ABSTRACT
The warships, like contemporary Mediterranean oared ships, were of little value for carrying freight, that is, with the exceptions of luxuries and people. While a great deal has been and is being learned about European warships of the Middle Ages from archaeology, iconography and government documents, the history of the admiralty as a government office in medieval Europe is something of a mystery. The distinction between warships and cargo ships was well established in the Mediterranean in Roman times and before. By about 1500 most admiralties had three functions: naval command, jurisdiction over maritime affairs and provision of a fleet. The arsenals and the concomitant growth in naval administration were the result of a change in naval warfare in the Mediterranean. The introduction of the cog to the Mediterranean in the thirteenth century provided southern European merchants with a big sailing ship, not vulnerable to galleys and capable of carrying bulky goods.
