Venice – Shipbuilding

I had thought that the book I’ve just gone through for material would be the last one for the project. It’s “Venetian ships and shipbuilders in the Renaissance” by Frederick Lane. I haven’t been posting these daily on X (as was Twitter) because they removed the feature that allowed me to do it automatically, and I didn’t have the time to post each of them individually. I think the project will be continuing on Threads and Instagram.

While I was looking at this book for material about Venetian shipbuilding, I ran across another book called “Housecraft and Statecraft: Domestic Servants in Renaissance Venice,” and I will also be cutting that one down before I start drafting because it’s full of material that’s useful when writing up grogs and companions. Also, I’m hoping it gives me a method of treating the subject of Venetian slavery with some accuracy and sensitivity.

But onto the research for Venetian shipbuilding. Much of it confirms what we already wrote
up in City and Guild. There are two basic types of ships until the late 15th century when a hybrid emerged. There are more specialised forms in the Mediterranean, or ships are more useful in the Mediterranean, but they are less common in the Atlantic. The basic division is between the long ship and the round ship. Long ships have always their low narrow. They’re called galleys. They have one deck, to begin with at least, and they’re used for precious cargo. And the other side of the division are round ships which have sails, they’re high and wide. They’re called buses or turettes. They may have up to three decks and they’re used to bulk cargo.

The book begins with a discussion of the Battle of Susano, which was in 1264. The Venetians
let their small round ships with bulk cargo just drift off. And their galleys clustered around one great round ship. Round ships, even small ones, could hold off galleys. They moved all their portable valuables to the round ship and used it as a fortress. It had high sides and for-and-off castles which made it very defensible, but it couldn’t protect other ships and it couldn’t project force because it had no guns.

Galleys can choose or decline combat and can work as a unit and can board or ram. This
allows you to use them in formations roughly like cavalry. Before the 16th century, so, the Magonomia period, oarsmen were free and they used weapons for melee. They were recruited in the Piazza San Marco and they were paid off on return to Venice.

In the late 13th century, the Great Galley replaces round ships for trade and small galleys continue to be used for war. Small galleys are fast and have a deck of about 120 feet long, about 15 feet wide, and the deck is 5 to 6 feet above the keel. They’re built to a frame for strength and the strength is in the frame, not in the hull, and this is because they need to handle the weight of all the oarsmen. Between 1219 and 1540, the trireme is standard and there are 25 to 30 benches per side, three oarsmen per bench, one or per oar, and a single deck.

The deck has three parts, a fighting platform at the front, a stern castle and the rowing space with a gangway at the centre. The deck is extended by an outrigger frame to 22 feet wide and 106 feet long, benches are slanted toward the poop deck so that all ores could be in parallel. The ores end with a lead weight on the rower’s end. The rower climbs a set of small steps and falls backwards to stroke the oar. They have bowmen as marines, when not in battle they’re stationed between the rows of the orsmen so they’re not in the way of the sailors. There is some note of an archer on every bench. In battle they might be on the fighting platform or the castle or the gangway, the commander is always on the castle. There are also at least eight sailors for the rudder and sail.

There is usually one mast, it’s lanteen rigged and it’s stepped forward. At this stage there are three rudders, a sternpost and two side-rudders. Over time the stern rudder replaces the side-rudders. Stern-rudders appear in the Mediterranean in about 1300.

They are not good sailers: they are speedier under oar. By the 16th century captains complain they are so low in the water their wave swept and they cannot take turn to windward without dragging the ores, which causes them to lose speed and snaps their oars.

Guns make their forecastles so heavy that it dips into the waves, when headed into the
wind. There are also small galley-like ships with one or two oarsmen per bench used for
dispatches or patrols. These are called fragantes, bragantes, galottis and fustes and they’re
technically a bireme. The great galleys were invented in 1294 or 1298 and were in general
use within ten years. They are more seaworthy than the small galleys, they have more cargo
per crew member and they are slower so small galleys are still used for portable and valuable
cargo.

