GLOSSARY

ALCALDE A justice or official at the head of a Spanish or Portuguese town.

ARQUEBUS A muzzle-loading firearm, the forerunner of the musket, in which the trigger brought the end of a slow-burning match into contact with the powder that discharged the ball.

ARTILLERY Although definitions of artillery pieces were imprecise, the English widely recognized two types of larger battery guns, cast either in bronze (‘brass pieces’) or iron. ‘Culverins’ generally possessed a bore of four or five inches and fired shot of from 9 lbs (the ‘demi-culverin’) to 17 lbs. ‘Cannons’ had six- to eight-inch bores, and fired heavier shot of up to 66 lbs. It was then believed that the longer barrels, as well as the lighter shot, of the culverins conferred a greater range, but increased length made guns difficult to manage and did not, in fact, much alter the range, which was ineffective beyond a few hundred yards. Spanish terminology for artillery did not correspond with the English nomenclature.

ASTROLABE A nautical instrument used to measure the altitude of the sun or stars during the calculation of latitude.

AUTO-DA-FE The execution of a sentence of the Inquisition, possibly including the parade of penitents or the burning of heretics.

BARK A small ship of standard rig and build.

BOATSWAIN Ship’s officer responsible for sails and rigging and the mustering of the men.

BRIGANTINE A small, manoeuvrable vessel, employing both sails and oars, often used as a tender to larger ships, for reconnoitring or prize-taking.

BUCKLER A round shield.

CAPSTAN A cylinder installed on the forecastle deck of larger ships and used to work anchors, weights and heavy sails.

CARAVEL A Mediterranean trading vessel, lateen-rigged with two masts, converted into a three-masted ship for oceanic exploration by the Spanish and Portuguese.

CARRACK Three-masted square-rigged trading ship, larger and stronger than the caravel, and carrying high fore and stern castles. They were a principal instrument of the Portuguese East Indies trade.

CORREGIDOR A Spanish justice.

CORSELET A piece of armour covering the trunk.

CROWN English coin worth five shillings.

DUCAT The relative values of currency varied considerably throughout the period, but in 1586 the Spanish silver ducat was worth about 5s 6d in English money. The exchange value of the Spanish gold ducat about that time was probably seven English shillings or more. See also peso; pistolet, and real.

FASTS (as in HEAD and STERN FASTS) Lines by which a ship is secured to a pier.

FLYBOAT A medium-sized vessel, commonly used by the Dutch as a carrier or transport.

FORECASTLE A raised deck at the front of a ship, used to dominate the decks of an enemy ship. The improved Elizabethan warships had reduced forecastles and a more streamlined appearance.

FORECOURSE The sail on the FOREYARD, the lowest yard on the foremast of a ship.

FORESTAY Stay from the head of the foremast to the bowsprit of a ship.

FRIGATE A swift, light sailing ship, sometimes employing oars.

GALLEASS Large three-masted fighting ships with oars, attempting to fuse the advantages of the oared galley and the war galleon.

GALLEON Principal three- or four-masted fighting ship. The Elizabethans developed a flush-decked galleon of about 300 to 500 tons, with a deep draught and a length to breadth ratio of a little under 3:1. Early Spanish galleons, built in 1568 to 1570, were small, but after 1578 Spain produced larger, three-decked, galleons with a beam to length ratio of about 1:3.3. These galleons lacked the sailing qualities of their English counterparts.

GALLEY Oared fighting ship, with one or two masts. Characteristic of the Mediterranean, they were unsuitable for oceanic voyages, and could not effectively be equipped with artillery.

HALYARDS Tackle for raising sails, spars or yards aboard ships.

HOURGLASS A sand-glass that ran for an hour.

HOY A Dutch ship, rigged fore and aft, and used as a freighter or transport.

LATEEN RIG Having a lateen or triangular sail set at an angle to the mast.

LAUNCH A ship’s long-boat.

LORD ADMIRAL The chief executive officer of the Elizabethan navy, and a member of the Privy Council.

MASTS Principally fore (front), main, and mizzen (rear).

MUSKET A heavier form of the arquebus, usually fired upon a tripod, and employing the same matchlock firing principle. Muskets were introduced in the late sixteenth century.

NAO A strong, multipurpose vessel used on the northern coasts of Spain. The nao had fore and stern castles, two or three decks, three masts and a bowsprit, and its beam to length ratio was about 1:3. It was not unlike the Spanish galleon.

NAVY BOARD The body responsible for the maintenance of Elizabeth’s ships and their ordnance. There were five offices: Clerk of the Ships, Comptroller, Surveyor of the Ships, Master of the Ordnance and Treasurer.

PESO Spanish coin. The value of the gold peso de oro increased over that of the silver peso de plata throughout the period. In 1573 the gold peso was worth about 8s 3d in English money.

PIKE A weapon with a pointed iron head at the end of a long wooden shaft.

PINNACE Small, shallow-draught vessel, usually having a single deck and two masts, and auxiliary oars. Generally employed as a tender, scout or a commerce-raider.

PISTOLET Spanish gold coin, worth about 5s 10d in English money in 1560.

POOP The short aftermost deck, commanding the quarterdeck of a ship.

PORT SIDE Left-hand side of a ship, looking forward. The right is termed STARBOARD.

PRIVY COUNCIL The principal instrument of Elizabethan government. It consisted of some twenty important dignitaries, including the ministers of state, and was appointed by and was responsible to the sovereign. Elizabeth did not attend the Council’s meetings, but received the results of their deliberations through various of its members. She normally accepted the Council’s advice, but was not bound to do so.

QUARTERMASTER Ship’s officer, assistant to master.

QUINTAL A Spanish hundredweight.

REAL Small silver Spanish coin, valued at about six English pennies in 1586.

RUTTER A book of sailing directions, often illustrated with views of prominent landmarks, ports and the coastline.

SHALLOP The term was used to describe either a heavy, large boat with fore-and-aft sails (running lengthwise) or lug sails, and sometimes carrying guns, or a shallow-draught boat using oars or a sail.

SQUARE-RIG The placing of yards and sails across the masts, as opposed to lengthwise in the fore-and-aft rig.

TARGET A shield.

TOPGALLANT Additional sail raised above the topsail on a mast.

VIOL A musical instrument played by plucking at five to seven strings with a bow.

WHERRY A light rowing boat, principally used to ferry goods and passengers on rivers.

WINDWARD A ship is said to be to windward if it is in the direction from which the wind blows. A ship to leeward is on the sheltered side.