Editing Yeoman (section)

=== English Navy yeoman (to 1485) ===
<!-- Parts of this section should be moved to a new article on the English (NOT Royal) Navy -->
{{anchor|RN Yeo}}
{{See also|History of the Royal Navy (before 1707)#House of Plantagenet (1216-1399)|Royal Navy#Earlier Fleets}}
The earliest documented use of yeoman relative to a navy is found in the [[Prologue and Tale of Beryn|''Merchant's Tale of Beryn'']]: "Why gone the yeomen to boat – Anchors to haul?"{{r|Rochester_Beryn|p=line 1995}} The context of the quotation sheds no further light on either yeomen or boats. What is important is the date of the manuscript: between 1450 and 1470.<ref name=Rochester_Beryn_Intro/> This places the ''Merchant's Tale of Beryn'' about the same time as the ''[[Robin Hood and the Monk]]'' manuscript, and shortly before the end of the Hundred Years War. <!-- Therefore, this meaning of yeoman occurs very early in Middle English.--> To understand the connections between yeoman and the early English navy, it is necessary to examine King Edward III's reign and the beginning of the Hundred Years War.

England did not have a standing navy until the [[Tudor Navy]] of [[King Henry VIII]]. Before then, the "King's Ships" were a very small fleet allocated for the King's personal use. During the Hundred Years War, King Edward III actually owned only a few ships. The rest were made available to the King through agreements with his nobles and the various port towns of England. About 25 ships of various sizes were made available to Edward III every year.{{r|2011_Cushway|p=20-21}} They ranged from the small [[Thames sailing barge]]s (descended from the famous Norman [[longship]]s of the [[Bayeux Tapestry]]{{r|2011_Cushway|p=26-7}}) which shuttled the royal retinue up and down the [[River Thames]], to large [[Cog (ship)|cogs]]. Cogs were large merchant ships, with high [[prow]]s and [[stern]]s, and a single mast with a single square sail. The largest cogs were built to carry sizable wine [[cask]]s. The [[Worshipful Company of Vintners|Vintners' Company]], in return for their monopoly on the wine trade, had to make their cogs available to the King on demand.{{r|2011_Cushway|p=23}}

The 1345 ''Household Ordinance of Edward III'' provides a brief summary of the Fleets organized for the [[Crécy campaign]]. The South Fleet (which included all English ports south and west of River Thames) consisted of 493 ships with 9,630 mariners. Of these, the ''King's Ships'' (25 ships with 419 mariners), the ports of Dartmouth (31 ships with 757 mariners), Plymouth (26 ships with 603 mariners), and London (25 ships with 602 mariners) were the largest contingents. The North Fleet (which included all English ports north of River Thames) consisted of 217 ships with 4521 mariners. The port of Yarmouth, with 43 ships with 1095 mariners, was the largest contingent.{{r|1790_HousOrdE3IA|p=6-8}} The definition of a mariner is unclear, as is the difference between a mariner and a sailor.{{r|1847_NicholasIA_v1|p=406}} The number of mariners given is about twice that needed to man a ship. Edward's warships carried two crews. The second crew was used for night sailing, for providing a crew for prize ships, and for providing more fighting men.{{r|2011_Cushway|p=85}}

[[File:Moulage Dunwich.jpg|thumb|left|Seal of the port of Dunwich. This is an earlier ship (note the side rudder) which has been retro-fitted with a forecastle, aftcastle, and topcastle. The forecastle and aftcastle platforms are tall enough so men can stand underneath them.]]
Early in the Hundred Years War, the largest existing merchant ships, such as the cog, were converted to warships with the addition of wooden castles. There were three types of castles: [[forecastle]] (at the prow), [[aftcastle]] (at the stern), and the topcastle (at the top of the mast). A record from 1335 tells of the vessel ''Trinity'' (200 tons) being converted for war.{{r|1847_NicholasIA_v2|p=169-70}} As new ships were built, the castles became integral with the ship's hull.{{r|2011_Cushway|p=26}}
[[File:Ubena_von_Bremen_Kiel2007_1_(cropped).jpg|thumb|right|The reconstruction ship ''[[Bremen cog|Ubena von Bremen]]''. Note that the aftcastle is part of the ship's hull.]]
As the King was impressing all the big ships and their crews for the war effort, the mayors and merchants of the port towns were [[retrofitting]] old ships and building new ones for harbor defense, and patrols to protect coastal ships and fishing boats from enemy ships and pirates.{{r|2011_Cushway|p=84}}

By this time (mid-14th century), the Captain of the ship was a separate military rank.{{r|1847_NicholasIA_v1|p=400-01}} He was responsible for the defense of the ship. For every 4 mariners aboard the warship, there was 1 man-at-arms and 1 archer who was stationed in the castles. For a vessel the size of the ''Trinity'', which carried about 130 mariners, there were at least 32 men-at-arms and 32 archers.{{r|1847_NicholasIA_v2|p=158}}
[[File:1847 Nicolas pg 365.png|thumb|left|14th century Northern Europe warship]]
These illuminations from a 14th-century manuscript provide some insight as to how the retrofitted castles were used in battle. The first illustration shows a 2-masted vessel, with a man-at-arms in the retrofitted aftcastle, and an archer in the retrofitted topcastle.
[[File:1847 Nicolas - pg 366.png|thumb|right|14th century Northern European warship battle scene]]
The next illustration shows a battle scene.{{r|1847_NicholasIA_v1|p=365-66}} The tactics included using grappling hooks to position the ships so that the archers on the aftcastles had clear shots into the opposing ship. After raking the deck with arrows, the men-at-arms would swing over to finish the job.

The warship Captain was also responsible for [[Convoy#Age of Sail|convoying]] 30 merchant vessels from English ports to the French shore. These vessels carried the troops, horses, food, forage, and whatever else was needed upon landing in France.{{r|2011_Cushway|p=85}}

The [[Sea captain|Master]] (or Master Mariner) was responsible for sailing the vessel. Under him were the Constables (equivalent to today's [[boatswain]]s). One constable oversaw twenty crewmen.{{r|1847_NicholasIA_v1|p=400-02}} Collecting a crew was traditionally the task of the Master. However, with the need for double-crews, the King authorized his Admirals to offer the King's pardon to outlaws and pirates. In 1342, the number of men who responded exceeded the demand. Edward's deputies never had trouble again raising the crews they needed.<ref name=1973_Kepler/> This is reminiscent of the [[#Rob Hood|pardons offered by Edward to outlaws of the Robin Hood ballads]]. Therefore, it is possible that the real answer to "Why gone the yeomen to boat – Anchors to haul?" was a pardon.

Instances of yeoman in a naval context are rare before 1700. In 1509, the [[Board of Ordnance#Origins of the Board|Office of Ordnance]] had a Master, Clerk, and Yeoman.<ref name=1992_Loades/> In 1608, a House of Lords manuscript mentions a ship's gunner and a yeoman.<ref name="1928_OED_YeomanIA"/> Then in 1669 appeared ''The Mariner's Magazine'', dedicated to the [[Society of Merchant Venturers|Society of Merchant-Adventurers of the City of Bristol]]. Among the various chapters on the use of mathematics in sea navigation and gunnery, the author suggests "He [the Gunner] must be careful in making Choice of a sober honest Man, for the Yeoman of the Powder."<ref name=1669_Sturmy/>(modern spelling) In 1702, actual titles of seamen appear in the ''[[London Gazette]]'': Yeomen of the Sheets, and Yeomen of the Powder Room.<ref name="1928_OED_YeomanIA"/>