print them in full in the hope that my attempt at translation and explanation may receive the correction that it no doubt requires. Notta che nessun non puol achoredar algun navilio hover Iattin se in prima lomo non sa Ia soa mesura de i navili perche megio se achoreda uno navilio vedando le mesure che se lui dise se a bocha. mo fa chome tte diro e non porai falir. nezeso sie da chomenzar da lalporo e si chorezera honi rason de anttena e si de vela e de sarttia. ponamo che tu voi achoredar una chocha de 6oo miera ho mazor hover menor che Ia fose. fa per questo muodo chome tte demostrera questi chapittoli frascritti. Note that nobody can rig any ship or lateener if first the man does not know the measurements of the ship, for a ship is better rigged by seeing the measurement of her beam. But do as I will tell you and you cannot go wrong. One must begin with the mast and then check every proportion of yard, sail and rigging. Suppose you are going to rig a clzocha of 6oo miera1 more or less. Do as these following paragraphs will show you. Una chocha che fose de 6oo miera vuol dalboro 4 attantto plui che Ia se in bocha siando Ia nave de una chovertta e se Ia nave fose de 2 chovertte la vuol dalboro 4 attantto la fose de pizo in pizo zo e da ertto e se Ia fose ben ingahonada saria ben a dar li 2 hover 3 pie de piui Sa pi che per ogni paso che ttu a dalboro ttu vuol 4 pie de anttena. ponamu che ttu ebi I 8 pasa dalboro ttu vuol I 4 pasa de anttena et pie 2 plui per rason chome tte demostra A chocha of 6oo miera wants a mast 4 times her beam if she is a ship of one deck, and if she is a ship of two decks she wants a mast 4 times her width from side to side aloft, and if she has much tumble-home it will be well to give her 2 or 3 feet more. Know that for every pace (5 ft.) of your mast you want 4 feet of yard. Suppose you have a mast of I 8 paces, you want a yard of I4 paces and 2 feet by the method shown. Notta che ttantti pasa quantto se lalboro Iongo ttantti mezi palmi vuol volttar lalboro enttro el piui groso zo e a chavo de le piane. mettamo che lalboro sia pasa I 8 adoncha el die volttar palmi 9 e la zima die volttar per mittade de quelo ch' el volze da baso e mezo palmo piui abiando legno. adoncha el vuol vuolzer a chavo de spadetta palmi 5· sapi che lanttena vuol vuolzer ! de palmo honi paso chela se longa. adoncha siando lanttena pasa I4 e palmi 2 Ia vuol vuolzer palmi 3 e quartti 3 zo e lo piui groso de lanttena che se a chavo dingia e per questo muodo se ttraze questa rason. I Judging from the figures for the mast in the two following paragraphs the ship would have been 22} ft. in beam. This is the same as the ship of 300 botte in the table. Probably therefore 2 miera = I botta. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 156 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 Note that the mast at its greatest, i.t. at the deck level, should measure round as many half palms as its length in paces (I pace= 7 palms). Suppose the mast is I 8 paces long, thus it should be 9 palms round and the upper end should be half the circumference of the lower and half a palm more, if there is wood enough. Thus it should be 5 palms round at the level of the spadtttal. Know that the yard should be ! palm round for every pace of its length. Thus, if the yard is I 4- paces and 2 palms it should be 3f palms round at its biggest, i.t. abreast of the Iashing2. And this is how to use this proportion. Sa pi che lalboro de mezo vuol esser Ia mittade de quelo da prova. si che quelo da prova sie pasa I 8 adoncha que! de mezo vuol esser pasa 9 fatto per rason de lalttro e Ia suo anttena fatta per rason fatta per rason (sic) de lalboro chome ho ditto de souvra Sapi che Iovo vuol esser 2 tterzi de quelo che se lanttena Ionga. se lanttena se longa pasa I4 pie 2 lo lovo vuol esser pasa 9 e pie 4- ett un tterzo de pe per questa rason Sapi che lo lovotto vuol esser pasa Io mancho che lo lovo e se lo lovo grando fose pasa IO lo lovotto vuol esser pasa 9· e per questo muodo vuol esser Io lovotto. Know that the middle mast3 will be half the fore mast. If the fore mast is I 8 paces, the middle mast will be 9 paces, made in proportion to