Oxbow Books - Your Noblest Shippe: Anatomy of a Tudor Warship edited by Peter Marsden

	Tuesday 22 May 2012

Your Noblest Shippe: Anatomy of a Tudor Warship

edited by Peter Marsden

This volume is concerned primarily with a detailed description of the Mary Rose and how she operated as a functional warship. Commencing with a discussion of the place of the Mary Rose in the development of warships; her recovery and recording are described and the method by which she has been reconstructed on paper. Evidence is presented for how the ship was designed and built and how the timbers were fashioned. The structure of the ship and her rigging as she was in 1545 are described deck by deck and lavishly illustrated, including reconstructed deck plans. Operational aspects such as steering, mooring, anchoring, the ship's boats, navigation and the removal of water are discussed. A summary of the ship's armaments is provided and her fighting capabilities considered. Evidence for how the ship was altered during her use, and how she might be reconstructed as a whole, are examined and the nature of and reasons for her sinking reviewed. The volume concludes with a summary of some principal areas of research that remain to be addressed. 418p, 287 b/w illus (Mary Rose Trust 2009)

Review Quotes

"Your Noblest Shippe is essential reading for anyone interested in sixteenth-century maritime history."

Ian Friel
International Journal of Maritime History (June 2010)

"So copiously illustrated that you feel it could have come with a cover sticker declaring 'Build your own Mary Rose'.. Peter Marsden and his co-authors have done a brilliant job at setting out what we think we know so far."