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Medieval Maritime Warfare
This sweeping history of maritime warfare through the Middle Ages ranges from the 8th century to the 14th, covering the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
After the fall of Rome, the sea becomes the center of conflict for Western Civilization. In a world of few roads and great disorder, it is where power is projected and wealth is sought. Yet, since this turbulent period in the history of maritime warfare has rarely been studied, it is little known and even less understood.
In Medieval Maritime Warfare, Charles Stanton depicts the development of maritime warfare from the end of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance, recounting the wars waged in the Mediterranean by the Byzantines, Ottomans, Normans, Crusaders, and the Italian maritime republics, as well as those fought in northern waters by the Vikings, English, French and the Hanseatic League. Weaving together details of medieval ship design and naval strategy with vivid depictions of seafaring culture, this pioneering study makes a significant contribution to maritime history.
After the fall of Rome, the sea becomes the center of conflict for Western Civilization. In a world of few roads and great disorder, it is where power is projected and wealth is sought. Yet, since this turbulent period in the history of maritime warfare has rarely been studied, it is little known and even less understood.
In Medieval Maritime Warfare, Charles Stanton depicts the development of maritime warfare from the end of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance, recounting the wars waged in the Mediterranean by the Byzantines, Ottomans, Normans, Crusaders, and the Italian maritime republics, as well as those fought in northern waters by the Vikings, English, French and the Hanseatic League. Weaving together details of medieval ship design and naval strategy with vivid depictions of seafaring culture, this pioneering study makes a significant contribution to maritime history.
632 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 20, 2022
I read this book one page at a time over the last 3 years. It was my going to sleep book. Names and dates turn my brain off and make my eyes tired, and this book was a magic potion that ferried me into Slumber's port like a 14th century Hanseatic carrack bringing English wool back to Danzig. Even though it put me to sleep countless times, I did find it very informative and a good reference book for pulling inspo from when world building, or subconsciously influencing your very own medieval maritime warfare based dreams/nightmares.
April 5, 2021
This was an historical study of a subject in which I had previously very little knowledge. The author was very enthusiastic regarding Medieval Maritime Warfare and even though there were so many dates and so many names and so many battles I enjoyed the book.
Stanton mostly confines the warfare to the Mediterranean Sea in those portions of the book is where he shines giving us conflicts between Arab and Christian navies, conflicts between Christian navies of the West and Christian navies of the East, and conflicts between City-States of Italy. The chapters on the naval action of the Crusades I thought especially interesting.
The author is concerned with dimensions of ships and sometimes this part of the book drags but I did find interesting how Stanton tell us about the sailors of the era dealt with the technology of the era.
The second part of the book dealing with naval conflicts in Northern Europe were not as good as the part dealing with the Mediterranean as the stakes seemed to be less to the parties involved and even though both parts of the work had economic consequences as a concern it seemed more prevalent in the warfare in Northern Europe.
Overall I enjoyed this spotlight on a previously to me unknown aspect of Medieval history.
Stanton mostly confines the warfare to the Mediterranean Sea in those portions of the book is where he shines giving us conflicts between Arab and Christian navies, conflicts between Christian navies of the West and Christian navies of the East, and conflicts between City-States of Italy. The chapters on the naval action of the Crusades I thought especially interesting.
The author is concerned with dimensions of ships and sometimes this part of the book drags but I did find interesting how Stanton tell us about the sailors of the era dealt with the technology of the era.
The second part of the book dealing with naval conflicts in Northern Europe were not as good as the part dealing with the Mediterranean as the stakes seemed to be less to the parties involved and even though both parts of the work had economic consequences as a concern it seemed more prevalent in the warfare in Northern Europe.
Overall I enjoyed this spotlight on a previously to me unknown aspect of Medieval history.
July 13, 2019
It is hard, at first glance, to see just what a book dedicated to naval (actually, the 'maritime' of the title is a better fit than 'naval'...) warfare in the Middle Ages would have to say. However, Stanton has done a good job of rounding out the subject, and presents it well.