Just after 1299 they start using merchant caravaning which is where all the ships form
together into a fleet. A great galley has a crew of over 100, all goods save exceptions
in great galleys must be in caravans. The state elects the commanding officer of the fleet,
they arrange the crew, the equipment of the galleys and the sailing time and the destination,
renting out space to merchants. Late in the 14th century, all of the galleys are owned by the
state and space on them is rented, although the merchants pay for arming. Private ships are
forbidden to follow the same routes as the great caravans. There’s no high foredeck or castle,
there’s one deck, different routes have slightly different designs, the largest are the ones that
travel to Flanders and have a displacement of 140 times. And that’s in the 14th century, in the 15th century they reach 200 tons and in the mid 15th century there is one dominant design
which is 250 tons below deck. Great galleys are snubber than small galleys, small galleys are about eight times as long as they are wide, great galleys are only about six times as long as they are wide. They are difficult to row under cargo because they’re low in the water, they have bad or geometry and they are mostly road to enter or leave port or in some emergencies. Some commanders leave two-thirds of their oars at home because they’re penalised when they lose or break oars.

There is a note of a fleet sailing from Southampton to Otranto in 31 days. My notes here say that the castle is in three stories. The three stories, the first story is the ? and compass, the middle is the lord or captain and his mess mates and the lowest is the ladies and treasure and it’s unlit say by a hatchway above it. There are two boats for landing in harbour and there are steps down the side for embarking into a boat. The kitchen is on deck, it’s not covered in, there is a cellar
beneath. It has three masts, the central mast is the largest, two swivel guns and then I made an
attempt at a diagram which just won’t translate into a podcast at all. I am not certain that is
particularly good. I would love to get a decent deck plan for this so I will have to rummage
around further or pass this onto someone who does deck plans and hope they can make sense of it.

At the start of the 15th century the ships had two masts and the foremast was the largest. By the mid-15th century they have three masts and by the late 15th century the main mast is at the centre and the four and aft masts are mostly used for manoeuvring. Oars are used to avoid waiting by the shore for favourable wind because this is a dangerous time and it means if you have wars you never are on a lee shore.

The crew is 200 plus and 20 of these are bowmen, a term which continues to be used even once they start using guns in 1486. There is a public contest to get the job and they hire the best shots in Venice. If the Senate believes a particular voyage is especially dangerous they may up the number of sailors by 10 or 20. Space on galleys cost more rent than space on round ships but it’s quicker and the insurance is lower and some skipped insurance entirely so that weighed into the consideration.

Notes on cargo in the end of the great galleys. The tonnage seems low but extra was carried on deck and it was not usually used for bulk goods. Each sailor also had some personal wares. I have an idea saying half of galley freight is customs duty but I need to double check that. That seems high. About 1500 one fleet brings two and a half million pounds of spices from Alexandria and I presume he means pounds mainly not pounds weight. Fleets headed east carried 300,000 ducats in cash as well as their cargo. They suddenly go extinct from 1500 to 1535 due to new round ship models with fewer crew full rig and artillery. Galleys continue as
warships for a while. In 1569 drag demonstrates broadsides across open galley decks and people start thinking they’re a bad idea.

The topsail, and foresail are more easily handled and they are safer than the great galley. The monopoly of galleys in the caravans ceases temporarily in 1514 and permanently in 1534 round ships take over as passenger ships for pilgrims. Previously there were privately owned great galleys which would anchor each day along the coastline. By 1546 round ships take over because they’re cheaper, if less pleasant, to travel in.

From 1500 onward great galleys are remodeled as gunships one or pulled by many men is developed to allow great and light galleys to manoeuvre together. In extremes there are eight men to a bench. By the 17th century the standard is five men to an oar. My notes say 70 cannon, or is that a 20? 70 cannon, 8 on the prow, 10 on the poop and the rest between the oars. These throw a three to five-pound ball. Ships of the line drive them to extinction. Note that the term
buss in this book does not match the Danish fishing vessel the same name which often appears in English naval history.

