Part 6

The reproduction does not show clearly whether the hull is clinker built. It is very possible that the sides were carvel built, because this style of work was already in use at that time. The boat has no “arcasse”[10]; the hold is covered with convex hatch covers.

[Sidenote: III 115]

[Sidenote: III 116]

This Zeeland “cog” is derived, doubtless, from the primitive “cog”. Let us suppose this vessel as having a little fuller ends; as having the mast in the middle; as having a steering oar instead of a rudder; the lee-boards suppressed and a clinker-built hull; we shall have an idea of the “cog”. This being so, the cause of the existence of our “bom” becomes more important; this latter boat, as is well known, has been greatly enlarged during the past century and has gained fullness at the ends so as to increase its capacity. This is noticeable when the bow of a “bom” is compared with that of the boat used for catching shrimps. This latter has still the old rounded forms and is not so wide in proportion to its length.

[Sidenote: III 112]

Let us suppose then that the “bom” is less square at its ends, higher at bow and stern, that is to say: having a little more sheer, like the boats of former times; there will be had a vessel which, with its clinker built sides, will differ little from the old “cog”, still met with as a rarity in our fleet of fishing boats.

Changed in this way, the “bom” no longer differs so much from the “Egmonderpink” reproduced and described by ~Witsen~ (p. 168); it might even be concluded that it descends therefrom. It can be understood from this how it is, even in our days, that the “bommen” are often called “pinken”.

Thus a picture, in the town Museum of The Hague, shows the beach at Schevening covered, not with “bommen” but with “Egmonderpinken”.

This subject will be taken up again in speaking of fishing boats.

[Sidenote: II 243]

The shrimp fishing boats have been less changed; consequently, aside from the _counter_ which was added later, they differed less from the “Egmonderpink” which, finally, are found again almost complete in the Ostend fishing boats, as ~Lelong~ has pointed out in his _Encyclopedia of Naval Architecture_, p. 17.

The “bommen” were still able in the XIXth century to render good service as coast guards. There is nothing to prove that they existed in Witsen’s time; the contrary is more likely, as this author does not mention them. He merely says that, beside the “Egmonderpinken”, other and much smaller fishing boats were seen on the beach and that they carried only fore and aft sails. If these boats had differed much in shape from the “pinken”, it is to be believed that mention of the fact would have been made. (See ~Witsen~, p. 168, 2d column.)

[Sidenote: II 187]

The artist who reproduced the Zeeland “cog” has left also the drawing of a “Doghboot” which also came from Zeeland (~Witsen~, p. 170, 2d col.) and which resembled very much this “cog”. The stem is a little longer, the “statie” is not closed and the vessel has no convex hatch covers. The rig only differs entirely from that of the “pink” and everything leads to the belief that this kind of boat came from the South.

[Sidenote: II 189]

[Sidenote: II 188]

The same artist gives a figure of a “Heude” or “Heu” from Brabant, which might be called a small Zeeland “cog”. Still, there appear to have been larger “Heudes”, judging by the Brussels “Heu” which was a vessel carrying two pieces of artillery, but of which the reproduction does not give the means for determining the shape of the ship.

It will be well to note here that great circumspection should be used in the matter of these different names adopted to designate such or such vessel. These names have been the cause of much confusion, an example of which is offered by the famous discussion which took place at Groningen, in 1902-1903, as to the question of knowing what a “pram” was.

The crusades, which began in 1096, contributed largely toward perfecting the ship. It was the same with the invention of the compass in the first half of the XIIIth century (~Holmes~, p. 66). Commerce and navigation rose higher and higher. Already in the course of the XIIIth century, Damme became the ware house of Northern Europe. Italy, Spain and France brought their products there.

The old maritime customs of Damme served later as the basis of maritime law in Holland, Northern Germany (~M. Koenen~, p. 50), Sweden and Denmark.

The XIIIth century saw commercial treaties concluded with the Hanseatic cities and, in 1252, tariffs were fixed (~M. Koenen~). “Losbogen, scharpoise, eenvaren” (boats with high sides) and “hekbooten” are in question in these tariffs; and these names are also found in an act made between the Lords of Kuyck and of Dordrecht to settle a difficulty concerning the city duties at the former of these towns.

