It was not, however, till the following year (April 10) that the fleet actually got under weigh for the Holy Land, numbering one hundred ships[529] (that is, of a larger kind), and fourteen busses. Each of the large ships carried, it is said, besides her crew of fifteen sailors, forty soldiers and forty horses, and provisions for one twelvemonth. The commander was also aided by fourteen other picked men, whom the chronicler calls “slaves.” But these, and other accounts of the capacity of ancient vessels are, like too many of the tales about shipping, not now reconcilable. We can only account for the numerous discrepancies as to the size of the vessels and the number of men and horses embarked, by some misapprehension on the part of the writers, or by some confusion in their application of the nautical expressions used by ancient writers, few of whom had any practical knowledge of the subject.
Their order of sailing.
Vinisauf describes the fleet as proceeding in the following order. Three large ships, filled with soldiers and stores, formed the van. The second line consisted of thirteen vessels, described as “dromons and busses;”[530] the third of fourteen vessels; the fourth of twenty; the fifth of thirty; the sixth of forty, and the seventh of sixty; the king himself, with all his galleys, forming the eighth line, and thus bringing up the rear for the better protection, as was considered, of the whole convoy. The lines were sufficiently near for a trumpet to be heard from one to the other; and each ship also was near enough to her consort to communicate by hailing. But though such an order of sailing might have succeeded during fine weather, the fleet was soon after dispersed during a gale off Ætna, the crews being “sea-sick and frightened;” while three ships were wholly lost on the island of Cyprus and their crews drowned, together with the Vice-Chancellor of England, whose body was washed on shore, with the Great Seal tied round his neck.
Arrival at, and capture of, Acre, June 10, 1191.
Richard returns to England.
After the successful capture of Acre, and a truce, as its consequence, with Saládin, Richard set out for England, where, however, he did not arrive till 13th March, 1194. On landing at Sandwich, he was received “amidst the joyful acclamations of his subjects,” or, as we may presume, of those chiefly who dwelt in the seaport towns; for these could hardly have failed to greet joyfully a monarch who had opened out the means of affording ample and lucrative employment to their shipping and seafaring population. Nor, indeed, were the merchants less handsomely remunerated; for to them, the progress of the Crusades procured the opportunity of developing many new and valuable markets for commercial enterprise.
Maritime laws founded on the “Rôles d’Oleron.”
Prevented by the jealousy and the restrictive policy of the Italian cities, English traders had hitherto not ventured on voyages so distant as the Levant, the general policy of the republics of the south throwing various difficulties in the way of foreign shipping. By the Crusades, however, the eyes of English merchants and mariners were alike opened to the successful undertakings of the Mediterranean traders; to them also is largely due the constitution of England’s first shipping code, based, as this was, on more ancient laws, with many improvements derived from the increased knowledge due to the recent experience of her mariners.[531]
Power to pledge ship and tackle.
By the first article in these laws a master had power to pledge, with the advice of his mariners, the tackle of the ship for the necessary provisions; but could not sell the hull without special authority from the owners. Previously, it had not been thought safe to entrust any one with the command of a ship unless he was a part owner or a freeman; but, by the laws of Richard I., these restrictions were abolished, and the qualifications and duties of the captain for the first time defined by statute. Everything on board being placed under the master’s care, he was required to understand thoroughly the art of piloting and navigation, that he might control the pilot. In a merchantman, the first officer was then practically the master, the second, the pilot;[532] the third, the mate; the fourth, the factor or supercargo; then followed his assistant, and after him came the accountants, surgeon, steward, four corporals, cook, gunner, and coxswain, the two latter having their quarters before the mast with the ship’s crew, but receiving higher wages.