the other and its yard made in proportion to the mast as I have said above. Know that the lotio4 will be two-thirds of the length of the yard. If the yard is I 4- paces and 2 ft. in length the lotio will be 9 paces and 4-l ft. by this proportion. Know that the lovotto will be I pace less than the lovo and if the great lovo is IO paces the lovotto will be 9 paces. And thus should the lovotto be. Sa pi che uuno alboro che fose pasa I 8 el vuol pesar Ia suo choronela el paso £5 oz. 3 ett aver per nombolo fili 63. e sapi ch' el vuol esser in tterzo e s' el fose pasa I9 vuol pasar Ia suo choronela £5 in 6 el paso ett avera fili 65 per nombolo e s' el fose lalboro pasa 20 vuol pasar le suo choronele £5 oz. IO per paso ett avera fili 70 per nombolo. ett questo tte mosttra ammolttiplichar per ogni rason Notta chome etto ditto de alboro e de anttena. mo si tte vogio dir chome ttu die ttagiar Ia ttuo sarttia ai ttuo albori ett chomenzemu de quei da prova. Know that for a mast of I 8 paces its pendant5 will weigh 5 lb. 3 oz. to a pace and have 63 threads to a strand. And know that it should be three-stranded, I Presumably the spadttta was the top. It occurs again as spaetta in a context where the same interpretation seems quite suitable. 2 The normal word would be btghinatura. The yard was in two pieces, galley-fashion. 3 I say" middle mast" ratherthan "mizzen" to avoid prejudging the question of rig. 4- I can find no mention of lotio in any dictionary. From the context it would sum to be a spar. Can it have been the same as the obscure English "luff"? Another possibility is that the lovo and lovotto were the two parts of the y?-rd. Against this it may be said that the two parts of a lateen yard had different names and different proportions (see later) and that a square yard would presumably have had its two halves equal. 5 The chorontlt were the pendants of the series of tackles that took the place of shrouds. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 157 and if it be I9 paces its pendant will weigh 5 lb. 6 oz.1 to a pace and will have 65 threads to a strand, and if the mast be 20 paces its pendants will weigh 5 lb. IO oz. to a pace and will have 70 threads to a strand. And this will show you how to multiply for every proportion. Note this is what has been said of the mast and the yard; but now I will tell you how you should cut the rigging for your masts and let us begin with the fore mast. Alboro de pasa I 8 vuol I 8 choronele ett vuol 3 fraschoni per ladi ett vuollonga la choronela piui luna de lalttra ttantto quantta la va piui altto luna de lalttra. e per questo ttal muodo ttu die intender e chorezar El vuol4- chadrenali zo e 2 per ladi e vuol esser piui longe de queli di fraschoni quantto le va piui da ertto. e per questo muodo ttagia la ttua sartia si de nave grande cho de pizole A mast of I 8 paces wants I 8 pendants and wants 3 fraschoni2 each side, and the pendants will be longer one than the other by the amount that they go higher up one than the other. And in this manner you should design and check. It wants 4- chadrtnali3, i.e. 2 each side and their pendants will be longer than those of the fraschoni by the amount they go higher up. And in this manner cut your rigging for a big ship or a small. Mettamu che nave che avese de souvra chovertta pasa r6 de alboro e tti vuole si ttaiar la ttua sarttia. sapi che i ttuo senali vuol esser ttantto redondi. lo primo senal vuol esser taia ttantto longo quantto lalboro longo da chovertta in suso e ttantto piui quantto se quelo che va inttorno la spaetta da ertto. lo segondo vuol esser piui longo ch' el primo el tterzo piui longo ch' el segondo mezo pe piui longo ch' el primo e lo tterzo ! de pe piui ch' el segondo e qusi uno per lalttro zo e queli che viene inver pope. e questo sie quantto io dono per la monttar de la sarttia che va in suso. e vuol esser senali 5 per ladi. Suppose the ship's mast is r6 paces above the deck and you want to cut your rigging. Know that your sena/i4 should be equally round6 • The first senal should be cut the same length as that of the mast from the deck upwards and as much more as is the part that goes in the top aloft. The second should