The good ship: ships, shipbuilding and technology in England 1200-1520 (review)

Reviews 253 accept them as perfecdy accurate reflections of society. H e carefully shows how the development of servile status came about through the interaction of social conditions and legal definitions. In the context of the study of medieval Catalonia, the book contributes to the shift of emphasis away from the crisis of the eleventh century, elucidated so well in the studies of Pierre Bonnassie, in determining the structures of medieval Catalonia. Finally, Freedman deftly situates his regional study within a wider European context. His treatment of historical and anthropological literature on peasantry and servitude make his an important book for all students of peasant societies and peasant political consciousness. A n excess of typographical errors (pp. 32, 'document(s)'; 96, 'recognition'; 153, 'relationship'; also 2n.3, 47n.78, 58n.5, 97n.9, 159n.l5, etc.) detracts only slighdy from the merits of this fine work. Adam Kosto Department of History Harvard University Friel, Ian, The good ship: ships, shipbuilding and technology in England 1200-1520, London, British Museum Press, 1995; cloth, pp. 208; 71 illustrations; R.R.P. AUS$69.95 [distributed in Australia by Thames & Hudson]. It is rare to find a book where the plates and the text are so well integrated, each supporting the other, making it a pleasure to read. The plates are remarkably clear and most are unfamiliar, taken from a range of different sources: paintings, tapestries, medals, sketches in manuscripts, church bench ends, votive materials, and the like. Since the main focus is technological, it is a particular virtue that Friel has been able to free the technical information from the 'dry-as-dust' condemnation. However, this is not without a downside. H e assumes a certain level of knowledge in his readers which they may lack, so failing to appreciate the significance of changes being discussed. The use of the term 'skeleton-built' in the second paragraph may mystify many. The argument is clear and entertainingly presented and although the expert may challenge some assertions it is also persuasive. The presentation is eminendy readable and the argument is designed to put technological achievements in ship-building of the late Middle Ages into the prominent place due to them and to correct the many errors into which even 254 Reviews great historians such as Braudel have fallen. M a n y of Friel's wider arguments were anticipated by Cipolla in his Guns and sails, but he has the detailed information and illustrations which focus on die importance of the changes which took place. The subject of the book is the ship and notiiing but die ship. The chapter on life on board is slight, confined to die technological and within that to the actual management of die gear. There is no discussion of navigational techniques. Friel takes us dirough the business of ships from their ownership and construction, motive power, and life on board. He examines the differences between ships for trade and ships for war, although notfishingvessels, and examines the various changes which took place. He provides simple and clear descriptions backed up by useful illustrations of the major ship types of die period and die purposes for which people had them built. Friel believes that pressure for technological change probably came from single-ship or fleet owners rathertiianbusiness associations which had only shares in a ship. He estimates the numbers of ships in the late fourteenth century as around 1,500 and their size as less dian 100 tons. The account of the shipwrights and the shipbuilding process is particularly useful as it works through the sources of material, the tools used, and the skills required both for the hulls and for the sails and rigging. This includes information which is the result of his own research on aspects of the rigging. Through analysis of the weight of ropes recorded in some accounts he is able to demonstrate the principles underlying the rigging systems used on different types of ships and the moments when new technology was introduced, often borrowed from die Soudi. There is a brief but interesting discussion of England's medieval trade from the vantage point of shipping to Bordeaux for wine, Bourgneuf Bay for salt, Newcastle...