Galley

Réplica de La Real, the one that was the captain of Don Juan de Austria in the battle of Lepanto, made from the study of Martínez-Hidalgo.

Maltese Galera.

The galley (from medieval Greek γαλέα [galéa]) was a type of ship widely used by multiple human groups from antiquity to the end of the sailing age. The origin of the term is obscure, perhaps related to galeos, "galeus". a ship propelled by the power of the oars, and sometimes by the wind; that is why it had one or more large sails.

Features

In terms of its shape, it was undoubtedly the link between the Roman Navis longo, the galley of the 15th and 16th centuries and the Byzantine dromones. Their respective conditions with regard to their lightness were very similar, their destiny in the navies of such different eras was also very similar, serving in all of them as auxiliary and exploratory ships.

The dimensions of the largest ships of this species on the dates last cited were: length, 140 feet: beam, 20: depth, 9. Up to the XVI, in which the use of artillery on board ships was perfected, the galleys were armed with a prow spur (the rostrum of the Roman ship) made of bronze or wood reinforced with iron bands and placed very low, almost on the waterline in order to break the bottom of the enemy ship that was rammed. On the deck of the galley the benches for the oarsmen were arranged on either side, with a division, called the bay, which allowed going from the stern to the prow: in this step the comitre or nostromo (hortator) was placed. among the Romans) to watch over and encourage the oarsmen.

Cuaderna de galera.

There were galleys that carried one, two and three masts, varying according to size. The main propulsion element was the oars and the auxiliary was the action of the wind on the sails. The oarsmen, up to seven per bench, took seats on benches that were embedded on one side in the corridor or bay bulkhead and on the other side. The number of banks, and therefore, from the smallest that had 20 per band, normally used to be 25 or 26, even when there were ships of the family of galleys, half galleys and logs, which had a few fewer, and others, on the other hand, many more, such as the four Portuguese galleys that went with the Invincible Armada, each of which had 306 oarsmen. The length of the oars was approximately 50 feet, which were handled by supporting the first third on the false or rectangular pieces of wood attached to the outside of the boat, one on each side and which ran along from the stern yokes to the of the armband or bow. The oldest galleys had quadrangular sails, the foresail being the largest, although later they were lateen and the foresail was smaller than that of the mainmast. Sometimes, in imitation of Roman ships, they had parapets on the sides, thick plates or a series of pavers or shields that served as shelter in combat for rowers and soldiers; and others, high castles at the stern and prow from where they shot arrows, darts and even Greek fire.

The sails were square, that is, trapezoidal in shape, and often Latin or triangular. Only the mainmast rested on the keel, the foresail did so on the deck. the length of the mainmast, according to Crescentino, was about 20 meters. The stents were made up of two parts joined by ligatures: the mainsail was as long as the galley minus 15 feet. The two parts were called car and sorrow. In the upper parts of the sticks they used to have small platforms or tops, called gavias. The interior of the galleys used to be divided by transversal bulkheads into six compartments, the aft ones for the captain and the rest for food stores, candles and other effects.

History

Modernly, any ancient rowing and sailing ship, suitable for war, characterized by its great length with respect to its beam and its relative lightness both in march and in evolutions, is called a galley. Actually, the name galley began to be used in Spain in the XIV century, although since the beginning of the Middle Ages, already In the Mediterranean, those of galea and galia were used.

The galley has existed since ancient times. Originally, it used a row of oarsmen for each side of the boat (monorreme). Some time later, the Phoenicians invented a galley with two rows of rowers in two orders, one higher and one lower, which was faster without losing maneuverability; this evolution of the galley was called a bireme. In Ancient Greece they created and used the trireme, a galley with three rows of rowers. The ancient Romans, and before them the Carthaginians, came to use the quinquereme, which consisted of five rowers distributed in three orders, with two men on the back. top order, two in the middle and one in the bottom. The common thing was to use biremes. The liburna and the navis longa of the Romans also fall within the denomination.

Oarsmen were usually slaves or prisoners. For many centuries the sentence to the galleys will remain as one of the cruelest possible punishments, so much so that even Miguel de Cervantes mentions it in Don Quixote.

drawing of the French royal galley La Réale (1697).

