King Henry VIII setting out from Dover on 31 May 1520 for his meeting with Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The illustration shows large warships many commissioned by Henry VIII. Theys were designed with high ‘castles’ fore and aft as part of the structure of the ship to accommodate troops and give them a fighting platform and with a low middle section (waist) to allow fighting and boarding alongside other ships. With smooth hulls so that gunports could be cut into the sides to allow broadside firing, it meant that ships could be much more heavily armoured.
King Henry VIII setting out from Dover on 31 May 1520 for his meeting with Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The illustration shows large warships many commissioned by Henry VIII. Theys were designed in the style of Portuguese ‘carracks’ with high ‘castles’ fore and aft as part of the structure of the ship to accommodate troops and give them a fighting platform and with a low middle section (waist) to allow fighting and boarding alongside other ships. With smooth hulls so that gunports could be cut into the sides to allow broadside firing, it meant that ships could be much more heavily armoured. The guns could be fired one by one down the side of the ship in a ‘ripple delivery’ that was to be the main form of maritime engagement from then until well after Trafalgar.
Size: 5592px × 3056px
Location: Dover, UK
Photo credit: © De Luan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1520, 16th, antiquarian, antiquity, art, black, british, century, channel, cloth, coast, coastal, culture, dover, drawing, england, english, engraving, etching, field, fleet, fortification, fortress, francis, galleons, gold, henry, heritage, historic, history, icon, iconic, illustration, kent, key, king, line, lithograph, lookout, martello, medieval, military, monochrome, national, navy, people, picture, power, sailing, sea, seascape, ship, sloop, tower, tudor, tudors, viii, war, warships, watch, waves, white, woodcut
