. Military and religious life in the Middle Ages and at the period of the Renaissance. , and engraved by Fr. Huys (1550). ing : for instance, the Knights of St. Stephen, in the fifteenth century, hidthe brilliant hues of their Capitam* and painted its sails, pennants, awnings,oars, and hull with black, and swore never to alter the sombre hue till their * The principal galley of the squadron. NAVAL MATTERS. 99 order had recaptured from the Turks a galley lost by the Pisansin an engage-ment which, however, had not been altogether inglorious for the vanquished. Vessels in the Middle Ages, as in a
. Military and religious life in the Middle Ages and at the period of the Renaissance. , and engraved by Fr. Huys (1550). ing : for instance, the Knights of St. Stephen, in the fifteenth century, hidthe brilliant hues of their Capitam* and painted its sails, pennants, awnings,oars, and hull with black, and swore never to alter the sombre hue till their * The principal galley of the squadron. NAVAL MATTERS. 99 order had recaptured from the Turks a galley lost by the Pisansin an engage-ment which, however, had not been altogether inglorious for the vanquished. Vessels in the Middle Ages, as in ancient times, had frequently gold-coloured and purple sails. The sails of seigniorial ships were generallybrilliantly emblazoned with the coat-of-arms of the seignior (Fig. 94); thesails of merchant vessels and of fishing boats with the image of a saint, thepatron figure of the Virgin, a pious legend, a sacramental word, or a sacredsign, intended to exorcise evil spirits, who played no inconsiderable part inthe superstitions of the toilers of the deep. Different kinds of sails were. Fig. 94.—-Seal of Edward, Count of Rutland (1395). originally employed to make signals at sea, but flags soon began to be usedfor this purpose. A single flag, having a different meaning according to itsposition, ordinarily sufficed to transmit all necessary orders in the night its place was taken by lighted beacons. These flags, banners,standards, and pennants, most of them embroidered with the arms of a town,a sovereign, or an admiral, were made of some light stuff, taffeta or square, sometimes triangular, sometimes forked, each had its ownuse and signification, either for the embellishment of the vessels appearanceor to assist in its manoeuvring. The galleys were provided with a smallerkind of pennant, which was put up at the prow or fastened to the handleof each oar: these were purely for ornamental purposes, and were oftentrimmed with golden or silken fringes. 100 NA
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Keywords: ., booksubjectcostume, booksubjectmiddleages, booksubjectmilitaryar