During the Middle Ages no notable progress was made in the art of boat building. The innovation of mounting an extra row of rowers was abandoned. However, galleys allowed various cultures to spread over vast distances. Such was the case, for example, of the drakkar or ship-dragon of the Vikings.

In the XV century, a new class of vessel appeared, called a caravel, which used varied sails to navigate without oarsmen, and therefore required much less crew than the galley. However, the caravel did not quickly replace the galley. To give an idea: at the time of the discovery of America, in 1492, the expedition of Christopher Columbus sailed in two caravels and one ship, but the fleet assembled by the Christian powers against the Ottoman Empire during the battle of Lepanto in 1571 was of galleys. This would be the last major naval combat in which only this type of vessel would be used.

In the 16th century, when artillery came to have a practical value in combat, it was installed in the galleys. Their gauges, however, did not change. The cannons were installed at the extremities, on ledges or castles. In some galleys they were mounted under a double transversal platform that served to facilitate the maneuvering of the foresail. A large hunting or bombard cannon was mounted in the bay, and on its sides other smaller ones, falconets and pedreros.

During the Renaissance an intermediate type appears: a galley with sails, called a galley, a precedent of the galleon.

In Spain, the General Corps of Galleys was dissolved by order of November 28, 1748, signed by the Secretary of the Office of War and Navy and the Indies, the Marquis of Ensenada:

Having determined the King to suppress the Welsh Squad, he has determined that the officers, ministry and other dependents of the Squad are assisted with the salary or dismissal of the service or to add to the Navy as expressed in the relationship that I include, signed by my hand, and whose content S.M. wants to be put in execution in all its parts, and to this end I direct it to V.S, also pre.

But in 1784, with the arrival of Carlos III and his determination to put an end to Berber piracy once and for all, new galleys were built in Spain and integrated into the existing General Marine Corps. They survived without particular relevance until the early years of the XIX century.

Types of galleys

• Royal Galera: the one that treed the royal banner when there was a person of the king's family.
• Patron, Admiral and Vice Admiral: those that assembled the chief of the naval forces, the admiral and the vice admiral.
• Thin Gallery: the one in the first rank or the largest portion.
• Galera galocha: that of large rows, each managed by many rows.
• Gallery of thirty banks: the one that had distributed in the banks up to 120 rows, 60 per band. His length was 170 feet long just a little bit more or less.
• Gallery of twenty-nine banks: the one that had 160 rows: it was the most common galley and something smaller than that of thirty. The ordinances of Peter IV of Aragon (1354) say: "There were six new galleys in the water, the two of twenty-nine banks, because they were more rotating and light and the other four of thirty, as was the most ordinary." They also carried these 44 rows of soda, armed for combat when they did not handle the paddle.
• Simple rowing gallery: that of many rows by bank, although of light rows that handled a man alone.
• Galera de buenaboya: the one that was armed with volunteer remerits.
• Forced Galera: those in which the forced were cast.
• Bastard Galera: nickname given in the centuryXVI a galley stronger than the ordinary. There were two-class bastards: one with a row and a narrow stern and one with a candle. This, whose stern was a monkey's ass, used to carry according to Corsali a cannon and two snakes to a bow, a pop celebrity and for each band a cannon and an arkbuz.
• Subtle Galera: so the smallest was called, it came to be the same as stockings or galeota.
• Half galley: name given to the girl.

Treaties on the construction of galleys

• 1434-35. Michele de Rodes. Fabrica di galere.
  • Partial translation into Spanish.
• 1547-1550. Stolonomie.
• 1607. Bartolomeo Crescentio. “Nautica mediterranea”.
• 1614. Panther Panther. "L'armata navale."
• 1622. Ithier Hobier. De la construction d'une gallaire et de son equipage.
• 1629. Joseph Furttenbach. Architectura navalis: d.i. von dem Schiff-Gebäw, auff dem Meer und Seekusten zugebrauchen.
• 1861. Auguste LAFORET. Étude sur la Marine des Galères. Avec plans et dessins.

Related expressions

• Wedding in galleys: phrase with which the punishment of offenders sentenced to this hard work was appointed and that familiar and figuratively expressed also by that of writing at sea.