The Battle of Winchelsea

Battle British Cog France Naval 10 Min Read

A depiction of medieval naval combat from Jean Froissart’s Chronicles, 14th century. King Edward’s flagship, Cog Thomas. In 1350, King Edward III of England was at peace—with Scotland, after capturing King David II at the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346, and with France, after a decisive victory at the Battle of Crécy in the same year. For many years,…

Newsletter

Get the latest from Weapons and Warfare right to your inbox.

Follow Us

Most Recent

Battle British Cog France Naval 10 Min Read

The Battle of Winchelsea

A depiction of medieval naval combat from Jean Froissart’s Chronicles, 14th century. King Edward’s flagship, Cog Thomas. In 1350, King Edward III of England was at peace—with Scotland, after capturing King David II at the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346, and with France, after a decisive victory at the…

Cog Crusades Medieval Shipbuilding 6 Min Read

SHIPS AND THE SEA I

Late 12th Century Northern Cog. Ships built in the ancient period were too feeble to routinely take to the sea in any but fair weather. Longships—rowed galleys—were the state-of-the-art ships-of-war of the day, but they could not venture far. The classic Mediterranean galley had a freeboard too low to test…

Cog Crusades Medieval Shipbuilding 5 Min Read

SHIPS AND THE SEA II

Only in the fifteenth century did a combination of scientific and technological advances—the magnetic compass and the astrolabe, better maps, commercially available navigational charts, and ships of stronger construction, superior design, and improved rigs—allow mariners to challenge, though by no means to conquer, the seas. Only then did open ocean…

Cog Crusades 4 Min Read

SHIPS AND THE SEA III

Round Ship Northern Europeans owed their maritime dominance over their southern neighbors, and ultimately over the entire world, to a pair of interrelated developments. First, northerners quickly adopted, by necessity rather than choice, improved roundships as war platforms; the Mediterranean states, both Christian and Muslim, did not. Second, the northern…

Cog Ottoman Sail 10 Min Read

North versus South in Naval technology

Large cog with the Latin sail aft and by light gun on the turning ring mount which ruled in the Baltic region and the North Sea almost 300 years. The galley, be it of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, or Turkish design, was not an effective seagoing weapon system. Galley fleets…

Cog Medieval 2 Min Read

COGS IN CONTEMPORARY ART

A remarkably realistic depiction of a sea fight between two cogs, dated to c. 1300-1320 by details of the armour and the ships’ construction. The picture emphasizes the importance of shock combat as the ultimate arbiter of boarding fights, although the two archers, identifiable as English longbowmen by the size…

Most Popular

SHIPS AND THE SEA I

Late 12th Century Northern Cog. Ships built in the ancient period were too feeble to…

The Battle of Winchelsea

A depiction of medieval naval combat from Jean Froissart’s Chronicles, 14th century. King Edward’s flagship,…

SHIPS AND THE SEA III

Round Ship Northern Europeans owed their maritime dominance over their southern neighbors, and ultimately over…

COGS IN CONTEMPORARY ART

A remarkably realistic depiction of a sea fight between two cogs, dated to c. 1300-1320…