The ship Riksäpplet and the introduction of English naval architecture in Sweden in the 17th century

Abstract

SUMMARY: The 84-gun ship Riksäpplet was one of the first ships in Sweden built under supervision of the newly recruited English master. In 1676, the ship came adrift, struck a rock and sank. In 2015 a minor field survey of the wreck was undertaken. An inventory of finds recovered from the wreck in various museum collections and in private hands has been compiled and the preserved correspondence from the construction of the ship has been re-examined. This material has provided new insights regarding the peculiarities and special architecture of Riksäpplet.

SAMMANFATTNING

Skeppet Riksäpplet och introduktionen av engelskt skeppsbyggeri i Sverige under 1600-talet

84-kanonersskeppet Riksäpplet var ett av de första som byggdes av de nyrekryterade engelska skeppsbyggmästarna I Sverige. I juni 1676 slet sig skeppet från sina förtöjningar vid Dalarö i Stockholms skärgård. År 2015 företogs en mindre fältundersökning på vrakplatsen. Vid sidan av en inventering av de fynd som tidigare bärgats från vraket, vilka nu finns spridda på olika museer och i privata samlingar, har även det skriftliga källmaterialet genomlästs på nytt. Detta har bidragit till nya insikter rörande Riksäpplets arkitektur.

RÉSUMÉ

Le navire Riksäpplet et l’introduction de l'architecture navale anglaise en Suède au 17e siècle

La corvette de 18 canons Riksäpplet était l’un des premiers navires de Suède construit sous la supervision du maître anglais nouvellement recruté. En 1676 le navire a dérivé, frappé un rocher et coulé. En 2015 une enquête de terrain mineure de l’épave a été menée. Un inventaire des découvertes de l’épave dans les diverses collections muséales et des collections privées a été compilé et la correspondance préservée concernant la construction du navire, a été réexaminée. Ce matériel a fourni de nouvelles connaissances concernant les particularités et l’architecture spécifique du Riksäpplet.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

Das Schiff Riksäpplet und die Einführung der englischen Marine Architektur in Schweden im 17. Jahrhundert

Das 84-Kanonen-Schiff Riksäpplet war eines der ersten Schiffe, das in Schweden unter Aufsicht des neu eingestellten Englisch Masters gebaut wurde. Im Jahre 1676 kam das Schiff ins Treiben, prallte gegen einen Felsen und sank. Im Jahre 2015 wurde eine kleinere Untersuchung des Wracks durchgeführt. Eine Bestandaufnahme der Funde aus dem Wrack wurde zusammengetragen aus verschiedenen Sammlungen des Museums und aus privater Hand, und die erhaltene Korrespondenz aus der Konstruktionszeit des Schiffes wurde erneut geprüft. Dieses Material hat neue Erkenntnisse über die Besonderheiten und die spezielle Architektur der Riksäpplet zur Verfügung gestellt.

RIASSUNTO

La nave Riksäpplet e l’introduzione dell’architettura navale inglese nella Svezia del XVII secolo

La Riksäpplet, una nave da 84 bocche di fuoco, fu una delle prime navi svedesi costruite sotto la supervisione di un capomastro inglese appena reclutato. Nel 1676 la nave andò alla deriva, si incaglio su una roccia e affondò. Nel 2015 è stata intrapresa una ricognizione preliminare sul sito del naufragio. Contestualmente è stato stilato un inventario dei reperti recuperati dal relitto e conservati in diversi musei e collezioni private; la corrispondenza conservata relativa alla costruzione della nave è stata riesaminata. Questo materiale ha fornito un nuovo punto di vista relativamente alle caratteristiche e alla speciale struttura della Riksäpplet.

RESUMEN

La nave Riksäpplet y la introducción de la arquitectura naval inglesa en Suecia en el siglo XVII

El barco de 84 cañones Riksäpplet fue uno de los primeros buques construidos en Suecia bajo la supervisión del recién contratado comandante inglés. En 1676 el barco quedó a la deriva, golpeó una roca y se hundió. En 2015 el pecio fue inspeccionado y a la vez se realizó un inventario de los objetos que, procedentes del pecio, se hallan dispersos por museos y colecciones privadas. También se ha vuelto a estudiar la correspondencia conservada desde que se construyó el buque. Todo este material nos ha ayudado a ampliar y entender mejor las peculiaridades y la arquitectura especial del Riksäpplet.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A number of dedicated museum employers and enthusiastic wreck divers have contributed to the research around Riksäpplet. I specially would like to thank Susanna Allesson-Nyberg, Inga-lill Ankarberg, Robert Ekstrand and Johan Löfgren at the Swedish Maritime Museums for generous help. The author has been active in the project Ships at War at Södertörn University, supported by the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies. Colleagues Johan Rönnby, Patrik Höglund, Kekke Stadin, Ingvar Sjöblom and AnnaSara Hammar deserve to be thanked for cooperation and encouragement. I also wish to thank Fred Hocker, the anonymous peer reviewers and editor Penelope Crook for important comments and recommendations on this text.

Notes

1 Hamilton 1957, 170, author’s translation.

2 The mechanisms behind the lack of interest in this wreck will be described in Eriksson forthcoming.

3 Stackell 1929, 14; Nilsson 1987, 88; Lundgren 2000, 9.

4 Jakobsson 2000.

5 Anderson 1957, 101; Lundgren 2000, 10.

6 Evans & Rydén 2007.

7 Anderson 1957; Stackell 1929; Eriksson 2015; forthcoming.

8 For details regarding this model, see Anderson 1924; 1957, 217; Fox 1980, 133; Glete 1990; Svensson 1961, 97–8.

9 Eriksson forthcoming.

10 Rålamb 1943 [1691]; Svensson 1963, 91–108, for discussions regarding Dutch shipbuilding, see Hoving 2012 or Bender 2014, with references; for English, see Winfield 2009; 2010; or Lavery 1981; 1987.

