The large clinker ships in Northern and Western Europe from the mid-14th to the mid-16th century

• Main Author: Grille, Alexandra
• Other Authors: Paris 1, Rieth, Éric
• Format: Thesis
• Language: French
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Aber Wrac’h 1; Archéologie maritime; Architecture navale; Commerce; Conception de carènes; Construction à clin; Epaves; Moyen-âge; Navires; Reconstitution; Transport maritime; Maritime archaeology; Naval architecture; Trade; Ship design; Clinker shipbuilding; Wrecks; Middle Ages; Ships; Reconstruction; Sea transport; archeo; hist; Nordic Seas
• Online Access: http://www.theses.fr/2016PA01H011

Since the 1980s, several wrecks of large clinker ships adting from the late Middle Ages were found on the coasts of Northern and Atlantic seas. The scientific community was regularly interested in the architecture of each site as the late Middle Ages historically corresponds to the appearance, dissemination and adaptation of the carvel shipbuilding from the Mediterranean in Northern and Western Europe. Yet the comparison of the different wrecks themselves to study the development of the clinker shipbuilding of this period is recent and usually linked to the analysis of newly found wrecks.This thesis explores all vessels over a length of 20 meters, which were able, according to their architecture, to sail on open seas for long-distance trade. Due to the technical and historical context, this study is limited geographically to the nordic seas and chronologically to the Late Middle Ages and early modern period.The ship results from the shipbuilding technology and the demand of its owners. During the late Middle Ages, the merchant class, which was the principal user, was also the main shipowner with the seafarers, sailors and captains, who regularly owned all or part of large vessels.Therefore, the historical context, affecting trade and transport activities, helps to explain the developments in shipbuilding. Therefore, technical analysis of wrecks allows understanding how the shipwrights and carpenters could meet the demand of those owners. Hence, there construction of the wreck, such as Aber Wrac’h 1 (France), is essential because the data about the building, design and shape of the vessels provide reliable scientific information for comparison in terms of chronological and regional typologies and help to place the ship in its historical, environmental and socio-economic context. Depuis les années 1980, des épaves de grands navires construits à clin de la fin du Moyen-Age ont été découvertes sur les littoraux des mers septentrionales et occidentales. Elles ont régulièrement suscité individuellement un intérêt de ...