Mais comment pouvait-on ramer sur les galères du Roi-Soleil ?
Year: 1986
Type: article
Abstract: René Burlet, Jean Carriere, André Zysberg. But However Did they Row Aboard the Sun King's Galleys? Rowing aboard a combat vessel towards the end of the 17th century was a punishment, a criminal sentence and also, a professional activity. First, the work station is studied, the bench were 5 enslaved men lived and toiled ; then the tool: the oar and the elementary operations involved, which are the galley slaves' different positions as they row. The measurement of the work is based on an ergonomie analysis. Not only is the power required to propulse the ship evaluated, but also the combined strength of individual efforts, the forces of inertia in the oars and in the body of the rowers. The results contradict the image of the galley as a « fast ship ». This man-machine system, fragile and not very autonomous, was limited by the physiological capacities of the galley slaves and only worked in a highly favorable environment: calm seas and no head winds.
Source: Histoire & Mesure
Authors: René Burlet, Jean Carrière, André Zysberg
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2094983845