In 1286 the biggest vessel offered the king of France was the Roqforte which was 500 tons. It was dish shaped its keel was less than twice the size of its beam. Smaller ships in the same fleet had keels that were two and a half times the size of their beam. It had fore- and aft castles and fighting platforms 39 and a half feet above the keel. Two or three masts, lateen rig. The foremast was the larger. The mast was as long as the keel and the yard was longer than the keel

It had two side rudders. In 1303 Basque pirates bring square rigs and stern rudders into the Mediterranean. Castles become part of the ship’s hull design. This is the cog used in the 14th and 15th century and covered in city and gilled. Cogs are cheaper and better in storms than round ship they also have a smaller crew. In the 13th century a 240 ton ship needs 50 sailors by law and that doesn’t count soldiers or pilgrims or people who are under 18. In the 14th and 15th century 20 sailors over 21, eight apprentices, and four bowmen were legally required for an identical ship (with the difference that because they had a square sail they didn’t
need to yaw the sail and so they needed fewer people.) At the start of the 15th century ships
for the Syrian voyage are 300 tons and ships for military voyages are 400 tons and the biggest
ships are 720 tons. Buss and turrett caravans are made up of round ships of about 300 tons.
In the mid 15th century the new rigging leads to a new ship called the carrack, which is nearly
universal by 1485. Its hull’s two and a half times it’s beam and it lasts until the 17th century
when Dutch innovations drive it to extinction.

In the 12th and 13th century there were caravans to Alexandria, Cyprus and Syria twice a year but each ship only did one circle per year leaving either in March or September. By the 15th century a ship can do two voyages in a year returning with bulk cargo of cotton and alum. By 1400 merchantmen were larger they could be a little over 400 tons by 1450. The fleet has six that are 600 tons and by 1500 there is at least one that’s over a thousand tons.

Military ships.

In 1486 a 2,400 tons ship is reported but sources on it aren’t good. In 1500 there are many reports of 1500 tons vessels and officially war round ships were between 1200 and 1500 tons. Merchantmen of that size were not economical and instead they were about 600 tons and they were introduced in the middle of the 15th century for bulk good like wine to England from Crete and the Grand Fleet’s salt and oil. The book notes that you could compare those to East Indiamen which were up to 600 tons but were generally 300 to 400 tons.

Round ships were used for patrols and to control pirates. Pirates used round ships because round ships are easier to take if you yourself have a round ship. Eventually these develop into their own ship class the bars in the late 15th century and they are about 1200 tons.

The first galleons arrive in Venice between 1526 and 1530 and they’re not a successful class at first because they’re quite top heavy. Caravels become popular in the late 15th century. By 1500
they’re used a lot in Dalmatia, the Adriatic and Greased as coastal traders and they have a lateen rig.

Shipbuilding is controlled by a proty or foreman, generally from a family of foremen chosen by reputation for skill. Foreman could read, write and studied mathematics. The Foreman of the Arsenal were not always the best at ship design because they also needed people and managerial skills so a virtuoso foreman was sometimes skipped often skipped for more dependable people.

The foreman of the arsenal from 1498 to 1540 was Leonardo Bressan and he invented the Barza. His second attempt at a ship in this class at 1200 tons cargo had 450 plus men as crew and had 400 guns by which we must hope they mean marines.

The guilds in Venice were not as powerful as those in other Italian cities because the oligarchy was too strong. Their role was religious, vocational and insurance, a measure of the schule and the arte, both of which had been discussed in previous episodes. The schule are for worship, banquets and insurance and the arte are for the insurance of professional quality work out to the state and for resolving disputes between members. The arte is ruled by the government through appointed justices. By the end of the 13th century basically these two methods of organizing tradesmen had combined.

