A comprehensive picture of the life and responsibilities of an English medieval shipmaster.
Despite a background of war, piracy, depopulation, bullion shortages, adverse political decisions, legal uncertainties and deteriorating weather conditions, between the mid-fourteenth and the mid-fifteenth centuries the English merchant shipping industry thrived. New markets were developed, voyages became longer, ships and cargoes increased in size and value, and an interest in ship ownership as an investment spread throughout the community.
Using a rich range of examples drawn from court and parliamentary records, contemporary literature and the codifications of maritime law, this book illuminates the evolving management and commercial practices which developed to regulate the relationships between shipowners, shipmasters, crews and shipping merchants. It also brings to life ship performance, navigation, seamanship, and the frequently harsh conditions on board.
Mục lục
Introduction
The shipmaster and the law
The shipmaster and the rise and fall of the admirals’ courts
The shipmaster as owner, partner and employee
The shipmaster’s on-shore responsibilities
The shipmaster’s off-shore responsibilities
The shipmaster at sea – navigation and meteorology
The shipmaster at sea – seamanship
Conclusion
Appendix 1 Transcription and translation of the MS Liber Horn copy of the
Lex d’Oleron
Appendix 2 Transcription and translation of the
Inquest of Queenborough
Appendix 3 A partial transcription and translation of
Les Bons Usages et Les Bonnes Costumes et Les Bons Jugemenz de la Commune d’Oleron
Appendix 4 Transcription and translation of a 1323 charter party
Appendix 5 Transcription and translation of the chapter ‘de regimen transfretantium’ from Gilbertus Anglicus’
Compendium Medicine
Bibliography