be ! ft. longer than the first and the third ! ft. longer than the second6 and thus one after the other, i.e. as they come towards the stern. And this is the rule I give for the rise of the sena/i aloft. And there should be 5 senali on each side. Li suo chinali vuol esser lo primo inver pope pie 2! piui longo de i senali e lo segondo fa lo per raxon piui longo ttantto quantto ttu si alargi luno de lalttro a la regia da baso. e sapi che honi paso che tti va alargando da baso tti vuol alongar pie 2! da ertto per chinali. e vuol esser chinali 5 e do po,pesi. e quando ttu avera mettado le choronele di fraschoni e puo metti i senali e bragotti de stasi e puo metti de souvra metti i chinali e quarnali. I In is, I think, a mistake for Oz. 2 The fraschoni were clearly the foremost tackles. 3 The chadrenali, quadrena/i or quarnali were other tackles. Their position and the meaning of the word will be discussed shortly. 4- Another kind of tackle or one in a different position. 5 I have no idea what this means. 6 The confusion in the original is clearly due to the copyist, D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 158 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 I stasi vuol esser ttantto longi quantto lalboro Iongo da chovertta in suso. ponamu che ttu ebi da chovertta in suso pasa I 8 questi stasi vol esser pasa 36. i suo bragotti vol esser pie 5 zenza quelo che va inttorno la spaetta As for the china/i1 the first towards the stern should be 2! ft. longer than the stnali; and as for the second make it longer in proportion as you space them one from the other at the rail at their lower end and know that for every pace that you space them at the bottom you should lengthen 2! ft. at the top for the china/i. And there should be 5 chinali and two popesi2• And when you have placed the pendants of the fraschoni then place the sena/i and the pendants of the stasi and then put over them the china/i and tJUarnali. The stasi3 should be as long as the mast from the deck upwards'. Suppose you have I8 paces from the deck upwards, these stasi should be 36 paces and their pendants should be 5 ft. without the part which goes into the top. Le schotte vuol esser fatte per questa rason. le vuol pesar per honi paso che tti a de alboro ho vuol per oni palmo che volze lanttena vuol pesar liuvre 2 e qusi i bragotti di stasi e mantti schotte. e mantti vuol esser ttantto quantto se lanttena 2 voltte longa. i mantti vuol esser 4 vuoltte ttantto quantto se lalboro. ponamu che lalboro sia pasa I6. ttu fa 4 via I6 vuol dir 64. e ttantto vuol esser questi mantti longi e vuol esser de 4 nomboli. i mantti di fraschoni vuol esser 3 quartti longi de zo che se lalboro Iongo e vuol esser 6 mantti adoncha se ttu a dalboro pasa I 8 el vuol esser pasa I 3 e pe I o e uno tterzo de pe. e dira 6 via I 3 . 7 8 e puo vuol pie 8 che seria pasa 8. e sa pi che per ogni palmo che volze lanttena questi mantti vuol esser [,I per paso da proda. The sheets should be made by this proportion. They should weigh 2 lbs. for each pace of the mast or for each palm in the circumference of the yard and thus the pendants of the stasi and ties sheets and ties5 should be twice as long as the yard. The ties should be four times the length of the mast. Suppose the mast is I 6 paces. You do 4 x I 6 = 64 and this should be the length of the ties and they should be four-stranded. The runners of the fraschoni should be ! of the length of the mast; so, if you have I 8 paces of mast it should be I 3 paces and I l ft. and say 6 x I 3 = 78 and then you want 8ft. which will be 8 paces6• And know that for every palm in the circumference of the yard these runners should weigh I lb. to a pace for the foremast. I China/i or quinali are yet other tackles. Senali, chinali, quarna/i and ternali (which occur in other documents) are apparently derived from the Latin for six times, five \imes, four times and three times. All seem to have been tackles acting as shrouds. Possibly they were named from the mechanical advantage they gave. 2 The popesi were the aftermost shroud-tackles, or backstays. 