Many have heard the word "galley." Where did it come from, what types of galleys are known, what was so special about these ships, that they were built even in tsarist Russia? Let's find the answers to all these questions.
What is a galley?
This word refers to a special type of marine vessel on which oars were used as a driving force. At the same time, the galleys also had sails, usually triangular in shape.
Such ships were especially popular with pirates and sailors. At the same time, other types of ships were more often used for trade .
Etymology of the word "galley"
For the first time the name "galley" was recorded by the Greeks. Their ships were called the word Ξ³Ξ±Ξ»ΞΞ·, which later gave rise to the Latin term galea.
After the Romans, this name fell into almost all European languages, where it has been preserved to this day. Thanks to which of them, the term "galley" has entered the Russian language is unknown. Judging by the spelling, after Latin, it was borrowed by Italian (galera), and after either through Polish (galera), or through German (Galeere), or through French (galère) it got into Russian.
It is clearly known that this noun could not be borrowed from the English language, because in it it lost the letter "p" - turning into a galley, which could not but affect the Russian spelling.
A bit about the history of galleys
What is a galley, as well as the origin of this term has already been discussed above. Now it is worth paying attention to the history of this type of ship.
Due to the fact that in the old days ships were built of wood, few exhibits have survived to this day, with which you can accurately determine which ships were used in the era of the ancient world. Despite this, scientists suggest that on ships similar to galleys, sailors actively sailed in the days of Ancient Egypt and Phenicia.
Much more information has been preserved about the use of these ships in ancient Greece. It is generally accepted that the galleys in this state served as warships as early as 800 years BC. After the Greeks, the Romans adopted the fashion for such ships, and behind them all the countries that had access to the Mediterranean Sea.
In addition to the Greeks, the Turks were especially famous for using the galleys. Due to the high speed and maneuverability of such ships, for many centuries they could hold the primacy in military power.
In the Russian Empire, the first galleys appeared in the second half of the 17th century.
The creation of their drawings and the construction took place thanks to the influence of Peter I. He achieved that ships of this type became an integral attribute in the naval arsenal of the empire until the end of the 18th century. It was they who helped in future Russian-Turkish wars. But they were later supplanted by ships with steam engines.
What types of galleys existed in the old days
What are the galleys we found out. Now we find out what types of these ships existed:
- Galley bastards were less speedy and maneuverable. But because of their voluminous hull, more cargo was placed in them than on conventional warships. Due to this property, merchants from the times of the Ancient World swam mainly on such galleys.
- Zenit galleys - these were real warships. They were less spacious, but more speedy. Such ships were actively used for warfare. In addition, such ships were a favorite means of transportation of pirates.
Galleys are also divided into three types according to the number of benches for rowers.
- The brigantines numbered eight of them.
- Galeots - from fourteen to twenty.
- Fusta - from eighteen to twenty two.
The Hard Life of Galley Rowers: True or Fiction
Since the oars were the main driving element of the galleys, it is worth paying attention to who was sitting on them. By common belief, every galley rower is a slave brutally tortured by a taskmaster. In fact, in different countries and at different times, rowers were treated far from the same.
So in the days of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire on warships, rowers were most often specially trained soldiers. Their work was respected and paid well.
The same practice was used during the Middle Ages. After all, sailing on a ship had a rather long and dangerous time. Therefore, those who swam in the galleys preferred to entrust their life to professional rowers. And they, in turn, were interested in having their employers safely reach the goal and pay for their work.
But closer to the beginning of the XVII century, when the galleys gradually began to be replaced by new, more progressive types of ships, a tradition appeared to be used as rowers - convicts and slaves. Moreover, captive Muslims rowed on Christian ships, and the followers of the Prophet Muhammad turned into Orthodox slaves and Catholics.
With the discovery of America and the beginning of the era of black trade, galleys began to use slaves from Africa more often.
At the same time, everyone at any time treated rowers much better than slaves on land. Since the survival of the crew of the ship depended on them, they were fed fairly satisfyingly, monitored their health and given time to rest. Indeed, in the event of the death of most of them, the crew themselves would have to sit on the oars.
It is worth noting that many convicts preferred being rowers in galleys more than just sitting in prison. After all, ship captains most often treated them much better than jailers.
Modern "galleys"
Galleys remained in the distant past. Today they can be found only in museums. However, in Turkey there is a very popular holiday destination, whose name is consonant with the word "galley". We are talking about the idea of ββa five-star hotel Galeri Resort ("Gallery Resort"), located on the Mediterranean coast (Alanya city). Despite the notorious 5 stars, this institution is still inferior to many Mediterranean resorts located in other countries.
If financial opportunities do not allow you to spend a vacation in the five-star Galeri Resort, you can find another hotel in Alanya - "Galeri" (Galeri 4), for example. It is located in the same city and, although inferior to just one star to the aforementioned Galeri Resort 5, is a great place to relax. It will be affordable for most domestic tourists.
In addition to the names of Turkish hotels, consonant with the word "galley" is the name of a whole collection of dahlia varieties - "Gallery" (Gallery). This series consists of 17 varieties.
Each of them is named after some famous artist, for example Gallery Pablo or Gallery Rembrandt. The peculiarity of the Galeri varieties is that they are not only very beautiful, but also resistant to weather adversity.