One of the frescoes of Spinello
Aretini in the Municipal Palace at Siena, representing a victory of the
Venetians over the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's fleet, commanded by his
son Otho, in 1176; but no doubt the galleys, &c., are of the artist's own
age, the middle of the 14th century.[14] In this we see plainly the
projecting opera-morta, and the rowers sitting two to a bench, each with
his oar, for these are two-banked. We can also discern the Latin rudder on
the quarter. (See this volume, p. 119.) In a picture in the Uffizj, at
Florence, of about the same date, by Pietro Laurato (it is in the corridor
near the entrance), may be seen a small figure of a galley with the oars
also very distinctly coupled.[15] Casoni has engraved, after Cristoforo
Canale, a pictorial plan of a Venetian trireme of the 16th century, which
shows the arrangement of the oars in triplets very plainly.
The following cut has been sketched from an engraving of a picture by
Domenico Tintoretto in the Doge's palace, representing, I believe, the
same action (real or imaginary) as Spinello's fresco, but with the costume
and construction of a later date. It shows, however, very plainly, the
projecting opera-morta and the arrangement of the oars in fours, issuing
through row-ports in high bulwarks.
[Illustration: Part of a Sea Fight, after Dom. Tintoretto]
[Sidenote: Fighting Arrangements.]
28. Midships in the mediaeval galley a castle was erected, of the width of
the ship, and some 20 feet in length; its platform being elevated
sufficiently to allow of free passage under it and over the benches. At
the bow was the battery, consisting of mangonels (see vol. ii. p. 161
seqq.) and great cross-bows with winding gear,[16] whilst there were
shot-ports[17] for smaller cross-bows along the gunnels in the intervals
between the benches. Some of the larger galleys had openings to admit
horses at the stern, which were closed and caulked for the voyage, being
under water when the vessel was at sea.[18]
It seems to have been a very usual piece of tactics, in attacking as well
as in awaiting attack, to connect a large number of galleys by hawsers,
and sometimes also to link the oars together, so as to render it difficult
for the enemy to break the line or run aboard. We find this practised by
the Genoese on the defensive at the battle of Ayas (infra, p. 43), and it
is constantly resorted to by the Catalans in the battles described by
Ramon de Muntaner.[19]
Sanudo says the toil of rowing in the galleys was excessive, almost
unendurable. Yet it seems to have been performed by freely-enlisted men,
and therefore it was probably less severe than that of the great-oared
galleys of more recent times, which it was found impracticable to work by
free enlistment, or otherwise than by slaves under the most cruel
driving.[20] I am not well enough read to say that war-galleys were never
rowed by slaves in the Middle Ages, but the only doubtful allusion to such
a class that I have met with is in one passage of Muntaner, where he says,
describing the Neapolitan and Catalan fleets drawing together for action,
that the gangs of the galleys had to toil like "forcats" (p. 313).
Indeed, as regards Venice at least, convict rowers are stated to have been
first introduced in 1549, previous to which the gangs were of galeotti
assoldati.[21]
