The galleys, however, were not used exclusively as vessels of war; they also served generally, in the XIVth century, as merchantmen. (~Jal~, p. 250.) We have from the Middle Ages no drawings or pictures which give the means of deducing with any certainty the shape of the ships. The oldest picture comes to us from Pietro Laurentini, an artist of the XIVth century; then there exists another by the hand of Raphaël (1483-1520), and dating from the beginning of the XVIth century. These two reproductions appear in ~Jal~’s work (_Archéologie navale_), but their small scale almost destroys their value. They are remarkable however from this that the first shows the double mast of the Ancients and the cabin on the after deck, while Raphaël’s carries a castle at the bow and stern, as well as the vessel’s rudder. It follows from a comparative examination of old coins that the rudder had come generally into use in the XIIIth century. It is superfluous, however, to recall that, nevertheless, the steering oar was still used on many vessels as a rudder. The invention of gunpowder, near the middle of the XIVth century, made no changes in the structure of the galleys, because the propelling force was still limited to the strength of the rowers, which made a slender shape a prime necessity for the boat and prevented the mounting of any large number of guns on board. The galleys reached their apogee in 1600. Shortly afterward, they began to lose their value as war ships by reason of the increasing power of the big, rounded sea-going vessels. A striking example of the fighting inferiority of the galleys is found in the naval action between the French ship “Le Bon” and 36 galleys, on July 10, 1684. (~Paris~, Vol. III, no. 126.) This vessel was only 41.41 m. long from bow to stern, with a total width of 11.04 m. and a depth of 5.03 m.; the keel was 37.03 long. The galleys, on the other hand, were 48.77 m. long over all, 21.20 m. on the keel, with a breadth of 5.90 m. on the deck (8.47 m. between the apostis); the oars were 2.5 metres long. The higher position of the artillery on “Le Bon”, as well as its more solid frame and thicker planking, allowed this ship to hold the enemy at bay and to escape when the wind rose. If the strength of the crews be examined, the fighting inferiority of the galleys stands out still more clearly; while the French ship carried only 600 to 800 men, the galleys had on board from 12,000 to 14,000 all told. Consequently, from as far back as the XVIIth century, the galleys were used in France almost exclusively for towing. Thus we read that in 1688, the wind having fallen, Duquesne had his ships brought by galleys under the walls of Algiers in order to bombard that city. The galleys continued to appear nevertheless in the French navy until 1773.