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A galley was a type of ship which relied mostly on oars for propulsion that was used for warfare, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during antiquity and continued to exist in various forms until the early 19th century.
Its unprecedented propulsive power was achieved by the arrangement of 170 oarsmen in three tiers along each side of the vessel—31 in the top tier, 27 in the middle, and 27 in the bottom. The hull was a thin shell of planks joined edge-to-edge and then stiffened by a keel and light transverse ribs.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Dec 1, 2016 · Illustration of a 15th-century trade galley from a manuscript by Michael of Rhodes (1401–1445) written in 1434. More than in classical times, the focus of warfare in the Middle Ages was firmly on land.
Galleys had been in use for trade and warfare since at least the 8th century BC and remained in use throughout the Middle Ages. Rowing was the primary method of propulsion, which was well-suited for often-fickle winds of the Mediterranean where they were primarily used.
Jun 21, 2020 · Equipped with sails for distance and oars for maneuverability, the medieval galley was ideally suited for the purpose of war. Medieval variations on the classical galley were many. The dromon, developed by the Byzantines, was a large galley that utilized one or two tiers of oars, a square sail set on a single mast, and a stern-hung rudder.
Dec 25, 2018 · December 25, 2018 by Timothy R.J. Eveland. A Rather Long Paper About Medieval and Early Modern Galley Warfare in the Mediterranean. Ferrando Bertelli’s Battle of Lepanto (1571) To examine how Venetian seapower grew to become an effective force in the Mediterranean, an examination of how Venice herself came to exist must be conducted.
In the ancient Mediterranean, galley rowers were mostly free men, and slaves were used as rowers when manpower was in high demand. In the Middle Ages and the early modern period , convicts and prisoners of war often manned galleys, and the Barbary pirates enslaved captives as galley slaves.
