Abstract
As can be seen from the comments herein, every time that Długokęcki tries to add something new to the main themes I deal with in writing the history of the caravel, he makes error after error. It applies to both the marine layer of monograph and understanding of the European context. His interpretation of the sources and the theories he builds on this basis in order to create an alternative picture are unsuccessful. All in all, though it is evident that he has tried very hard, Długokęcki is unable to change any of the findings regarding the major themes addressed in my monograph.
Highlights
What I wrote is that Eler Bokelman, arriving from Bruges, paid Berndt Pawest a visit aboard the caravel and “handed over from the aldermen of the Bruges Kontor a copy of the previously mentioned safe-conduct granted to Hanseatics by Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, on 12 July 1471” (M, p. 126), after which I referenced the previous chapter (1) of my monograph (M, p. 126, n. 75), where I discuss the circumstances in which this safe-conduct was issued
In reality, based on the same source that Długokęcki cites, I had already described the whole situation earlier: “The ship was hauled ashore for “kalfar toren” (“kielholen”), for re-caulking and tarring of her hull”, adding an extensive footnote relating what the literature tells us about the term “kielholen”, what it says about the details of this procedure and where it was carried out in Gdańsk (M, p. 74, n. 135)
What Długokęcki presents as a new finding on his part and a mistake on mine – namely the stance of the Kontor’s alderman on Paul Beneke – is noted in my text as follows: “On 5 September 1472 the aldermen of the Bruges Kontor informed the city council of Gdańsk that it was they who had convinced the caravel’s cur rent captain (i.e. Berndt Pawest) to hire the services of skipper Paul Beneke, who was well-known in the North Sea” (M, p. 161, n. 350)
Summary
As there is not a shred of evidence of anyone approach ing Gdańsk’s city authorities or pestering either Marcus Beuf or Pierre de Nantes (who remained in Gdańsk after Beuf’s depar ture) about their lost goods, the conclusion is obvious: seven years after the event, when mentioning the merchants who had arrived aboard the caravel, the Gdańsk delegates could only have been referring to those whom I listed as owners of the goods, and not anyone else.
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