Among the “losbogen”, are found the boats which were unloaded at the bow or “booge”, as is still done with vessels which carry wood.

The boats used on the Scarp, a tributary of the Scheldt, are placed among the “scharpoises or exarpoises”.

The “eenvaren” were boats handled by a single boatman, and the “hekbooten” were boats which had a square stern.

These few denominations suffice to prove that, even at so early a period, there were different kinds of boats and that alongside of the “cog” there were other vessels of smaller size.

In the beginning, the “cog” was guided by oars, as were other ships; this method was abandoned gradually in the XIIIth century and the steering oar gave place to the rudder.

It is not possible to determine, for Holland, the time when this change occurred; the various coats of arms of Amsterdam can throw no light on this subject. The ship, on many of them, has no rudder, symbolical, doubtless of the fact that people could sail for all parts of the globe (~Witsen~, p. 634), and that vessels started from Amsterdam bound to all the countries upon earth.

It is to be assumed, nevertheless, that it was also in the XIIIth century that the rudder was introduced into Holland. Some persons have tried to make out that there was a certain connection between the adoption of the compass and that of the rudder; this latter became forced, they say, when, thanks to the compass, more and more distant expeditions could be undertaken.

For my part, I do not think that there can be the slightest connection between the two events; the Norsemen, in fact, crossed the North Sea before the rudder was known.

The oldest reproductions of the “cog”, however primitive they may be, have a mast with the sails and rigging of the boat at the centre. I know of no reproduction showing oars. Hence it can be deduced that the sails and rigging formed the main outfit and that the oars, of which the number, even on the largest “cogs”, was limited to a maximum of 32, or 16 on each side, were used only in calm weather. This is what is done at the present time for vessels of less importance, such as the “hoys”.

Hence the oars were only an accessory, the reverse of what was seen for the galleys, where the oars were the main feature and the sails and rigging were secondary. That is why, contrary to what is seen for the “cog”, no reproduction of a galley without oars has been met with.

It is therefore wrong that the name of galleys should be given sometimes to “cogs”. The former were never implanted in the Netherlands, Mr. de Jonge has already pointed out the inaccuracy of the passage of the Annexes of _Wagenaar_, vol. 3, p. 50, where that author relates that the eleven hundred ships sent against Antwerp by Count William III were almost exclusively galleys.

However, there is a question of galleys in the history of the Netherlands; but it is not a question of the Mediterranean type. Their number was limited and they were used only on rivers.

[Sidenote: II 145]

An engraving which dates from about the year 1600, and shows the Scheldt in front of Antwerp, as well as a view of Gouda, shows boats of this kind.

These galleys were only large rowboats, a little longer than the ordinary ones (~de Jonge~, Vol. I, p. 80) and carried only 32 oars at the most. The largest Netherlands galley belonged to the guard of Amsterdam and was called the Terror of the Zuyder zee. Those which were used in naval battles come from the South.

Any one who knows the national character of the Dutch will not be astonished at seeing that the galley had no success in Holland. The trade of the galley slave was considered too vile and no volunteer rowers were to be found; furthermore slavery did not exist and serfdom had been early suppressed. (~Witsen~, p. 194, col. 1.)

However, the cogs did not confine themselves to the simple forms which have been sketched. The constant wars, which brought out the fortified castles of the Middle Ages, soon led to the construction on the sea of structures of the same sort, and gradually there were seen to develope among us also the towers which arose at the bow and stern of the ships. The seals of Amsterdam give a striking illustration of this.