3 The nearest approach to stasi that I can find is statio, meaning "stay," but it seems very doubtful if this can be the meaning here. As far as I can judge the most probable meaning is "lifts." This is, however, pure guess-work. 4 The figures show that the author should have written "twice as long." 5 The text is obviously corrupt here. 6 The arithmetic seems faulty. It should be I 8 x ! = I 3!· r 3! x 6 = 8 I. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 159 I menali di senali vuol esser pasa 30. queli di chinali pasa 24. e vuol pesar el paso [I oz. 8. peri menali di charnali vuol esser 3 grade e meza de zo che se lalboro de souvra chovertta. e vuol esser pasa 4 e vuol pesar £It el paso. I menali di fraschogni vuol esser 4 grade ttantto quantto se lalboro de souvra chovertta e Ia schottina vuol esser siando dopia 2 ttantto de zo che se lalboro e vuol pesar oz. IO el paso. i stinchi menali de fraschoni vuol pesar [I oz 8 el paso. The falls of the una/i should be 30 paces; those of the chinali 24 paces; and should weigh I lb. 8 oz. to a pace. As for the falls of the charna/i they should be 3! times the length of the mast a hove deck and should be 4 paces1 and should weigh I! lb. to a pace. The falls ofthefraschogni should be 4 times the length of the mast above deck and the schottina2 which is double should be twice the length of the mast and should weigh IO oz. to a pace. These falls ofthefraschoni should weigh 1 lb. 8 oz to a pace. Volemu 2 chavi de 4 nomboli per far borine e zaschaduna de queste borine vuol esser 2 attantto quantto se lanttena. e per oni palmo vuol che volze lanttena vuol pesar onze 6 el paso Anchora volemo 2 rise de anttena chon bragotti de stasi. i bragotti de stasi vuol esser zachadun pasa 5 con le voltte che va inttorno Lalboro da ertto e le rise vuol esser de chavo nuovo e vuol esser 5 attantto de zo che volze lanttena. e se le fose de sarttia vechia vuol esser 6 grade ttantto. We want :z ropes of 4 strands to make bowlines and each of these bowlines should be twice as long as the yard; and for each palm of the circumference of the yard (the bowline] should weigh 6 oz. to a pace. Again we want 2 halliards3 with stasi pendants. The stasi pendants should each be 5 paces with the turn which goes inside4• The mast aloft and the halliards should be of new rope and should be 5 times the circumference of the yard and if they be of old rope they should be 6 times. Sapi ch' el brio! vuol esser ttantto quantto se lalboro e vuol pesar [I oz. 3 per palmo de zo che voltta lanttena. anchora volemu uno chavo de 4 nomboli per far schala da proda e vuol esser 2 grade quantto e Iongo lalboro de proda da chovertta in suso e vuol pesar £3 el paso E volemu uno brio! pizolo de [I! el paso ett I orza pizola e vuol esser 2 attantto longa de zo che se lalboro del peso de i quarnali e vuol 4 paranchetti de £r el paso e vuol esser ttantto longi quantto se lorza pizola e vuol una peza de pasa 6o per far masenette e vuol uno chavo da metter enttro i aneli del bon de liuura £I el paso Know that the buntline (or brail) should be the length of the mast and should weigh I lb. 3 oz. for each palm of the yard's circumference. Again we want a rope of 4 strands to make a ladder for the foremast and it should be twice the length of the foremast from the deck upwards and should weigh 3 lb. to a pace. I Again the arithmetic seems at fault. 2 Literally the "little sheet." 3 Riu = drix.u. 4 It seems as if something must be missing between these two paragraphs. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 160 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 And we want a small brail of It lb. to a pace and a small orza1 and it should be twice the length of the mast of the same weight as the f]Uarnali (or chadtrnali). And there should be 4 small tackles of I lb. to a pace and they should be the same length as the small orza. And there should be a piece of 6o paces to make mastnttte2 ; and there should be a rope to put between the ringsa of good stuff of I lb. to a pace. Le braze de le fonde e sorde e bragier vuol esser Ia mittade de le braze de zo che se lalboro de mezo da chovertta in suso. E far queli de mezo per rason de lalboro Sa piche mantti e stasi e menali e braze e schotte e brio] e choronele de