THE SHIPS THAT CONQUERED THE WORLD

Gribshunden belonged to the first generation of ships to cross oceans and colonize distant lands. The large vessels combined rounded, Nordic-style hulls with internal ribs and planks built in ways pioneered by shipwrights in Spain and Portugal. Above, a page from an illuminated copy of a medieval narrative known as Froissart’s Chronicles, illustrated in the 1470s, shows the French Navy at sea. Scholars believe that the warship at center closely resembles Gribshunden. They make particular note of the gun ports, heraldic banners and shields, and the sculpted figurehead. Left, King Hans of Denmark.

Right, a rendering of Gribshunden circa 1495.