=78. Development of shipping in Northern Europe.=—The Bayeux tapestry, which pictures the events of the conquest of England by the Normans in 1066, shows what was substantially the Viking type of vessel to have been used in that expedition; the boats were undecked, and several foundered at anchor before starting. A modern writer thinks that few were over 30 tons in size, and that none carried over 40 or 50 men. About two centuries later the seals of Sandwich and Dover show a ship still undecked, but provided with a rudder working over the side, fighting platforms at bow and stern, and a mast with a crow’s-nest at the top. It is doubtful how far we can trust representations such as these on the tapestry and seal, which were often executed by persons unfamiliar with the object and were sure to be conventional. We can, if we choose, follow the statements in the chronicles, which would make the ships much larger, holding a hundred men or even several hundred; the chronicles are notorious, however, for the constant exaggeration in matters of statistics, and the truth lies probably somewhere in between our two sources of information. Down to the fifteenth century the single mast with the square sail was the usual rig. Some vessels, however, carried two masts, one near the center and one toward the bow, and could spread six sails. For shorter trips and for the coasting trade smaller boats were used, sometimes propelled only by oars. =79. Development of shipping in the Mediterranean.=—Navigation developed more rapidly in the Mediterranean, especially after the beginning of the Crusades, than in northern Europe. It is hard to believe the statements according to which the Mediterranean ships carried 1,000 or even 1,500 pilgrims, after all allowance is made for the crowding which would be permitted at this time, but the Mediterranean ships undoubtedly surpassed others in size and equipment. Venice presented to France in 1268 some ships which measured 110 by 40 feet, which were 11-1/2 feet deep in the hold and had a height between decks of 6-1/2 feet. These ships carried a complement of over 100 men, and must have measured 400 or 500 tons, while English ships of the period rarely exceeded 50 or 100. Mediterranean shipping regulations of about this date show advanced ideas concerning the construction, the equipment, and the loading of ships; all ships were inspected and none could sail which did not comply with the regulations.