The key vessels of the voyages, Zheng He’s ‘Treasure Junks’ or Bao Chuan, had the purpose of displaying the might and awe of China to encourage other nations to enter the tribute system.
Singers, advisers, and servants: role of eunuchs from a historical context
September 24, 2012 By
According to the Book of Matthew, Jesus said that there were eunuchs made of men, who had made them- selves by their fathers to be that way for heaven’s sake, and if they have received such a procedure, then let them keep it. Jesus referred to castration as an infallible way to achieve celibacy. And records of Christian history indicate that many Christian religious figures were castrated.
Mystery of the Newport Medieval Ship Solved?
September 19, 2012 By
New evidence suggests that the Newport medieval ship came from the Basque Country
Fossa Carolina: The First Attempt to Bridge the Central European Watershed
September 16, 2012 By
Beside the intention of Charlemagne to build a continuous waterway network for his extensive travels, there are two more possible reasons for connecting the river systems of Main and Danube.
The Mediterranean Muslim Navy and the Expeditions Dispatched against Constantinople
September 13, 2012 By
The aim of this paper is to present an account of the information we find in various Arabic sources of the early period of Arabic historiography on the preparation of a military naval force and the expeditions launched against Constantinople during the period of the early expansion of the Muslim Arabs
Medieval Fishing at Gufuskálar, Snæfellsnes, Iceland
September 11, 2012 By
Recent excavations at the site of Gufuskálar on the far western tip of Iceland’s Snæfellsnes peninsula are attempting to rescue valuable archaeological information from a quickly eroding coastline.
Comparisons and Contrasts: The Struggles and Reactions of Selected English Ports Between 1338 and 1360
August 25, 2012 By
Warships landed in the harbor on a quiet Sunday morning in 1338 while most of the townspeople were attending mass. The sailors they carried proceeded to pillage and loot the town completely, killing many of the townspeople and raping the women and girls.
Anglo-Norman defence strategy in selected English border and maritime counties, 1066-1087
August 22, 2012 By
Ella Armitage’s analysisof early Norman castles in 1912 provides a clear espousalof this view, in particular her statement that in England the reasonsfor the erection of mottes seem to have been manorial rather than military; that is, the Norman landholder desired a safe residence for himself amidst a hostile peasantry, rather than a strong military position which could hold out against skilful and well-armed foes.
Causes of Piracy in Medieval Japan
August 21, 2012 By
The scope of the study spans two distinct phases of piratical activity by Japanese marauders known as the wako, the first lasting from 1223 to 1265 and the second from 1350 to the early 1400s.
Inland water transport in Medieval England—the view from the mills: a response to Jones
August 15, 2012 By
As has been pointed out by several commentators, from early times mills began to have a significant impact, for good or ill, upon inland water transport. They were not the only objects to do so, since fishing weirs could also have a major impact, but mills tended to be mostly permanent structures and, once established, maintained a strong presence on England’s waterways.
Atlantic Navigators: The Brendan Voyage
August 9, 2012 By
Tim Severin and his companions set out to test whether the legendary voyage of the 6th century Irish monk, St Brendan, was based on the real life adventures of early medieval seafarers.
Horse and cargo handling on Medieval Mediterranean ships
July 29, 2012 By
Art from Venice and Ravenna in north-east Italy and the Topkapı Museum in Instanbul, Turkey, offers keys to understanding several questions of Medieval ship-loading practices in the Mediterranean, including cargo loading, and where the war-horse entered his Crusader’s ship.
Iceland’s external affairs in the Middle Ages: The shelter of Norwegian sea power
July 21, 2012 By
The main aim of this paper is to test the case of Iceland within the framework of small- state theory and answer its key consideration by examining whether Iceland, as a small entity/country, had external shelter or stood on its own during the Middle Ages.
Cogs, Sails and Longbows: Implications of Naval Tactics and Technology in the Hundred Years War
June 24, 2012 By
There were several naval engagements during the Hundred Years War. The three that will be looked at in this work are the battle of Sluys in 1340, the battle of Les Espagnols-Sur- Mer in 1350, and the capture of a French fleet from La Rochelle. The battle of Sluys is the best known of these, but it can be argued that subsequent engagements are of equal or greater importance. Many historians have downplayed these events.
‘Lost Fleet’ discovered in medieval cellar
June 12, 2012 By
A project to clear rubbish from a cellar in the English village of Winchelsea has led to the discovery of a series of medieval graffiti inscriptions that are being hailed as being nationally significant.
Ship grave hall passage – the Oseberg monument as compound meaning
June 10, 2012 By
The ship in Oseberg does not give the impression of a ship sailing the
sea—moored, as it is, to its bollard stone—but it does give the impression of a ship loaded and ready to take off. The overall installation is organised in a way similar to most boat- and ship-graves.
John Crabbe: Flemish Pirate, Merchant, and Adventurer
June 5, 2012 By
The decades before the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War were notoriously fruitful in commercial violence.
Naval warfare in Europe, c.1330 – c.1680
May 27, 2012 By
The question is, then, to what extent a divide exists between medieval and early-modern European naval warfare.
Iron and sulphur compounds threaten old shipwrecks
May 16, 2012 By
Sulphur and iron compounds have now been found in shipwrecks both in the Baltic and off the west coast of Sweden.
Research uncovers new details about John Cabot’s voyage to North America
May 9, 2012 By
Evidence that a Florentine merchant house financed the earliest English voyages to North America, has been published on-line in the academic journal Historical Research.
Vikings not alone when they crossed the North Atlantic – mice hitched a ride too
March 20, 2012 By
New research has revealed that when the Vikings sailed across the North Atlantic to places like Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, they brought with them the common house mouse.
The Scandinavian impact on Irish seafaring technology
March 19, 2012 By
In the Middle Ages mariners from both Ireland and Scandinavia sailed the North Atlantic, but in different types of ships and for very different reasons. The Irish sailors appear to have favoured skin-covered ships called curraghs as the means by which they sought out remote islands on which to establish monastic retreats.
“Surat Bahr al Rum” (Picture of the Sea of Byzantium): Possible Meanings Underlying the Forms
March 15, 2012 By
In this paper I will display, examine, and deconstruct the ‘classical’ medieval Islamic conception of the Mediterranean as seen through colorful, miniature maps found in medieval Arabic and Persian geographical manuscripts from the 11th to 17th centuries.
Could Vikings have navigated under foggy and cloudy conditions by skylight polarization?
February 26, 2012 By
There is archaeological evidence that the Vikings did not possess magnetic compass, and they navigated on the open sea with the help of a sundial composed of a wooden disc with a perpendicular gnomon in its centre.
Fra Mauro’s world map (c. 1448-1459): mapping, mediation and the Indian Ocean world in the early Renaissance
February 22, 2012 By
Begun around 1448 and completed some time before 1459, Fra Mauro’s World map, illustrated in the figure accompanying this article, is a beautiful object.
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