Late Medieval Shipboard Artillery on a Northern European Carvel: Gribshunden (1495)

Abstract

We present the artillery of a well-preserved late medieval Danish-Norwegian carvel warship, Gribshunden. Probably built in the Netherlands in 1484, the ship served King Hans until sinking in June 1495. Of its original 50 or more guns, elements of 11 have been recovered and digitally recreated, and more remain on the wreck. Investigation of this site provides insights into the development of shipboard artillery in the late 15th century, the crucial period of technological evolution for the ship-gun combination. It offers a Nordic-region comparison to the handful of early 16th--century gun-carrying Iberian wrecks, commonly known as ships of discovery.