y from Mediterranean shipping. It was replaced by the triangular lateen sail, a type of "fore-and-aft" rig, used in much the same way as the sails of a modern sloop or schooner. Two-masted ships were common in the Mediterranean, and some large ships had three masts, but always with a single lateen sail each (Pryor, 25-38). In the North, the traditional rig was a single square sail, like that of a Viking ship (Anderson and Anderson, 85-97). Mediterranean ships were "carvel-built," with flush planking forming a smooth surface, while Northern ships were "clinker-built," with overlapping planks (still seen in some small boats).
During the Renaissance, the separation between these regions was breaking down. Seamen and shipbuilders in the Mediterranean and Atlantic began to borrow from each other, and developed new ship types using elements of both traditions (Anderson and Anderson, 116-39). By about 1500, this development had given rise to the full-rigged ship, essentially in the form it retained until steam replaced sail. Thus, for example, the galleon, the classic oceangoing ship of the Age of Exploration, may have been invented in Mediterranean Venice.
However, even in the 16th century, the techniques of naval warfare remained relatively independent. Thus, of the two greatest naval battles of the Renaissance, the Mediterranean battle of Lepanto in 1571 was fought entirely by oared galleys, while the running fight between the English and the Spanish Armada in 1588 was fought almost entirely by sailing ships. At first glance, the two battles might seem to belong to entirely different eras.
This continuing difference in ships and tactics for warfare was due partly to different conditions in the two regions. The Mediterranean was well-suited to galleys, while the Atlantic was far less so. In addition, Mediterranean states had an "infrastructure" for galley warfare: not only physical infrastructure of specialized arsen...