IMMH

Carrack

Carrack. This magnificent model of a carrack in an approximate scale of 1:50 is the work of Martin Koschwitz. The model was made using a 1468 woodcut attributed to the Flemish goldsmith Willem A. Cruce as building plans. It stands in our exhibition on the history of shipbuilding, which takes on the whole of deck 3 of the museum.


During the 15th century the term “carrack” stood in Europe for a new and larger type of ship. In the Iberian area, vehicles of a similar type seem to have been so widespread at the time that they were simply called “nau”, which simply translates to “ship” in Portuguese. 

The carrack came out of a fusion of Mediterranean and northern European shipbuilding traditions. The Northern/Hanseatic link was clearly the cog – an evolution from the Viking knarr that was developed in the Frisian area and became widespread in the 12th Century. The cog had a single mast with a square sail and a clinker-built hull (where the planks overleap). From the Mediterranean area, the carrack took on naval design elements from the caravel, a single-masted lateen-sailed ship that kick-started the Age of Discovery. The carrack will adopt from them the cravel planking, where the edge of the planks are fixed edge to edge and the use of the lateen sail on their mizzenmast, that allowed her more sailing flexibility. The combination of both traditions produced a multi-masted sailing ship with a superior tonnage and ocean going capacities. The rulers of the western world quickly recognized the value of such larger ships. The transport of heavy armament with broadside cannons on the lower decks now was technically feasible – as well as larger amounts of cargo and/or passengers. The high foredeck, armed with a hook, was used to capture and board enemy ships. Discoveries, conquest, naval warfare and maritime trade in a large scale at long distances became possible with the carrack. This type of ship was the first European maritime “global player” and their design will influence that of all larger western ships during the Age of Sail. 

This magnificent model of a carrack in an approximate scale of 1:50 is the work of Martin Koschwitz. The model was made using a 1468 woodcut attributed to the Flemish goldsmith Willem A. Cruce as building plans. It stands in our exhibition on the history of shipbuilding, which takes on the whole of deck 3 of the museum.