Military tactics were not without their influence on this way of building vessels. The crusades and the subsequent relations with the peoples of the Mediterranean, among whom the practice of castles was known, made us familiar with these superelevated constructions. If, in a first encounter, the enemy’s vessel could not be sunk, it was boarded so as to bring about a hand to hand fight. The conqueror was then he who had at hand the most robust ships and who could place himself sufficiently high up to let fly his arrows at the enemy. Nothing was more natural, then, than to imitate on ships the fortified castles with their crenelated towers. If the enemy succeeded in boarding the ship, the defense withdrew to the castles. There should be no cause for astonishment therefore at finding the old tops on the masts and at learning that even the boats were hoisted there in order more surely to crush the adversary under a shower of arrows and stones (Mr. ~de Jonge~, p. 20).

It can be conceived that the movable castles should not have answered to expectations and, therefore, that an arrangement was soon reached to make but a single body of the castle and the ship, and thence to raise the bow and the stern.

Portugal and Spain, imitating the Mediterranean, had the start of us in constructing castles.

Thus the vessel of the XVIth century is seen to develope gradually and we can understand how the intermediate low part between the forward and after castles should persist.

In the beginning, the deck did not exist in the central part. Then, in order to protect this last against stones and other projectiles, it was covered with a wooden lattice (See, among others, ~Witsen~, p. 51, col. 2), while its sides were furnished with loopholes covered with pewter, to make it more difficult to scale in case of boarding.

The English seals, more finely and more artistically engraved than ours, give an excellent idea of the progressive development of the castles. Five of them show the sides of the ships as clinker built, while the seal of the city of _Poole_ makes the rivets really visible. The castles are so clearly shown in their successive phases of development, that any explanation is unnecessary. The steering oar, which is seen on the oldest seal, is replaced by a rudder on the others. The Boston seal shows a well turned out three-masted vessel with smooth sides.

All the seals, save this last, show the forms of “cogs”, which proves once more the identity of the types of ships of the North-West of Europe. (Holmes states, on page 70 of his work, that the Poole seal gives the oldest English reproduction of a ship with a rudder, 1325.)

As has been said already, the adoption of the compass was the signal for cutting loose from the coast and for undertaking more distant voyages. We learn, especially in the _Reygersbergh Chronijk van Zeelant_ (published by Boschhorn) Vol. II, p. 212, that about 1440, when the use of the compass had scarcely become general, the Zeelanders worked more and more toward the South, making toward Portugal and Spain.

Before then, these countries seemed so far away that, when starting on a voyage thither, the seamen went to confession and the Holy Sacraments were received.

At the same time with the invention of the compass, another event came to produce a great influence on shipbuilding; it was the invention of gunpowder, with the consequent adoption of artillery.

The history of the Netherlands speaks for the first time of the use of artillery in connection with the expedition of Duke Albert against the Frisians in 1396. It seems, however, to have been used at the siege of the castle of Rozenburg-lez-Voorschoten, in 1351 (M. ~de Jonge~, Vol. I, p. 28).

Cannon were not used either at the battle of the Sluis or in the maritime expeditions of King Richard III. But they were in general use on board ship in the XIVth century. (~Holmes~, p. 71.) The Genoese and the Venetians in the South, and the Hanseatic cities in the North, who were the masters of all peoples in commerce and navigation, were the first to adopt them. (M. ~de Jonge~, Vol. I, p. 29.)

It was natural that artillery should modify war tactics and it can be said that the military value of ships depended on the number of guns which they carried. Finally, ships were built exclusively for war, and the practice of the Middle Ages, which was to utilize merchantmen for this purpose, must needs be abandoned.

The United Provinces did not decide at once to build special ships. Hence the dimensions of existing types had to be increased, in order that a larger number of guns could be mounted. The difference between sea-going ships and inland vessels became more and more marked. The war ship was evidently the one which departed the most from the old forms, for the reason that it had to undergo every change which had been advantageously adopted by the enemy.

[Sidenote: II 145]

The earliest guns were not greatly to be feared. The proof of this is found in the fact that the coverings of staterooms and castles were sloped, like roofs, so as to make the bombs thrown by the foe roll off more easily.

The name of cog disappears as ships increase in size. The vessels met with are generally called “Hulken” and “Baertzen” toward the end of the XIVth and during the XVth centuries; and, after all, says Witsen, they are only types of ships formerly in use in our country. The “Hulk”, he adds, the larger of the two, used to sail for distant lands; its capacity was as great, sometimes, as 200 lasts. (~Witsen~, p. 494, col. 2.)

