“It is not surprising that only one medieval state, Venice, long possessed anything clearly identifiavble as a navy in this sense. We shall see that no state in the British Isles attained attained this level of sophistication before the 16th century, and no history of the Royal Navy, in any exact sense of the words, could legitimately begin much before then. This book, which does, is not an institutional history of the Royal Navy, but a history of naval warfare as an aspect of national history. All and any methods of fighting at sea, or using the sea for warlike purposes, are its concern.” LongDoeBookStatesPurposeFightingLevelsSeaCenturyConcernAspectMethodBritishSurprisingPossessedWarfareRoyalNavyMedievalVeniceSophisticationNavalIsleRoyal NavyNaval Warfare Author:Nicholas Rodger
“In every age states of varying size and constitution and at every level of development have found naval warfare to be one of their most formidable and expensive tasks. Ships have always been large, costly and complicated, and warships much more complicated and costly than any others. Scholars are nowadays inclined to emphasize the power, wealth and sophistication of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and there is not more striking illustration of this than the advanced and elaborate administrative structures of the early English navy.” StatesAgeFoundWealthLevelsDevelopmentTasksConstitutionStructureSizeComplicatedKingdomsShipsExpensiveScholarWarfareNavyIllustrationFormidableSophisticationNavalAdministrativeAnglo SaxonWarshipsNaval Warfare Author:Nicholas Rodger
