Stern foremost, and with
their colours dragging on the surface of the sea.[28] And the custom of
saluting at sunset (probably by music) was in vogue on board the galleys
of the 13th century.[29]
We shall now sketch the circumstances that led to the appearance of our
Traveller in the command of a war-galley.
[1] I regret not to have had access to Jal's learned memoirs (Archeologie
Navale, Paris, 1839) whilst writing this section, nor since, except
for a hasty look at his Essay on the difficult subject of the oar
arrangements. I see that he rejects so great a number of oars as
I deduce from the statements of Sanudo and others, and that he regards
a large number of the rowers as supplementary.
[2] It seems the more desirable to elucidate this, because writers on
mediaeval subjects so accomplished as Buchon and Capmany have (it
would seem) entirely misconceived the matter, assuming that all the
men on one bench pulled at one oar.
[3] See Coronelli, Atlante Veneto, I. 139, 140. Marino Sanudo the Elder,
though not using the term trireme, says it was well understood from
ancient authors that the Romans employed their rowers three to
a bench (p. 59).
[4] "Ad terzarolos" (Secreta Fidelium Crucis, p. 57). The Catalan
Worthy, Ramon de Muntaner, indeed constantly denounces the practice of
manning all the galleys with terzaruoli, or tersols, as his term
is.
