Thanks Tennessee Nana.
- 'Sea Monster' Figurehead Emerges From Baltic Sea [08/15/2015]
Posted on 03/09/2022 2:17:17 AM PST by dennisw
Shipwrecks from this period are exceedingly rare. Unless a ship is buried quickly by sediment, the wood is eaten away over the centuries by shipworm, actually a type of saltwater clam. But these organisms don’t survive in the fresher waters of the Baltic, and archaeologists believe that much of Hans’ vessel and its contents are preserved. That promises them an unprecedented look at the life of a medieval king who was said to travel with an abundance of royal possessions, not only food and clothing but weapons, tools, textiles, documents and precious treasures. More than that, the relic provides a unique opportunity to examine a state-of-the-art warship from a little-understood period, when a revolution in shipbuilding and naval warfare was reshaping geopolitics and transforming civilization. What Gribshunden represents, researchers think, is nothing less than the end of the Middle Ages and the birth of the modern world.
At the edge of the raft, Brendan Foley, an archaeologist from Lund University in Sweden, and his chief safety officer, Phil Short, are getting ready to dive. Despite the springtime sun, a cold wind blows. Because the water temperature is below 50 degrees, the divers are wearing drysuits and heated underwear that will allow them to work for two hours or more. After extensive planning and a long pandemic delay, Foley is visibly eager to enter the water. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for two years,” he says. He steps off the deck with a splash and makes an OK sign before disappearing from view.
The story of Gribshunden is preserved in several “Chronicles,” narrative histories written in northern Europe in the 16th century, and in an eyewitness account by a young nobleman who survived the disaster. The accounts describe how King Hans, who reigned over Denmark and Norway from 1481 to 1513, sailed east from Copenhagen in the summer of 1495 toward Kalmar, Sweden, to attend a political summit. Europe was then emerging from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance. Dukes and kings ruled from giant castles, and every nobleman’s wardrobe included a suit of armor. In Italy, Leonardo da Vinci was starting work on The Last Supper. In Poland, Nicolaus Copernicus was beginning his studies in astronomy.
Across the Baltic Sea, Denmark, Norway and Sweden had been ruled together under an agreement called the Kalmar Union for close to 100 years, but Sweden had broken away, and rebels there, led by a nobleman named Sten Sture, sought independence. Hans was on a mission to quell the dissent and revive the union by becoming king of Sweden, too. According to the accounts, Hans took a suitably regal fleet of 18 ships, led by Gribshunden, which carried his courtiers, noblemen, soldiers, even a royal astronomer. (excerpt)
ping
PING
Archaeology ping
Thank you for posting. I love this kind of thing.
Nice read, well worth the time.
Modern European science at work with lots of university participation. The universities we usually ridicule here.
Fascinating !
Thanks for posting this.
Good read, thanks.
Cool! Some pictures at the site.
The astronomer was there to provide navigation help.
Latitude was well understood, but until highly accurate clocks came on the scene that could handle these sea voyages, longitude was very tough.
The best method in the 1500's was to watch the stars and compare their place in the sky with a known object.
Look Ma, no Hans!........................
Lucky for him, he was leading from the rear.
Yosemite Sam as a pirate, nice!
If he’d made that turn at Albuquerque, none of this would have happened...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU8sXokiV_o
Great post! Thanks!
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