He starts with an excellent introduction, which lays out a few things: First he talks of the Olympias, the modern recreation of the classical trireme, and things that will carry over to later galleys, such as the need for great amounts of fresh water for a crew operating for hours in an extremely enervating environment, namely about one metric ton of water for the crew of a trireme per day. Available cargo space says that about four days of water would be on board at best. This says much the need for any sort of galley fleet to have access to the shore for replenishing water.
There is then a discussion of how the classic trireme had become outmoded in this period, as ships became more robust (in the Mediterranean; they were always more solid in northern Europe to have a chance of surviving outside the relatively placid waters of an inland sea), and ramming was no longer sufficient to break hulls. I'm a little surprised that classical rams weren't retained to break oars and the like, but it looks like warfare shifted to boarding actions and archery.
Overall, the book is broken into two major sections, one on the Mediterranean, and one on the North Sea, Baltic, and English Channel. Both are relatively chronological, but not exclusively so. And the subjects are indeed 'maritime' in nature; much of the book is really about various land-based wars, but they still have an important sea-based component. Some parts, like the conflicts between Genoa and Pisa are actually naval in character. And the War of the Sicilian Vespers is about land (control of Sicily), but much of the war was decided by naval actions in the best Mahanian tradition.
I found the book very informative, and while it informed me well on a few subjects I don't have any real background in, I do recommend having a basic knowledge of European history in this period before going to something more specialized like this. I was also a bit annoyed by his constant giving of basic stats (generally length and beam) of various types of ships known to be used at various times and places, but only because that info is hard to place by itself. I would have appreciated a few diagrams showing some relative sizes and general layouts (for the ones we know...). That's more the province of a naval encyclopedia, but it was hard to keep that generally useful info straight in a pure reading.
He starts with an excellent introduction, which lays out a few things: First he talks of the Olympias, the modern recreation of the classical trireme, and things that will carry over to later galleys, such as the need for great amounts of fresh water for a crew operating for hours in an extremely enervating environment, namely about one metric ton of water for the crew of a trireme per day. Available cargo space says that about four days of water would be on board at best. This says much the need for any sort of galley fleet to have access to the shore for replenishing water.
There is then a discussion of how the classic trireme had become outmoded in this period, as ships became more robust (in the Mediterranean; they were always more solid in northern Europe to have a chance of surviving outside the relatively placid waters of an inland sea), and ramming was no longer sufficient to break hulls. I'm a little surprised that classical rams weren't retained to break oars and the like, but it looks like warfare shifted to boarding actions and archery.
Overall, the book is broken into two major sections, one on the Mediterranean, and one on the North Sea, Baltic, and English Channel. Both are relatively chronological, but not exclusively so. And the subjects are indeed 'maritime' in nature; much of the book is really about various land-based wars, but they still have an important sea-based component. Some parts, like the conflicts between Genoa and Pisa are actually naval in character. And the War of the Sicilian Vespers is about land (control of Sicily), but much of the war was decided by naval actions in the best Mahanian tradition.
I found the book very informative, and while it informed me well on a few subjects I don't have any real background in, I do recommend having a basic knowledge of European history in this period before going to something more specialized like this. I was also a bit annoyed by his constant giving of basic stats (generally length and beam) of various types of ships known to be used at various times and places, but only because that info is hard to place by itself. I would have appreciated a few diagrams showing some relative sizes and general layouts (for the ones we know...). That's more the province of a naval encyclopedia, but it was hard to keep that generally useful info straight in a pure reading.
January 23, 2018
A lot of the information was about conflicts that had naval elements involved, and not the naval characteristics itself. This is probably due to the limited amount of source material available. Still, it covered Mediterranean and northern Europe scenarios and had many incidents that I was not aware of. The writing style was easy to read through.
