If any Galley shall stray from the Captain, in order to recognise it, if by day, the Captain makes smoke on the prow and seeing that signal the galley which had separated shall answer by the same signal, and then the Captain shall order a flag to be raised on the forward end of the poop on the right side; and with the same signal he is to answer and the Captain shall order to raise a square flag on the left side of the prow, and likewise that galley is to answer and make the aforesaid signal. The Captain will raise the Ensign of St Mark and this the galley ought to answer, and be very attentive not to go alongside if it does not well recognise the above signals.

Item the Captain, cruising in any place, ... not wishing any commander to lower his boat into the water, will launch his own boat and raise his flag on the windward side of the poop forward, and in this case no one shall lower his boat as long as the said flag is hoisted, and if any does so it shall be under the penalty which he thinks fit.

Item if the Captain wishes all the commanders to come to him, he will put his flag to windward, on the poop near the ladder, inclined towards the prow, and then they must go to him because otherwise he would have to send for them.

The Venetian orders contain no provision for calling a Council, but they include two flag signals for calling up the galleys to take orders. Possibly the Venetians, anticipating Drake, did not assent to the scriptural dictum that in the multitude of councillors is wisdom. In the Castilian Instructions there is not only provision for calling a council by day, by hoisting the royal pendant, but also for calling an informal council at night. In daytime the captain and a boatswain[353] from each galley had to come in a boat on board the Admiral, but at night each galley ranged up with the Admiral in turn, spoke with him, and then fell off again. Another signal not found in the Venetian Instructions is that for calling assistance; in the Castilian Instructions this is to be done by raising the royal pendant. There are two signals for discovery of a fleet in those instructions; if the fleet was recognised as an enemy the sighting galley hoisted the royal pendant and rushed off to tell the Admiral all about it, without attempting to denote by signal the number of ships, but if it was merely a strange fleet the sighting galley contented itself with hoisting a flag to the masthead and raising and lowering it as many times as there were ships. The first galley to sight land raised a flag to the masthead, kept it there a short time, and then lowered it. The recognition signal differs from that provided in the Venetian orders, but it contains the same serious defect found in most of the early recognition signals—the two ships simply copy one another. In the Savoy Instructions of 1366 it will be seen that there is a slight variation in the signals made by the two galleys, sufficient to betray any stranger not acquainted with the difference. One would have thought that the necessity for some such device would have been apparent to any seaman, for the use of an enemy's colours was a well-known artifice and nothing could be simpler than to copy exactly the signals of another ship.

For the early sixteenth century we have two important sets of signal instructions. One of these, the "Ordonnances et signes pour nauiguer jour et nuyt en une armée royale[354]," drawn up by Antoine de Conflans about the year 1515 for use in a fleet composed of sailing ships and galleys, is worth translation in full:

Ordinances and Signals for navigating by day and by night in a navy royal, if his most Christian Majesty, whom God preserve, or other prince of the realm, should set out to the conquest of the Holy Sepulchre or other lands of the enemies of the Holy Catholic Faith, and the Ordinances and Chapters written below, which are for the recognition by day and by night of those who are of the party and of the company of the said most Christian king or prince; Also if other ships, either strangers or enemies, whether sailing ships, galleys, foists or other vessels, should be found among the said navy by day or night, they may be easily recognised by these said ordinances, which must be well kept and observed by the whole fleet and company of the said navy.

And First:

The King's ship, or that of his admiral and lieutenant if the said lord is not himself present, shall ordinarily wear the banner in the top called the "gabye" in the Levant; and this shall be the mark by which the royal or admiral ship shall be recognised by day; and by night, because the aforesaid banner can not be seen, the said ship shall carry on its poop a lighted lantern, such as is called a "fanal" in the Levant waters, which shall burn all night, so that the whole fleet can see it; and by this means the royal or admiral ship shall be recognised by all the fleet.

Item, all the ships of the fleet, whether galleys or other vessels, shall come each morning to salute the King's or admiral's ship and to ascertain the watchword (mot du guet), and in the evening to learn the night-cry (cry de la nuyt); and in the evening they shall come and salute the said lord and his ship, and enquire what route and course he intends to follow, in order that if, through tempest or for other reasons, any vessel should lose itself by night, it will know what route to follow; and none of the said ships or galleys, except the king's or admiral's, shall carry a banner in the top, nor any lantern or beacon, except the Captain General of the galleys, who usually may carry the banner at the stern, and by night a stern lantern. If by chance bad weather should occur (which God forbid) and it is feared that the vessels may become separated from one another, the king will carry two banners by day and two lanterns by night, and each of his fleet one; and in the same way the Captain of the galleys and his fleet one other.

Item, no ship shall fail to change its course and go about when the said lord does so, and generally, each one shall perform the manoeuvre which the said lord shall perform.