fraschoni e mantti e braze de legname le rise de anttena e bragotti di stasi e vuol esser de bon e vuol esser de 4 nomboli sel vuol che choronele de fraschoni che vuol esser de 3 nomboli. volemu 2 choli de proda e 2 de mezo e vuol esser el cholo da prova pie 2 da una bigotta a lalttra. e vuol esser chavo de Ia choronele et i mantti per rason. The --4 should be the half (of the braces )5 of the length of the middle mast from the deck upwards. And make those of the middle mast in proportion to the mast. Know that ties and lifts ( ?) and fall and braces and sheets and buntline and pendants ofjraschoni and runners and timber braces6, halliards and lift pendants should be of good stuff and 4-stranded, except the fraschoni pendants, which should be 3-stranded. We want 2 trusses on the foremast and 2 on the middle mast and the fore truss should be 2 ft. from one truck to the other and the rope of the pendants and runners should be in proportion. Here follows a page (f. I 5 a) devoted to sailmaking. I put it in here because it throws light on the rig of the chocha. Rason de vele de choche. de pasa I6 in anttenal vuol de chazuda a Ia cholona de mezo pasa 8 e al bugne quantto piase a chi Ia far Ett and era de gotton peze 3 6 a braza 2 5 Ia peza e chanevazo braza I I oo E tte andera spa go sottil £I per peza de braza 2 5. spa go grosso el quartto men E chanevazo el tterzo men de que! che va de fostagno E sa pi che pasa 9 e pie 3 fa braza 2 5 e metti perzentte 3 pe~ paso E binde sfondi el chanevazo per tterzo e a perzentte sfond1 per quartto e fa pesetti da ertto e da baso. E le bonette ttagiale per rason del ttrio e rasonase che in oni vela quadra elva da chanevazo braza 28 in 30 per peza de gotton grande Uno paso si xe govi e palmi I The orza was a tackle controlling the heel of a lateen yard. I fancy the greater part of this paragraph refers to the mizzen (or middle) mast. 2 I have no idea what these were. 3 Possibly the woolding? 4 These terms are beyond me. Brazt dt Jundt and sorda occur in Jal's MS. He offers a guess thatfundt may be something in the nature of a truss, but admits that sorda is beyond him. Bragitr he does not even mention. 5 There appears to be a mistake in copying here. 6 This seems the only possible translation. D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT I445 I6I Proportion for chochas' sails. A sail of r6 paces on the yard wants 8 paces of depth in the bunt and as much as you please to make it at the clews1• And there will be required 3 6 pieces of cotton at 2 5 braz.a a piece and r I oo braz.a of canvas. And there will be required I lb. of fine twine for a piece of 2 5 braza and ! less of coarse twine. And canvas !less than there is fustian. And know that 9 paces and 3 ft. make 2 5 braz.a2 and put 3 perz.entte3 to a pace. And-divide the canvas in three and at the perz.entte divide it in four and make pesetti at the head and foot1• And as for the bonnets cut them in proportion to the course and reckon that in every square sail there are 28 to 30 braz.a of canvas to each big piece of cotton. A pace is cubits and palms. The last two pages of this section, if. I 5 b and I 6 a, can be very briefly summarised as follows: A yard in two pieces has an overlap of! of its length (I ft. to I pace). Taking the middle of the overlap t is ventame and f stelo. By another rule the ventame is i of the whole yard plus I ft. and the stelo i plus r ft. The overlap in this case is 2 paces in I 2 or i· A mast has a circumference in its lowest third of i palm to each pace of length. A yard measures ! palm to each pace of length and where doubled it measures I ft. to each palm of the single parts, i.e. 7 to 5. The ties are placed at the middle of the overlap. Seven palms make one pace and five feet make one pace. A galley wants 8 ft. of yard to each pace of mast. SAILMAKING Apart from the few scraps already given there are I 2! pages devoted to sailmaking. On if. I 2 a and part of I 2 b are rules for making lateen sails of sizes ranging from 2 2 paces on the yard to I J. On if. 49 b-54 b are diagrams and descriptions of I I different types of lateens. The first set of rules begins as follows: Questa sie Ia raxon de ttagiar vele de pignolado ett si vuol de chanevazo pizole e grande de ttutte rason per dretta riegola a rason provada Vela de pasa 22 si vuol peze 70 de pignolado. fara ferse 68. questa vela si I This and the final paragraph of this section show that the chocha was certainly square-rigged on one mast at any rate. 2 This makes the braz.a rather less than 2 ft. The values given by Guglielmotti give nearly the same result. 