Page 148 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

138 History and Science of Knots

d. The Anchor Bend is a knot mentioned in Dahlman's remarkable
book too, but there it is named fiskarestek, meaning Fisherman's
Hitch [5].

II. (Semi-)permanent `non-simple' multi-stranded structures, which we shall
refer to as splices. This class of achievements was established when laid
rope entered the scene. This occurred very early, as is illustrated by
the discussion of two millennia old samples of Egyptian rope-working by
Daryl Domning [7]. To my knowledge the illustration of the oldest rec-
ognizable Mariner splices is that displaying some of the rope work found
on the Oseberg Viking burial ship [35], i.e. an eyesplice and an ( earing)
cringle [1, #2835, #2842]. Rope-working feats such as the making of
seizings , worming and parcelling are relatively late elaborations.

The foregoing selections are modest and far from complete. However,
they shed a strange light on the mentioning by John Smith in 1627, which is
representative for many of the older Western seamanship manuals, of the use
of a mere Bowline, Sheepshank and Wall Knot at sea in his days [27]. We
can safely say that Mariners had impressive knot repertoires from a very early
date onwards.
Like everything else in this world, knotted structures and their uses be-
came affected by technical and social developments. In very general lines,
aboard ships certain tendencies can be observed.
With regard to structure, we can say that there was a drive towards
more secure and stronger knotted structures. The perpetual motion of the
ocean caused the dynamics to which Mariner Knots were subjected to rise
in importance. To illustrate: the Sheet Bend became doubled. See various
illustrations in Orazio Curti's book on medieval rigging [4]. With respect to the
workings of the Double Sheet Bend the second tuck is plainly redundant. This
can be observed by straining the knot beyond its medium's breaking strength.
It is always the first tuck which bites itself into the hook, not taking the
second tuck along with it. The dynamics of the ocean placed increased security
demands on knots. Hence knots of a more secure but also more permanent
nature, such as splices, are seen to occur more frequently. This change was also
influenced by the rigging of sail driven ships, which became more intricate and
incorporated increasingly complex technology, such as blocks and wire, in turn
posing more refined demands on the solutions to rope problems. Meanwhile
the ships grew larger and the encountered mechanical forces increased. The
category of everyday forces to be experienced on ships is not comparable to
those encountered in common applications to which primitive man put his
knots and rope to use. Simple knots have a shearing property; that is, they
mechanically weaken the medium in which they are realised. Hence relatively