The “Baertze” was a ship equipped as much for coast defense as for war at sea. In 1518, there were built a very large number of them which ran under sail, but which could be moved by oars in calm weather. (~Witsen~, p. 483, col. 1.)

Hence these two types were merchantmen, the “Baertze” especially being used for war. Their equipment included oars too, which were used when the wind failed.

[Sidenote: II 124]

[Sidenote: II 131]

Nor did the XVth century, itself, see any ships built exclusively for war. This century has left us some very beautiful reproductions of Flemish origin (See, _Der Meister W. A._ of ~Max Lehr~, 1895, p. 1), on three of which appear the names of “Baertze”, “Barge” and “Kraeck”.

The ships shown there have the same characteristics and differ from each other only in their rig. It is seen that they are bluff-bowed and that their bow is rounded as is also their stern.

[Sidenote: II 127]

Aside from the “Kraeck” none of these vessels carries artillery: all have, however, a castle, still of quite simple construction, at bow and stern. The “Kraeck” alone was supplied later with windows in the stern above the gallery.

Then too, in these reproductions, all the castles, except those of the “Kraeck”, have no roof. This last vessel is the largest, beyond doubt; its very name brings at once to mind a type of ship of which the size and the strong construction seem to find their origin in the Spanish “Carack”, whence the name of “Kraeck”.

[Sidenote: II 64]

The form of this vessel scarcely differs, however, from that of the others; the bow especially approaches rather the Dutch type than the type of the Spanish carack or of the galleon (compare the figure reproduced in ~Van Yk~’s work, p. 9). Hence it may be supposed that the “Kraeck” should have differed from other vessels only by larger castles, stronger rig and increased size.

The “Barge” and the “Baertze” give, with vessels shown on other reproductions, an idea of the Dutch ship of the XVth century. No “Hulken” are met with among these vessels; they were clinker built (~Witsen~, p. 496, col. 1, Caravelle), while all the reproductions under consideration show only ships with smooth sides.

Besides the “Hulken”, there were “Razeilers” and “Krayers” which had also clinker built sides. Here, then, is found the old way of building “cogs”, and it may be stated that we are in the presence of vessels which owe their origin to this type of ship, and only have a different name because of certain changes of detail in the matter of their rig or the construction of their castles.

A Flemish miniature of the XVth century gives a very remarkable reproduction of a vessel of the time. A “cog” with overlapping planks is seen here. In accordance with the custom of the Middle Ages, this ship has three masts with tops, a castle at bow and stern, and guns; there are no gun-ports.

[Sidenote: II 118]

The “cogs” which were in use in the XIIIth century, were replaced in the XIVth by the “Krayers” and “Hulken” which had to give way, in their turn in the XVth century, to the “Barges”, “Baertzen” etc. The clinker built sides of large ships only disappeared in this last century, to give room to the smooth sides, a mode of construction which took root with us as the result of our relations with the peoples of the Mediterranean.

An old Record of Hoorn, written by D. Velius, relates that the carvel built side was first applied by “Juliaan” at Zierikzee, and adopted at Hoorn in 1460. The ships built in this way were called “Karviel”, “Kraweel” or “Karveel” (~Witsen~, p. 496, col. 1) and their type, according to this author, would seem to have been copied from the Latin vessel “Carabus”. ~M. de Jonge~, on his side (vol. I, p. 79, note) remarks that “Juliaan” might well have been an Italian.

Witsen gives of these “Karviel” a description which is well worthy of attention: these vessels were rather narrow at the bow, broader at the stern, thus having the shape of a chisel. In other words, their lines were finer, wherein they differed from the types of ships used in Holland.

