Ships and shipping in medieval England

Summary

ABSTRACT. The sea was profoundly important in medieval England. Anglo-Saxon seaborne colonisation led to the development of the nation, and the later Norman Conquest drew England into what proved to be a fatal involvement in the politics of France. English maritime technology belonged to the north-European tradition, and sea trade permeated the nation and stimulated urban development. However, until the 15^th century the country's trade was mostly dominated by foreign merchants and ships. English kings were able make effective use of the country's shipping in various wars between the 13^th and 15^th centuries, though by the late 15^th century England was in decline as a naval and economic seapower.

RÉSUMÉ. La mer était très importante dans l'Angleterre médiévale. La colonisation maritime des Anglo-Saxons a conduit au développement de la nation, et la conquête normande plus tard a attiré l'Angleterre dans ce qui s'est avéré être une implication mortelle dans la politique de la France. La technologie maritime anglaise appartenait à la tradition nord-européenne et le commerce maritime imprégnait la nation et stimulait le développement urbain. Cependant, jusqu'au XV^e siècle le commerce du pays était principalement dominé par des marchands et des navires étrangers. Les rois anglais ont été en mesure d'utiliser efficacement le transport maritime du pays dans les différentes guerres entre le XIII^e et le XV^e siècle, bien qu'à la fin du XV^e siècle, l'Angleterre fût en déclin comme puissance maritime navale et économique.

INTRODUCTION

Quite apart from its direct physical effects, the sea has always had a powerful impact on the history of island nations. In this paper ‘the sea’ is taken to mean ‘the uses that people have made of the sea’. In this sense, the medieval English nation owed its origin to the sea, and the country's subsequent development was deeply affected by it.

AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

One of the key attributes of a ship is mobility, and this attribute made medieval Britain vulnerable to the ships of invaders and colonisers. In the 5^th and 6^th centuries those incomers were the pagan Angles, Saxons and Jutes, who landed on the eastern and southern shores of the former Roman province of Britannia.