There are three great ship building guilds, the carpenters, the corkers and the sawyers. The head of each guild is called a Gestaldo and he is aided by judges who settle disputes and deacons who look after the guild property. The Gestaldo and judges must be at a booth in San Marco every Sunday to judge cases. Gestaldo are not elected, they are effectively appointed by their predecessors. They must not hold more than two business meetings a year by law and only one banquet. The Aston Lotty were powerful but not as a trade guild. We’ll get to them later. Each guild has a chapel, tomb, altars, relics and art. They give insurance like sick pay, dowries, burials and pensions. The sawyers kept this money in the chest that needed three keys to open, held by the Gestaldo, a steward and one guy whose purpose was just to hold a key. Corkers had to be hired by lottery for complicated historical reasons.

In 1323 the Venetians did something a little unusual for the Italian city states and said that if you’re a master you could take as many apprentices as you liked simultaneously. The carpenters of the arsenalotti were required to be officers on ships if asked.

Then there’s a lengthy section on the heads of independent shipyards. I looked into this in some detail because I thought a covenant might be built around an independent shipyard as a source of finance.

One of the doges, when he dies, leaves a letter (the testament) in 1423. In 1423 the fleet is 3000 ships of less than 100 tons, 300 ships that are larger than 100 tons and 45 galleys. That breaks down like this. The 300 vessels larger than 100 tons are about 35 round ships of 240 tons plus and about 265 round ships of 100 to 239 tons. The larger class of round ships are used for trade to England, Syria and Crimea. The 45 galleys contain at least 25 light galleys and 18 grade galleys and the difference is 2 or maybe 3 pilgrim galleys which are probably 250 tons plus each.

Pilgrim galleys are used for transporting pilgrims to various holy sites. The author notes that the margin for error in these figures is very high. Ship-building slumps in the 1480s no ships were being made in 1487 but just after that six additional 600 ton ships were added to be used for pirate control and battle. The 1499 survey of the fleet says that there are 25 private ships of 240 tons or higher plus four state-owned ships. There is a note that in 1560 no Venetian is making trade ships in the 120 to 140 ton class. All of them are bought overseas and reflagged in Venice. By 1558 to 1559 there are almost 40 ships in the 240 ton class. The author estimates that the normal size of the fleet is about 30 to 40 ships in the 240 ton class.

The average ship wears out every 10 years so Venice needs to build say four or five a year to cover wrecks. The problem there is that their minimum is quite close to the operating number so the state is constantly concerned that they’re going to run out of ships. Bunk ships elsewhere is illegal from 1533 but people seem to do it quite a lot.

There are effectively interest-free loans on large ships from that period on but by 1606 about half of all large merchant ships are foreign built. The process of ship building. A group of merchants gets together and seeks finance. Shares in ships have been bought and sold
in the city since the 11th century. The partnership is called a companion or company. They elect a leader to keep accounts. He may have reserved cargo space on the ship to compensate
for that labor. They then hire a foreman. They appoint a neutral party for resolving disputes
between the partners. They define if the foreman or the manager is providing supplies like wood and iron. Then either way someone hires a steward of supplies, a master for the corkers and an accountant for the wages and the uses of materials. And then they hire a shipyard. In the later period occasionally the owner of the shipyard and the foreman are the same guy. This is generally however not the case.

The Arsenal.
From 1104 to the 14th century it’s about eight acres in size. It has five large warehouses and docks for the storage or building of 24 light galleys. It’s governed by three nobles elected by the Grand Council. They must live near the Asanal. Their houses are called Paradiso, Purgatorio,
and Inferno. And no, I don’t know why. I should look that up. These lords are technically required to supervise work, inspect buildings every three days, inspect the vessels every three months, and inspect the weapons and rigging every six months. There is a reserve fleet of four galleys plus two smaller ships. I mentioned before that they sent a fleet in the 13th century of about 100 ships. That was done by enlisting merchants. In 1303 and 1325 the new Asanal is added which quadruples the size of the Arsenal and it stays like this until 1470ish. It builds the galleys which are rented out for trade caravans. In peaceful years 10 guard galleys are the reserve fleet and if a war starts a captain general that the sea is appointed and usually given a fleet of 20 to 30 light galleys.

