Horse or Footrope

Danish
Dutch
English: horse; footrope
French
German: Peert [1705]
Spanish
Swedish: pert

Etymology

a. A rope streched under a yard, on which sailors stand in handling sails; a foot-rope. b. A rope for a sail to travel on, also called traverse-horse. c. A jack-stay on which a sail is hauled out. d. Applied to various other ropes used to support or to guide. e. A horizontal bar of iron or wood used as a traveller for the sheet-block of a fore-and-aft sail. f. Applied to various other bars used as protections, etc. (see quotations and Smyth Sailor's Word-Book, 1867).

1623: Henry Mainwaring: A breife Abstract, Exposition, and Demonstration, of all Termes, Parts, z Things belonging to a Shippe, and the Practicke of NAVIGATION: a Horse Is a Roape wch is made fast to one of the fore Mast Shrowdes, wth a Dead man Eye at the end of it, through which is reeued the Pendant of ye Sprit Saile Sheates: and is for no other Vse, but to keepe the Sprit Saile Sheates cleere of the Flookes of the Anchor. Also when a Man heaues the Lead out of the Shrowdes there is a Roape made fast to the Shrowdes for him to Lean against, for falling into the Sea; Also they vse a Roape to sett tawght the Shrowdes, wth two Wale knotts, one end made fast to the Shrowdes, to the other the Lanniers are brought, and soe wth a hand speeke turning it, they sett tawght ye Halliards; this is called a Horse: also those litle short Roapes, wch are Seased to ye Midle of the Top Mast, and Top gallant Staye, wth a Block, wherein are reeued the Top Saile, &z. Top gallant Bowlings, are called Horses.
1626: John Smith: Accidence for Young Seamen, p 14: The fore top sayle hallyard … the horse, the main sheats.
1627: John Smith: Seaman's Grammar, v. 21: A Horse is a rope made fast to the fore mast Shrouds, and the Spretsaile sheats, to keepe those sheats cleare of the anchor flookes.
1692: Ibid. xiv. 64: The Horse for the main Topsail yard.; Ibid.: The Main Horse and Tackle.; Ibid. 65: The Horse on the Bowsprit.

History

Footropes or horses first appeared on the main-yard only if we should trust the first printed instances.

1642 Bond: main-yard
1665 Nooms: main-yard
1665 Hohenzollern model: topsail yards
1670 Deane: main-yard
1675 Keltridge: main fore main-topsail, fore-topsail, spritsail yards
1677 Dassié: main-yard, fore-yard
1685 Battine: main, fore, main-topsail, fore-topsail and spritsail yards
1692 "Royal Louis": all yards except crossjack

It is not entirely clear what R.C. Anderson is referring to when in his "The Rigging of Ships in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast 1600-1720" refers to Dutch "models of 1665 and prints of 1678".

References:

Battine, Edward: ms The Method of Building ... Ships of Warr. Manuscript, 1689.
Bond, Henry: The Boatswain's Art. London, 1642.
Dassié: L'Architecture navale. Paris, 1677.
Deane, Anthony: Doctrine of Naval Architecture. Manuscript, 1670.
Keltridge, William: His Book. Manuscript, 1675.
Nooms, Reiner: Verscheyde .... Amsterdam, c1665. At least some of the plates have been dated to c1652-1654.

The model of a Dutch two-decked ship at the Hohenzollern Museum, Monbijou Castle, was destroyed during the Second World War. A half-size copy is in the reserve collection of the NMM.

The model of the French First Rate ship Royal Louis [9 MG 1] is in the Musée de la Marine, Paris.

Updated 1998-06-29 by Lars Bruzelius

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