The romance of the ship; the story of her origin and evolution . s there is any need of herservices. The need not merely of individual ships butof a defending navy was being realised, and the workof the Cinque Ports—originally five in number, butafterwards added to—was in some way what Ports-mouth, Chatham, and Devonport effect to-day. Assoon, therefore, as the ship began to be reckonedseriously as a fighting unit for the defence of hercountry? her size was bound to increase; for the moremen she could carry, so much more damage could sheshower on the enemy from bows and engines of war. Thus th
The romance of the ship; the story of her origin and evolution . s there is any need of herservices. The need not merely of individual ships butof a defending navy was being realised, and the workof the Cinque Ports—originally five in number, butafterwards added to—was in some way what Ports-mouth, Chatham, and Devonport effect to-day. Assoon, therefore, as the ship began to be reckonedseriously as a fighting unit for the defence of hercountry? her size was bound to increase; for the moremen she could carry, so much more damage could sheshower on the enemy from bows and engines of war. Thus the old single-sticker became a two-mastedship, for as the size of the hull increased so alsowould the sail; and even with a large crew on boardthere is a point reached when the area of canvas in asingle sail must be restricted. Even at a sli^^^ht loss ofspeed, handiness insists on splitting up the dimensionsof the canvas. When English sailors had seen thisarrangement m the large ships of the Mediterranean,it was only a question of time for our country to 68. J3 Ht3 OS CO >- I- IN THE MIDDLE AGES follow the example thus set. At the same time, asearly as the fourteenth century, another importantchange was made by taking the rudder from the sideand placing it right aft in the position where it hasremained ever since, and the tiller, instead of comingin to the ship at right angles as it had for so manycenturies, was now in line with the keel as it is was being opened up not merely between Eng-land and the Mediterranean but between the northernshores of the Continent and ourselves, so that therewas the greatest encouragement to build ships whichcould carry large quantities of merx^handise and maketheir ports in safety and with despatch. In the timeof Edward I., for instance, there was a considerabletrade in wool carried on between Flanders and Eng-land. Attention was paid to maritime legislation, theseafaring life encouraged, and the experience of longvoyages was
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