September 18, 2021
Medieval Maritime Warfare by Charles D. Stanton
The most interesting thing about ship warfare in the period of the 5th to 15th centuries is that it was very little about the ship itself. Unlike maritime warfare in the Mediterranean during the rise and fall of Rome, this long epoch was more defined by weaponry advances than by changes in ship design. Of course there were advances, but within each region of the European medieval world – the Med, the Atlantic, and the Scandinavian seas – ship design innovation was fairly minimal, and of course each region had fairly significant differences in basic ship design. The standard within the Mediterranean was the galley, whether trireme, dromon, or galea. Northern Europe was dominated by variations of the Vikings’ longships, and the round-ship and the cog were the other basic types through which medieval battles were made over the seas. Trade routes made all these ship types present in all the ports of the medieval world, but each region specialized in making their particular type.
The major mover of medieval sea power was the projectile weaponry installed or utilized on the ship. A major difference from pre-fifth century maritime warfare was that the ship was no longer susceptible to ramming tactics, which dominated the Greek and Roman battles with the Egyptians, Carthaginians, and Persians. Improvement in ship design and importation of higher strength wood (primarily from Northern and Western Europe) had proved ramming no longer a sure way to sink or disable a ship. Instead the focus turned to attacks upon the sailors in order to win a naval battle. Highly prized were skilled spearmen, Genoese crossbowmen, and the English longbow. The more effectively and distant one could kill or main the opposing navy’s sailors was the more sure way to win a battle. So instead of spending time and money on extensive rowing drills, more efficient use would be to recruit, train, and retain your missile troops.
One attack that was still ship-focused and was really the most-feared during this period was Greek fire. A very closely guarded state secret, the Byzantine Navy used this form of flamethrower to often scare enemies into submission without open hostilities even being begun. It was so closely guarded that even now, we do not know exactly how it was constructed, nor what ingredients were used to blast a stream of Hell-upon-sea toward enemies. Eventually though, the secret did get out, and the dominance of the Byzantine Navy fell along with the centrality of the Byzantine Empire in the medieval world.
Ship design did change somewhat to accommodate the emphasis on long-distance disablement, primarily with higher and stouter ‘castles’ built at the bow or stern. This is the origin of the modern focsle, or fo’c’sle, short for forecastle, which were berthing areas in the days of sail and now are mainly used for maintenance or mooring stores. The higher and more protected one could shoot from the better. Some ship designs stayed close to the emphasis of fast, shallow-water attacks, like the Viking ships, and a large number of ships were still basically designed to carry as much cargo as possible, since much of naval maneuvering was still just to move armies and their supplies to the most advantageous land position.
Almost all propulsion during battles was oared, as very limited advancements had been made to sail design to be able to use the wind to much advantage in battle. Triangular, lateen sails and extensive maneuvering with respect to the wind would come to be a feature of the next epoch of maritime warfare during the Age of Sail. The wind in the Middle Ages was primarily utilized to transport cargo.
There were of course, many more factors than just maritime which shaped the political and military landscape of the medieval world. This book provides a good amount of background to these changes and conflicts, such that one who knows next to nothing (me) gets a general introduction to European medieval history by reading this work. Each chapter ends with an exemplary maritime engagement which illustrates the points made in the preceding chapter.
Thus we learn of the Norman conquest of the Central Med, the fall of the Byzantines to the Muslims, several of the Crusades, the rivalries between Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, and the War of the Sicilian Vespers. In the North, we get summaries of the Vikings raids, the Norman-Anglo wars, the Hundred Years’ War, and a history of the Hanseatic League.
The only aspect I wish this book has focused a bit more on was ship design specifically, as I’m not entirely sure my claim in this summary that ship design did not change much is actually supportable or if that’s just due to lack of focus in this book. I ‘read’ the audiobook version, so I don’t know if there are illustrations, photos, or diagrams in the printed version.
Overall, a hearty recommendation for anyone interested in maritime subjects or wanted more rounded-out details of conflict in the Middles Ages conducted on the seas.