During the Genoa siege of Choggia, Venice built nine great and 25 light galleys to replace the fleet that they’d previously lost to the Genoa. The fleet sent against Genoa in 1431 it was 24 galleys and in 1432 it was 32 galleys. From 1325 to 1470 there were 10 reserve galleys and 10 to 12 more in mothballs that is they didn’t have their corking or rigging but could be made ready quite rapidly. By 1417 the law changes so that the reserve fleet is 25 in law although in practice it is less. Trade fleets 1333 eight galleys were sent to the Black Sea, seven galleys were sent to Cyprus and Liser Armenia and eight or more to Flanders these were 140 ton galleys. Initially government galleys were sent out and other private ships could tag along.

Mid-century the number of galleys is halved but the size of the galleys gets larger they’re 200
tonneys. In the 15th century caravans of 14 great galleys are sent to the Black Sea, Flanders,
Cyprus, Alexandria, and Beirut and they continue to get larger and larger. By the end of the 15th century 20 ships are sent out per year and four to five ships are constructed every year. Many ships last 12 years but some are lost at sea. The police fleet requires two galleys a year and great galleys take twice the work of light galleys.

For the Arsenalotti in the 15th century there was a 250 day work year or a 22 month so 270 day work year. A note on labor force five sawers, 10 carpenters, 13 caucus plus apprentices and stevedores were required to complete five great galleys every second year. To complete four light galleys in under two years required two sawyers, five carpenters and five caucus and once during the war when they needed 20 light galleys in six months they did that with 32 sawyers, 96 carpenters, 96 caucus and great galleys at that time were built in groups of four or five.

By habit they sent their newest galleys to Flanders because it was a more difficult trip and their oldest galleys were sent to Beirut or the Barbary coast because they were in the Mediterranean which is less rough. The leaving dates of the Caravans were Romania before July the 25th Beirut before the 24th August, Alexandria at the end of August and this bought the Arsenal in the following income.
Beirut and Alexandria rents of 12,000 ducats a year

Flanders and Romania, 6,000 ducats a year
plus about 9,600 ducats a year as a supplement from the state.

The year 1504 is the high point of merchant ship making at the Arsenal. In 1504 they have seven galleys on voyage, nine ready for use, 20 in mid construction and three over 14 years old. Almost all trading voyages end by 1535 and the Arsenal switches over to the war fleets to counter the Turkish expansion.

In 1442 they finished 50 galleys and were ready 25 more and in 1453 they make another 50.
The Venetian fleets in 1461 and 1466 were 20 to 30 galleys. In 1470 they once again face the Turks with a fleet of 40 galleys that arrive at Negroponte with their 40 galleys to find out that the Turks have bought 300 to 400 ships. They freak out, they flee to Crete, they chase to Crete, their fleet is utterly destroyed. The Venetians grab every ship they can, 73 galleys of both sizes, save 24 which are left in Venice because they’re unfinished and the fleet is expanded
up to 70 to 100 galleys in 1474. At this point the Venetians decide that the fleet should be 75
great and 100 light galleys but the Arsenal says we can’t do that. So between 1450 and 1460 the
Arsenal builds up another 20 or so sheds each of which can house two galleys.

Eventually they had sufficient sheds for eighty (stored or building) and in 1473 the Arsenal doubles again in size with an area called the newest Arsenal. In 1525 they build 50 light galleys and place them immediately in mothballs on land ready for activation. As they create new galleys they cycle out these mothballed ones rather than using the newest ones.

In 1537 after war with the Turks the reserve fleet is up to in law and theory (if not in practice) 100 light galleys, 4 and then 10 great galleys, 8 foots, 8 brigantines, 8 longboats. Of these 25 were armed and equipped to sail and the rest were on land uncorked and with their gear in warehouses.By 1633 this was so expensive they couldn’t keep it up and they knocked the total size of the reserve fleet down to 50.

