ABSTRACT
In order to begin the re-examination of medieval naval tactics and the possible rejection of this preconception, this chapter will look more closely at one particular feature of chronicle accounts of sea battles, and also at the details of certain pictorial representations. An attempt will then be made to assess their worth as evidence. It is also the subject of a large and beautiful woodcut in the British Museum. This was produced shortly after the conflict itself and its existence perhaps reflects the amount of contemporary interest in an engagement which was a disaster for Venice. The sailing qualities and the possibilities of a vessel depend very much on its design and 'documentary' historians like author are in the hands of archaeologists and technical experts. It seems to author that if they are to attempt to understand medieval battles at sea authors can never rely on only one kind of evidence.