Hence we seem to have before us not only a given mode of construction, but also a well determined type which has come from the Mediterranean. ~Jal~, in his _Glossaire Nautique_, pp. 419-420, tells us, as to that, that caravels were already to be found on the Mediterranean in 1307; their dimensions were, however, smaller than those of the ships used by Vasco da Gama and Columbus. Here is what this author says about this style of vessel: “The caravel was a small ship of the family of round-stern vessels but with finer lines than the _nefs_ of its time and more slender forward. It was also faster, more handy and better fitted for all expeditions where speed in going ahead and great quickness in coming about were required.”

These caravels dit not remain in use to act as “Kraecks”; but with this vessel we reach the time when the reciprocal influence of the two centres begins to be felt.

[Sidenote: II 119]

[Sidenote: II 117]

Two existing Flemish miniatures show clearly the difference which existed between the Dutch type and the foreign type; they date from 1482 and 1488 respectively. The first is the picture of the true type of the Dutch vessel; the second shows a foreign ship. On the first, the vessel is represented with smooth sides; therefore this system of construction was adopted among us in the XVth century.

The vessels are not yet made with a square stern, however; their stern being still round in accordance with the ancient way. As a general rule, they were of small size, and our present sea “hoys” could have been compared with them in this respect. They had a capacity of 160, 180 and 200 tonnes, or 80, 90 and 100 “lasts”. Nevertheless, there were also some of 220, 230 and 240 tonnes, or, 110, 115 and 120 lasts. (~M. de Jonge~, Vol. I, p. 80.)

The “Karvielen” and the “Kraecken” disappear in the XVIIth century and, at this time, no more types which differ from the ordinary Holland type are met with. Hence it can be maintained that the “Karvielen” and “Kraecken” did not succeed in taking root with us. It will be seen, on the contrary that the full-bowed vessels came more and more into use.

The name of “cog” was, therefore, no longer in use in the XVth century. Nevertheless this type of vessel continued to exist. The “cog” gave birth to the “Hulken” and these latter to the “Baertzen”. Although modified, the first form, that of the full-bowed ship, remained in use. One single characteristic disappeared: that of the slender bows and sterns of the old “Viking” boat which are found in all the reproductions known in the North-West of Europe, from Denmark to and including England and the North of France.

The rigging developed in its turn: the single mast was replaced by three pole masts, each having a top and a single large sail. The ropes were made stronger and channels appeared near the end of the XVth century. The steering oar of the old “cog” had long since given place to the rudder.

It would be incorrect to call “cogs” the vessels represented by Master W. A., as Arenhold has done in his work: _Die allmähl. Entwickelung des Segelschiffes von der Römerzeit bis zur Zeit der Dampfer_, p. 650--(_Jahrbuch der Schiffbautechnischen Gesellschaft_, 1906). They are, however, forms which issue from the “cog” but not new forms developed alongside of ancient forms. If history be consulted, there will be no cause for surprise at seeing the effects of the contact of the two Centres appear exactly in the XVth century.

The Crusades (1096-1291), which brought the nations very much together, had come to an end. The alliance of the Hanseatic cities, concluded in 1250, had caused a prodigious growth of our trade in the Baltic Sea. The Frisians, especially, had devoted themselves to the art of shipbuilding, but the Flemings would not let themselves be distanced.

In 1339, there broke out between France and England the Hundred Years’ war, which led the latter to take up shipbuilding much more actively than in the past.

One of the most famous actions of this period was the battle of the Sluis (1340), at which the English fleet of two hundred ships, under the command of King Edward III, completely defeated the Franco-Genoese fleet. This latter, 190 vessels strong, was composed of bluff-bowed vessels, galleys, barges and a large number of small vessels. Certain chroniclers claim that it included four hundred units. (~Holmes~, p. 71.)

The English lost four thousand men in this battle, and the French and Genoese twenty-five thousand, which leads to the assumption that the latter had a large number of galleys at their disposal.

In 1345, Edward III came again to France at the head of a fleet of 1000 to 1100 ships and, in 1347, a third expedition, having to do with the siege of Calais, was sent against this country.

~Holmes~ relates (p. 72) that, for this expedition, the greater part of the fleet, which counted 745 units and 15,895 men, came from England; the other vessels were furnished by the Flanders and Spain.