Shipbuilding is done in three stages: framing, planking and then the third bit which is
the bit that Venetians are really fast at. This is corking, launching, adding deck fixings, rigging,
mooring, oars and arming the crew. In 1570 the whole fleet of galleys was made ready, pulled from reserve, in 50 days.

Once the Arsenal’s in six acres it has between 1,000 and 2,000 workers. It’s also in charge of lighthouses, salvage ships, lumber yards for merchant spares, ropes for merchant spares, all of that. No private personal property may be bought into the envians of the arsenal so it’s an anti-theft measure. You can’t walk out with anything because there’s no chance that you bought your hammer from home or something. The doorkeepers of the arsenal, which is surrounded by 15 towers, may not leave their posts. Centuries in the towers call to each other every hour. Watchmen walk the walls. Doors must not be open at night. Boats must not come in at night.
There is a vast amount of waste and graft in the arsenal. There is an extensive list of staff
who live at the arsenal in the book which I won’t read through now.

Gunpowder is mostly kept separated from the Arsenal until 1569 when an explosion convinces people that keeping it absolutely separate would be a great idea. I think that the expansion of the arsenal will be a form of regio expansion in this supplement.

The Arsenalotti

Arsenal workers are used as guards in the piazza during unrest, as firefighters, as torchbearers for the doge’s funeral. They carry the new doge on their shoulders around the piazza. They guard the palace when it’s vacant. They guard the great council and they also labour in the mint. Wine is passed about in the Arsenal five to six times a day by a wine steward as part of their pay. Paystewards were the doorkeepers. Thieves could be whipped while wearing a necklace of nails to show that they were a thief. Paystewards search the workers as they leave.

Ships are made out of oak, larch, fir and come from near to Venice. Elm and walnut are desired for some parts but they’re not essential. Venice has been an exporter of wood since the 10th century which considering it’s a group of artificial islands in a swamp is really something. Venice supplies wood to Corfu and Crete for their buildings and ships. There are laws for the conservation of oak groves which are first passed in 1470 to 1492. The most important woodland is the Val di Montona in Istria. In 1557 it has one captain and in 1565 he is given nine subordinate guardians. In the Livenza, oaks were bent as they grew so that they would grow into curved timbers which were prized for shipbuilding. There are also important groves at Montello, Carpeneda and Clavi and these could be Faerie sites.

Then I have a lengthy series of references that I won’t read into the podcast because they don’t make good audio.

The ducat or zecchio is a coin of three and a half grams of gold and then we talk about units
of account and coins and this is so bad we’re going to use the mythic penny instead but to explain it here we go. One lira is split into ten soldi which is split into 240 denarii which is the
pound and shilling and pence system that we’re all familiar with but that’s unit of account.
When we talk about coins each unit has a separate system. The lira de grossi a oro is 20 soldii
de grossi a oro or 270 denari or 7,680 piccoli de grossi a oro which is to say one denarius is
equals 32 piccoli. Now this gives you the gold ducat coin. One lira a grossi is 20 soldii a grossi
and 240 denari a grossi and this gives you the silver grossi coin and it’s worth 26 denari.
A lira de piccoli divides into 20 soldi de piccoli and 240 denari de piccoli and this gives you the
silver solino coin. There are also other coins.

Eventually the ducat coin and the ducat unit completely part ways and the ducat coin is called the ducat di auro or the “ducut of gold”. The unit is based on the silver subdivisions so as an example in 1545 a ducat in gold is worth eight ducats 12 soldi in lira di piccoli. So to focus back in again the reason all of that’s important to us is that characters who set up a covenant in Venice are almost certainly going to want to be involved in the shipping trades. Most of what I’ve found works perfectly well with “City and Gild” rules and will be laid over the top for flavour. Next month the research phase of this whole thing should be complete.