Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Preface
- Preface to the paperback edition
- List of abbreviations
- Note on orthography and typography
- Introduction
- 1 The sea
- 2 The ships
- 3 Navigation: the routes and their implications
- 4 The ninth and tenth centuries: Islam, Byzantium, and the West
- 5 The twelfth and thirteenth centuries: the Crusader states
- 6 Maritime traffic: the guerre de course
- 7 The Turks
- 8 Epilogue: the Barbary corsairs
- 9 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- Past and Present Publications
1 - The sea
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Preface
- Preface to the paperback edition
- List of abbreviations
- Note on orthography and typography
- Introduction
- 1 The sea
- 2 The ships
- 3 Navigation: the routes and their implications
- 4 The ninth and tenth centuries: Islam, Byzantium, and the West
- 5 The twelfth and thirteenth centuries: the Crusader states
- 6 Maritime traffic: the guerre de course
- 7 The Turks
- 8 Epilogue: the Barbary corsairs
- 9 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- Past and Present Publications
Summary
For ancient and medieval man, the Mediterranean had a deserved reputation for benevolence. Compared to the Atlantic and the North Sea, it offers favourable conditions for navigation for many more months of the year. Clear skies, moderate winds, and slight seas can be expected across most of the sea from late March through to late October. Because of the small size of the sea, in world geographical and meteorological terms, the huge rollers which make Atlantic navigation so dangerous in storms are not to be found in the Mediterranean; although it is true that the short, steep chop raised by strong winds in some parts of the Mediterranean can be equally as hazardous as the Atlantic's rollers. Similarly, the tides, which so governed navigation in the North Sea as to affect the evolution of ship design, are virtually absent from the Mediterranean except in certain narrows. The many islands scattered throughout the northern half of the sea reduced the need to make long voyages out of sight of land and thus promoted maritime traffic in an age of small ships. The clear skies of summer nights facilitated navigation by the stars. But if the Mediterranean was particularly favourable to men's endeavours upon the sea by comparison to other waters, nevertheless geographical and meteorological factors still influenced profoundly matters such as ship design, the rhythms of seasonal voyaging, and the choice of routes.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Geography, Technology, and WarStudies in the Maritime History of the Mediterranean, 649–1571, pp. 12 - 24Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1988