The Word of the Week Blog has appeared on The Cimmerian Blog each Monday since August 3, 2009. In May 2010, the format was slightly changed to include a monthly theme.  In the May introduction, it was mentioned the theme in June would be ships. Unfortunately, WotW will only post once this month. However, to fulfill that promise here is a two-part article on “The Ships of Hy-Brasil” from my February 2010 REHupa mailing based on the Robert E. Howard poem, “The Isle of Hy-Brasil.”  These will be the last two postings for Word of the Week on TC. Enjoy!

THE SHIPS OF HY-BRASIL
Part 1 of 2

In his poem, the “Isle of Hy-Brasil,” Robert E. Howard brings to life the fabled isle that existed even when the pre-historical islands of Atlantis and Lemuria were still afloat in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The isle, also known as Brazil, Hy-Brazil, and several other variants, is steeped in Irish myth. According to legend, it is a phantom island cloaked in mist, except for one day each seven years when it becomes visible but still unattainable. Similar in myth to that of St. Brendan’s Island [spelled Brandon in the poem], it is shown as being circular, often with a central strait or river running east-west across its diameter. Despite failure in the attempts to find Hy-Brasil/St. Brendan’s Island, it appeared regularly on maps lying southwest of Galway Bay from 1325 until 1865.

Howard’s poem “The Isle of Hy-Brasil” is more than a historical narration of this island and its myth. It essentially describes the many types of ships anchored along its shores. To envision the beauty of this ancient island shoreline when lined with these ships, pictures of each ship type as well as a description have been added below.

There’s a far, lone island in the dim red West
Where the sea-waves are crimson with the red of burnished gold,
(Sapphire in the billows, gold upon the crest)
An island that is older than the continents are old.

For when in dim Atlantis a thousand jeweled spires
Burned through the twilight in the ocean’s dusky smile,
And when mystic Lemuria glowed with myriad gemming fires
Strange ships went sailing to seek the wondrous isle.

And when the land of Britain was a forest for the deer
And the mammoth roamed the mountains and the plains were veiled in snow,
When the dawn had swept the ocean and the air was crystal clear
The ape-man looking sea-ward caught the distant topaz glow.

When Drake went down to Darien and Cortez sailed the Main
And the wide blue Pacific lay like a summer dream,
From the gold-decked bridges of the galleons of Spain
Far upon the skyline they saw the island gleam.

Galleon

A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the European nations from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The galleon was 100-150 feet long, 40-50 feet wide, carrying about 600 tons (although some were bigger). Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon. [NOTE: this is a long heavy cannon that was used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries having a bore of about 41/2 in. (11 cm) and firing a shot of about 10 lb. (5 kg).] A lowering of the forecastle and elongation of the hull gave an unprecedented level of stability in the water, and reduced wind resistance at the front, leading to a faster, more maneuverable vessel. The galleon was powered entirely by sail, carried three to five masts, with a lateen sail on the last (usually third) mast.

It flashes in the Baltic, dimly glimpsed through driving snow,
And it lights the Indian Ocean when the waves are lying still,
It dreams along the sea-rim in the twilight’s golden glow,
And mariners have named it The Isle of Hy-Brasil.

For sailing ships are anchored close, about that ancient isle,
Ships that roamed the oceans in the dim dawn days,
Coracles from Britain, triremes from the Nile,
Anchored round the harbors, mile on countless mile,
Ships and ships and shades of ships, fading in the haze.

Coracle

A coracle is oval in shape and very similar to half a walnut shell, the structure was made of a framework of split and interwoven willow rods, tied with willow bark. The outer layer was originally an animal skin such as horse or bullock hide, with a thin layer of tar to make it fully water proof. Today, it is made of tarred calico or canvas, or simply fiberglass. The structure has a keel-less, flat bottom to evenly spread the weight of the boat and its load across the structure and to reduce the required depth of water — often to only a few inches, making it ideal for use on rivers

Trireme

In its day, the trireme was a “state of the art” fighting ship designed to cover long distances quickly under oar and sail and in battle to ram enemy ships with devastating effect. It was a class of warship used by the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans. It derives its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar. As a ship it was fast and agile, and became the dominant warship in the Mediterranean from the 7th to the 4th centuries BC. Triremes played a vital role in the Persian Wars, the creation of the Athenian maritime empire, and its downfall in the Peloponnesian War.

