ICOMAM(The international Committee of Museums and Collections of Arms and Military History) has a great service. In “The Basiliscoe Mercury” they render news from the internet related to arms and military history on a monthly basis. They also link to various websites that they think might appeal to the readers of The Mercury. In their latest edition they link to www.forskerblog.dk. This makes me very proud and happy, but also compels me to give some news in English.
I work on a Ph.D. thesis on the social history of the Danish Navy in the eighteenth century. I find much inspiration in the works of Professor N.A.M. Rodger, especially in his wonderful book “The Wooden World” which was published 1986. My thesis will have a comparative aspect, and comparing the Danish Navy and the British Royal Navy of the eighteenth century is fascinating. There is a huge contrast between the tightly run navy of the absolute Monarchy of Denmark on the one side, and the almost anarchistic British Royal Navy on the other. The Danish navy was very top-down, and everything was under strict control from the King and the Admiralty.
However, in my recent research I have established that the Danish Naval Articles that were published in 1752 were substantially inspired by the British naval articles, “Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty’s Service at Sea”, Published 1731 in London. The Danish 1752 articles replaced a set of articles dating back to 1700. Among the significant changes is the reduced role of religion in the articles, and the emphasis on military rank and the chain of command. The punishments were much toned down in the 1752 articles, and the cruel keelhauling punishment was abolished altogether.
The first page of the Danish Naval Articles of 1752.
I will try to blog some posts in English along the way, but I guess most posts will still be in Danish language. Among the links to the right you will find a link to “English language”. This one is the first.