3 As a pure guess, "seams." 4 Pasetti were the extra overlaps of the seams at the head and foot to make the sail slack in the middle. MM II D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 I 62 IT ALlAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT I 44 5 vuol de chanevazo braza 700 e vuol se questa vela chomenzar a ttagiar a tterzo pano ett insir a ttutto drapo e vuol questa vela pontti zz This is the method of cutting sails of pig?tolado and what is wanted of canvas -small and great of all sizes by straightforward rule on a proved method. A sail of zz paces wants 70 pieces of pig71olado which will make 68 cloths. This sail wants 700 braza of canvas, and the cutting of this sail should begin at l cloth and go to a whole cloth and this sail wants zz "points." The canvas was used to strengthen the lighter material. pignolado was evidently some sort of material; Jal's MS. always gives jostagno, fustian, and this is also the case in this MS. for the sails of I7, I 5 and I 3 paces. The "points" were the divisions on the gauge by which the sail was cut and the corre- sponding divisions on the head of the sail. A very similar method is explained by Crescentio. Roughly it was this: the angle of the heads of the cloths became greater and greater as they got further from the peak, the gradient being adjusted by adding one division on the gauge at each "point" on the head. Beginning at! cloth means that the gradient was at first I in 3, while it finished at "a whole cloth," or I in 1. The whole length of the gauge was thus in this case i cloth. The effect would naturally allow to some extent for the whip in the yard and also give some "bag" in the middle of the sail. The figures for the smaller sails may well be tabulated. There are apparently a few mistakes in copying. Paces Pieces Cloths Canvas Begin at Go to Points zz 70 68 700 br. i zz ZI 70 6I 650 l ZI zo 56 58 560 l zo I9 5Z 55 5ZO l I9 I 8 46 48 746 l I 8 I 7 4Z 44 420 l I 7 I6 38 4I 380 l I6 I 5 30 36 3 30 l I 5 14 29 35 260 l I4 13 2rt 32 226 l I3 The essential parts of the information with regard to the I I types oflateens illustrated are given in the diagram (Fig. 8). The leech is shown vertical in each case and the cloths, which I have omitted, run parallel to it. The figures outside the triangles show what I have called the "gradient" on the head and the foot; those for the head give the final gradient at the heel of D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14 ITALIAN NAVAL ARCHITECTURE ABOUT 1445 I6J the yard, while the commencing gradient at the peak is shown inside the apex. In spite of this the diagrams all show the head of the sail straight. They are not very accurately drawn; for instance, No. 3 and No. 9 are identical in their data, but their angles in the drawings are by no means the same. It is remarkable to see a lateen given as the sail per charache, for one has learnt to look on the carrack as typically a square-rigger. Such is a first attempt to deal with the contents of what is clearly an important authority for Mediterranean shipping of Fig. 8 the first half of the fifteenth century. In some ways it only increases our difficulties by presenting new puzzles; in others it does seem to throw light on some of the old difficulties of Jal's Florentine MS. My thanks are due to Mr C. Mioni of Venice for much help in regard to the transcription; though I do not wish to make him in any way responsible for the text or the interpretations that I have offered. One final acknow- ledgment must be made to the memory of Jal. It is not till one follows more or less on the same trail that one can realise the full extent and value of his work. II-Z D ow nl oa de d by [ E C U L ib ra ri es ] at 0 1: 46 2 9 Se pt em be r 20 14