The Crusades, the Genoese and the Latin East - DSpace at ...

such specification was necessary. It was a result in a change in the notaries' style or formulae that
they employed. More information about Genoa's ships, however, is available in the Genoese
annals. On special occasions when ships are mentioned, the names were often specified as well as
other details about the ships, for example, in the descriptions of maritime confrontation, when the
enemy's ships were seized or when Genoese ships were taken or shipwrecked in storms. 352 The
annals mention the Palmeta and Rosa, two Pisan ships that the Genoese captured in 1203. The
Leopardus was another Pisan ship seized by the famous Genoese pirate,
Count Alamanno de
Costa, in 1204. Later the same ship is mentioned as the ship of Count Henry of Malta. In 1213, a
new ship, Stella, entered the annals because it was accidentally set on fire when it was being
caulked.
The inclusion of names of ships in the notarial documents is very valuable. By utilising
this information one may follow, for the first time, the travel history of the ships in addition to the
history of merchants or families of merchants. A relatively large number of vessels sailed to the
Latin East in 1216. Six ships is a large number compared to the two that are known to have sailed
there in 1198 (while four sailed to Alexandria), two or three in 1200,353 four in 1203 two in
'314
1213,355
and so on. Significantly, one of the six ships that sailed to the Latin East was the Ia/na de
Finar. In previous years this ship often sailed to Alexandria.
Table 1: Genoese ships and their destinations
1198 1200-1 1203 1213 1214 1216 1222 1226
Genoa - 2 2 or 3 4 2 3 6
Ultramare
Genoa
- 4 1 or 2 1 3
Alexandria
- - - -
Why did so many ships sail to the Latin East in 1216? One of the ships, the St Peter,
carried arms to Acre. Bonaventura scutarius, a shield maker, as his name suggests, borrowed £4
as a sea-loan, which he promised to pay back in Acre in local currency, 12 bezants. As a security
(pignus) Bonaventura gave to the other merchant 40 shields (scuti) and 9 helmets (elmos). Did
Bonaventura travel to the Latin East just in order to sell his products, or did he plan to stay there
for awhile? 356 Another merchant named Donatus de Castello calafatus (caulker) signed a
352 See also Krueger, Navi e proprietä navale a Genova seconda meta del sec. XII, p. 57f
353 The St Petri de Arena is mentioned in OS, 1200, cart. 4, p. 258V6 and possibly another ship that is
mentioned in the same page, R2; the Buixnigra or Buianigue is mentioned by Gugliemo di Son, MS 102, p.
162V4 and p. 164V2.
354
The Luna returned from Ultramare, GG, no. 538; The Donna, Dedonna and Navara sailed to the Latin
East see GG, nos. 572,586,783.
355
., _
i ne 31 Luchas and Meliorata, OS, 1213, Cart. 4, a-
p. 198R2, and 198V4.
Lanfranco, 1216, no. 1130, from 23 September 1216
102