And there’s a Roman galley with its seven banks of oars,

Galley

The Galley was an oared fighting ship used mainly in the Mediterranean from many centuries b.c. until well into the 18th century. They were also used in the Baltic and by other northern European nations, although not to the same extent and duration as in the Mediterranean. Some galleys were rowed by groups of three, five or seven men on a bench pulling a single oar, and others had a single rower per oar, possibly two or three men to a bench. The top speed of a galley under full-oar has been estimated to be 7 or 8 knots. [NOTE: The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, which is equal to exactly 1.852 km/h and approximately 1.151 mph.]

And there’s a golden barge-boat that knew the Caesar’s hand,

ancient barge-boat

A barge-boat is any of various boats with roomy, usually flat-bottoms and used chiefly for the transport of goods on inland waterways or as luxurious passenger boats.

And there’s a sombre pirate craft with shattered cabin doors,

pirate ship

The subject of pirate ships is more complex as there were many different types in use by pirates, rovers and buccaneers. Among the most popular were the Brigantine, the Caravel, the Carrack and the Galleon. Although the Brigantine, the Caravel and the Carrack were not mentioned specifically in any of his poetry, they are very much part of the lore of the “somber pirate” craft mentioned by Howard in “Hy-Brasil.”

The Brigantine

While the Brigantine was often the ship of choice for pirates, it was also very popular as both a merchant and naval ship. It could carry 10-16 guns and was rigged for speed, having two masts with both top gallant sails and royals rigged to each mast. World-wide it was often used by navies for scouting and reconnaissance duties. Many brigantines in the late 1800s carried sweeps for maneuvering in still weather. In 1814, the British Navy had 71 of the Brigantine’s in active service. Length: 110 feet; Beam: 28 feet; Depth: 16 feet; Crew: 110-120 men. [NOTE: By the first half of the 18th century the word brigantine had evolved to refer not to a ship type, but to a particular type of rigging: square rigged on the foremast and fore-and-aft rigged on the mainmast. ]

The Caravel

Although popular with pirates, the Caravel was used from the 14th to the 17th century primarily as a cargo ship; the Mediterranean version was lateen rigged on two masts, while the Spanish and Portuguese versions were three masted with the first two masts square rigged and the mizzen lateen rigged

[NOTE: The lateen sail is triangular in shape and extended by a long yard, which is slung at about one fourth of its length from the lower end, to a low mast, this end being brought down at the tack, while the other end is elevated at an angle or about forty-five degrees; -- used in small boats, feluccas, xebecs, etc., especially in the Mediterranean and adjacent waters. Some lateen sails have also a boom on the lower side.]

lateen sail is on the left

The Galleon ship was favored by pirates because it was sturdy in battle and able to carry large loads of supplies and loot. [Picture and full explanation for the Galleon are given above]

A fourth ship that was a favorite of pirates and unusual in its design is the Carrack

The Carrack

The Carrack was a popular ship in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. It had three masts with the first two square rigged and the mizzen lateen rigged, carrying up to 1,200 tons of cargo. It was larger than a caravel with higher forecastles and aftcastles. This design was used by the Spanish and Portuguese in their long voyages to the East Indies. It was the largest European sailing ship of the 15th century easily outdoing the caravel in tonnage with more than a thousand tons compared to an average of two hundred fifty tons for the caravel. The carrack with its unusually high castles in bow and stern, quickly became the standard vessel of the Atlantic trade and exploration of mid-16th century Europe. In 1560, an Englishman John Hawkins discovered that the large forecastle seriously hampered sailing. The size of it tended to catch the wind before it hit the sails, pushing the bow leeward and making it very difficult to maneuver. Hawkins experimented with a design that eliminated the high forecastle proving that a ship with a high stern and a relatively low bow is faster and could sail closer to the wind. Hawkins’ new design eventually was called the galleon which then became the standard form for all large ships until the late 18th century. [see picture and description of the Galleon above.]

Lastly, under pirates vessels, there is the Frigate which was often used to HUNT pirate ships.

The Frigate

Frigate was a name used for a variety of ships from small oared boats to three masted sailing ships. The name was formalized by the English in the late 17th century to mean a vessel smaller than a ship of the line, carrying 24-38 guns on a single deck with three fully rigged masts, their speed made them better suited to convoy duty and hunting pirates.

TOMORROW:  The conclusion of “The Ships of Hy-Brasil”