It is not until the middle of the seventeenth century that we meet with so advanced a system in the English navy. If an explanation of this be sought it will be found in the fact that the rowing galley was not suited to the waters of the English Channel and North Sea. If the Mediterranean nations had, in the Middle Ages, a comparatively advanced system of tactics and therefore—for the one inevitably follows the other—a comparatively complete method of signalling, it was because they had inherited the foundations of it with the galley from the Romans and Greeks. The sailing-ship did not assert its superiority over the older weapon until the early part of the sixteenth century, and it was another century before the seamen who manned it could be persuaded that the methods of tactics invented for the despised galley could be of use when applied to vessels whose motive power was of another order. It was the soldier-admirals, who were well acquainted with the value of formal tactics on shore, who taught the English navy the lesson it was so loath to learn.
The Instructions of 1366 just quoted may be taken as representative of the fourteenth century. For the fifteenth century we have at least two good examples; the orders for the Venetian navy drawn up by Mocenigo[351] in the year 1420 and the orders for the navy of Castile drawn up by Fadrique Henriquez[352] in 1430. It will be sufficient to extract from the Venetian orders, which are the more interesting for our immediate purpose, the various articles relating to flag signals.
Questi sono i ordeni et commandamenti dati per il magnifico M. Piero Mozenigo del mar Zeneral Capitan—1420—
5. Quinto che andando à uela nulla Galia ardisca passar el fogo à Misser lo capetanio saluo quella Galia che sarà de guarda, ma tuttauia debia attendere à non spartirse da lui sotto pena de lire diese à zaschedun che contrefarà, massime quando se uorà raggattar. Misser lo capetano farà metter la bandiera al mezzo. In quella uolta à chi piaserà ragattar habbi libertà di poterlo fare non si luntanando da lui mia dò al più, sotto la detta pena.
13. Quando messer lo capitanio uorà domandar da parte el farà meter una bandiera in la popa, in quella fiada tutte le Galie se debia accostar à lui perche el possa saper el sò parer.
14. Quando misser lo capitanio uorà che alguna de so Galie uegna da lui, el farà leuare in pope la bandiera di qual sopracomito el uorà che uegna da lui. In quella fiada quel tal sopracomito di chi sarà la bandiera uegni de presente à lui sotto quella pena che à lui piaserà.
These are the ordinances and commands given by the eminent Mr Piero Mocenigo, Captain General at Sea—1420—
5. Fifthly, when proceeding under sail, no galley shall attempt to pass the lantern of the Captain except the galley which shall be on guard, but should always take care not to part company from him under penalty of 10 lira for each one contravening, especially when they are racing. The Captain will place the flag amidships. In that case anyone wishing to race shall have liberty to do so; not however outdistancing him more than two miles at the most, under the aforesaid penalty.
13. When the Captain desires to call the ships to him he will put a flag on the poop, in which case all the galleys ought to approach him in order to learn his intentions.
14. When the Captain desires any particular galley to come to him, he will raise on the poop the flag of that commander whom he wishes to come to him. In that case the commander whose flag it is shall at once repair to him under such penalty as seems fit.