The most interesting thing about ship warfare in the period of the 5th to 15th centuries is that it was very little about the ship itself. Unlike maritime warfare in the Mediterranean during the rise and fall of Rome, this long epoch was more defined by weaponry advances than by changes in ship design. Of course there were advances, but within each region of the European medieval world – the Med, the Atlantic, and the Scandinavian seas – ship design innovation was fairly minimal, and of course each region had fairly significant differences in basic ship design. The standard within the Mediterranean was the galley, whether trireme, dromon, or galea. Northern Europe was dominated by variations of the Vikings’ longships, and the round-ship and the cog were the other basic types through which medieval battles were made over the seas. Trade routes made all these ship types present in all the ports of the medieval world, but each region specialized in making their particular type.
The major mover of medieval sea power was the projectile weaponry installed or utilized on the ship. A major difference from pre-fifth century maritime warfare was that the ship was no longer susceptible to ramming tactics, which dominated the Greek and Roman battles with the Egyptians, Carthaginians, and Persians. Improvement in ship design and importation of higher strength wood (primarily from Northern and Western Europe) had proved ramming no longer a sure way to sink or disable a ship. Instead the focus turned to attacks upon the sailors in order to win a naval battle. Highly prized were skilled spearmen, Genoese crossbowmen, and the English longbow. The more effectively and distant one could kill or main the opposing navy’s sailors was the more sure way to win a battle. So instead of spending time and money on extensive rowing drills, more efficient use would be to recruit, train, and retain your missile troops.
One attack that was still ship-focused and was really the most-feared during this period was Greek fire. A very closely guarded state secret, the Byzantine Navy used this form of flamethrower to often scare enemies into submission without open hostilities even being begun. It was so closely guarded that even now, we do not know exactly how it was constructed, nor what ingredients were used to blast a stream of Hell-upon-sea toward enemies. Eventually though, the secret did get out, and the dominance of the Byzantine Navy fell along with the centrality of the Byzantine Empire in the medieval world.
Ship design did change somewhat to accommodate the emphasis on long-distance disablement, primarily with higher and stouter ‘castles’ built at the bow or stern. This is the origin of the modern focsle, or fo’c’sle, short for forecastle, which were berthing areas in the days of sail and now are mainly used for maintenance or mooring stores. The higher and more protected one could shoot from the better. Some ship designs stayed close to the emphasis of fast, shallow-water attacks, like the Viking ships, and a large number of ships were still basically designed to carry as much cargo as possible, since much of naval maneuvering was still just to move armies and their supplies to the most advantageous land position.
Almost all propulsion during battles was oared, as very limited advancements had been made to sail design to be able to use the wind to much advantage in battle. Triangular, lateen sails and extensive maneuvering with respect to the wind would come to be a feature of the next epoch of maritime warfare during the Age of Sail. The wind in the Middle Ages was primarily utilized to transport cargo.
There were of course, many more factors than just maritime which shaped the political and military landscape of the medieval world. This book provides a good amount of background to these changes and conflicts, such that one who knows next to nothing (me) gets a general introduction to European medieval history by reading this work. Each chapter ends with an exemplary maritime engagement which illustrates the points made in the preceding chapter.
Thus we learn of the Norman conquest of the Central Med, the fall of the Byzantines to the Muslims, several of the Crusades, the rivalries between Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, and the War of the Sicilian Vespers. In the North, we get summaries of the Vikings raids, the Norman-Anglo wars, the Hundred Years’ War, and a history of the Hanseatic League.
The only aspect I wish this book has focused a bit more on was ship design specifically, as I’m not entirely sure my claim in this summary that ship design did not change much is actually supportable or if that’s just due to lack of focus in this book. I ‘read’ the audiobook version, so I don’t know if there are illustrations, photos, or diagrams in the printed version.