11 Glete 2010, 418–23.

12 Stackell 1929, 5–7; Bergman 1954, 14; Glete 2010, 190, 419.

13 Holck 1934, 198–9.

14 However, he has mixed up the nationality of the shipwrights and says they were Italian and German.

15 Eriksson 2015, 172–88; forthcoming; Oscarsson 2013, 169–70.

16 Magalotti 1912, 22–3, author’s translation.

17 Johansson 1985; Einarsson 1997; 2015a; 2016; Eriksson forthcoming.

18 Hafström 1958, 797–8; 2006, 95–8; Lundgren 1997, 215–17; Eriksson forthcoming.

19 Cederlund 1983, 39; 2012, 12.

20 Lundgren 1997, 215–17; and Eriksson forthcoming.

21 Randall 2013.

22 Cederlund 1983, 39–42.

23 Hamilton 1957.

24 Quotation in Franzén 1977, 103, author’s translation; also 1981.

25 Eriksson forthcoming.

26 As shown by Carl Olof Cederlund, the location of Vasa’s wreck site was already known in the 19th century;2006, 108–40; Cederlund 2012, 9–63.

27 Cederlund 1983, 224–5; Arnshav 2011, 39–42; Eriksson 2014a, 26–8.

28 See pictures in Cederlund 1983, 184–7.

29 Laughton 2001 [1925], 105–6.

30 Jakobsson 1999; 2000.

31 From earlier periods there are several examples of English ships carrying the galley in the hold. For example, Henry Mainwaring mentions that ‘… in my opinion the best placing the cook room is in the hatchway, upon the first orlop’; Mainwaring & Perrin 1922, 132.

32 Witsen 1979 [1671], 58, pl. XLII; Goodwin 1987, 160; Lavery 1987, 195–201; Hoving 2012, 157–8; Eriksson 2013, 19; 2014b, 106–12; Eriksson & Rönnby 2017.

33 ‘achter Under skarpt bygdt efter Englisk Fason’, quotation in Jakobsson 1999, 234, author’s translation.

34 Witsen 1979 [1671], 90; Lavery 1987, 144; Hoving 2005, 28–9; 2012, 157–8; Winter 1978.

35 ‘Då drev skeppet … med sidan uppå klippan och togo mest mid akter uppå låret och begynte genast vattnet quella in i krutkammaren’, quotation in Lundgren 2001, 228, author’s translation.

36 Eriksson forthcoming.

37 See discussion in Olsen 2010; Eriksson 2014a.

38 Lundgren 2001, 229; Eriksson forthcoming.

39 Lavery 1987, 66–74; Goodwin 1987, 138–44.

40 Cederlund & Hocker 2006, 327, 347.

41 For examples of drawings which reveal this feature, see Sutherland 1717, or Lavery 1981, 75; 1987, 152.

42 Lavery 1987, 194–5.

43 Anderson 1924, 216–18.

44 Glete 1990, 14.

45 See discussion with Fox 1980, 132–3, the sketch has the NMM inv no. PAG 6182.

46 ‘… och är detta skeppets Schampeloen nästan som Ollenborgs, vid understa överloppet är inom vägarne, 34 fot, det andra 26 och de översta 23 fötter vidt’, RA 23 March 1663; also in Bergman 1954, 17, author’s translation.

47 Eriksson forthcoming.

48 Glete 2002, 5.

49 Nilsson 1987, 100; Einarsson 1990, 284–5; 2016, 186–90.

50 See pictures of ships in, for instance, Fox 1980 or Winfield 2009, and layout of small cabins in Endsor 2009, 65.

51 Einarsson 2016, 181–214.

52 Stackell 1929, 9–14.

53 Letter from Admiral Daniel Strussflycht to the Admiral of Realm, 7 October 1661, RA, author’s translation.

54 See discussion in Laughton 2001 [1925], 131–3.

55 Laughton 2001 [1925], 265–6; Börjesson 1942, 272; Soop 2007, 131.

56 Stackell 1929, 9; Soop 2007, 133.

57 The National Maritime museum in Greenwich has a detailed model of this ship (inv no. SLR 002). The gargoyle creatures are found on several other models in the collection.

58 Håkansson 2014, 209.

59 Laughton 2001 [1925], 266; Soop 2007; Van Duivenvoorde et al. 2015, 280–6.

60 Svensson 1957, 192–4.

61 Börjesson 1942, 272; Eriksson 2015, 184; forthcoming.

62 Börjesson 1942, 171; Lundgren 2000, 51.

63 LSH, inv no. 7135.

64 ‘enligt det svenska manéret’, quotation in Stackell 1929, 16 or Börjesson 1942, 269, author’s translation.

65 Jakobsson 1999; 2000.

66 Börjesson 1942, 272; Jakobsson 1999, 24–5; Lundgren 1997, 27; 2000, 19.

67 Svensson 1961, 98–9; Glete 1990, 12–13.

68 ‘det vanskapar ett skepp om galjonen är för mycket avstympad’, Admirality protocol 16 October 1660 KrA, author’s translation; compare Jakobsson 1999, 240–2.

69 Letter from Admiral Lieutenant Daniel Strussflycht to the Admirality, 22 September 1661, Skoklostersamlingen RA.

70 Laughton 2001 [1925], 67–75.

71 Jakobsson 1999, 237, 241.

72 Soop 1992, 189–92.

73 Einarsson 1997, 216–17.

74 Soop 1992, 62–7.