Overall, a hearty recommendation for anyone interested in maritime subjects or wanted more rounded-out details of conflict in the Middles Ages conducted on the seas.
December 22, 2020
The book presents a wide period of time, in two separate geographical areas, but with the peculiarity that there was little technical change during the period. The Mediterranean takes the bigger part of the book, as most of the action takes place there. The Atlantic is quite focused on the vikings, and I would have preferred more space dedicated to other Atlantic powers, even if it is true there was very little conflict compared to the almost continuous conflict in the Mediterranean.
The title is a bit misleading, as this is clearly focused in Europe, North Africa and the Middle east, and ends right before gunpowder changes the situation, so it leaves out most of the low middle ages.
The example battles and the links to policy and land warfare gives a comprehensive view of most of the less well known conflicts, including, for me, an explanation for why the crusades went twice to Damietta, or how Norman Sicily came to be.
Easy to follow, and with enough details and anecdote to make it fun reading.
The title is a bit misleading, as this is clearly focused in Europe, North Africa and the Middle east, and ends right before gunpowder changes the situation, so it leaves out most of the low middle ages.
The example battles and the links to policy and land warfare gives a comprehensive view of most of the less well known conflicts, including, for me, an explanation for why the crusades went twice to Damietta, or how Norman Sicily came to be.
Easy to follow, and with enough details and anecdote to make it fun reading.
June 14, 2019
A dull work of good scholarship. The material itself isn't dull, but the author spends much time in such exciting details as the dimensions of a ship, or its construction. I did pick up useful tidbits here and there, but overall I'd hesitate to recommend this book to a beginner. The structure of the book provides us with a detailed discussion of a single naval encounter for each chapter (once the background chapters are out of the way).
The book's chief virtue is that it is heavily footnoted (about a third of the book are footnotes) and has a good bibliography. It's the sort of book I would plunder when I was in graduate school, but wouldn't actually read.
The book's chief virtue is that it is heavily footnoted (about a third of the book are footnotes) and has a good bibliography. It's the sort of book I would plunder when I was in graduate school, but wouldn't actually read.
April 15, 2019
Scarcely the Dark Ages
Certainly opened my eyes to a version of history I was ignorant of. The fact that galleys were need of a port every 4 days because of water rations explains so much.
“Customary carnage” seemed to the rule of battle as only those worth a ransom were spared. That and the often sudden death of leaders and the subsequent scramble for supremacy changed the landscape constantly.
Great book, I only wish that a time line was included as there is a constant flow of characters.
Certainly opened my eyes to a version of history I was ignorant of. The fact that galleys were need of a port every 4 days because of water rations explains so much.
“Customary carnage” seemed to the rule of battle as only those worth a ransom were spared. That and the often sudden death of leaders and the subsequent scramble for supremacy changed the landscape constantly.
Great book, I only wish that a time line was included as there is a constant flow of characters.
February 16, 2021
Good for serious history buffs.
September 12, 2022
An excellent review of an overlooked aspect of history.
June 17, 2019
detailed, well researched, history text on maritime warfare. Not for the casual reader. You are either very interested in the period and warfare or academically in need of it.
December 2, 2024
This book could have been half its length and communicated the same amount of information that's of interest to its reader. Far too much of its length is taken up by names and dates, sometimes not even related to nautical topics. When the author does go into specifics about how the ships were constructed, how naval battles were fought, e.g. anything other than "Duke X commissioned twelve ships to raid Count Y's docks, but they sank in a storm on the way," the book can be quite interesting. Otherwise, it was a slog to get through.
March 21, 2022
Byzantine emperors v. Islami Caliphs, Crusaders, Pisa v Genoa, Genoa v Venice, Angevin v Aragon rivalry, Vikings, France v England and the Baltic. An incredible work of research with good presentation. Fascinating reading and well written.
November 5, 2015
Medieval maritime warfare summarised in one book. My one criticism is that at times, words are not defined (eg round ships appear without description) making understanding difficult.
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