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Glossary
alliance Joining together with other people, groups or countries to get something done together.
Anne Boleyn Henry VIII’s second wife. Henry removed the pope as head of the church in England and put himself in charge, so that he could divorce his first wife, Katharine of Aragon, and marry Anne. This event turned the pope and Catholic countries, like Spain, against England.
Battle of Gravelines Gravelines is a seaport town in northern France, between Dunkirk and Calais. At this important sea battle, the English fleet scattered the ships of the Spanish Armada in 1588.
biscaner A type of small ship from Biscay, a region in northern Spain.
boxsprite Also known as a bowsprit. This is a large pole running out from the front of a boat, to which the ropes, which support the foremast, are fastened. The sails attached to the foremast drive the ship forwards.
Calais Seaport in northern France. Calais had belonged to England until the reign of Mary I, when the town was recaptured by France in 1558.
Catholic A member of the Christian church based in Rome and led by the pope.
Christendom All Christian countries and people.
Cordoba in Andalucia City in southern Spain.
Duke of Medina Sidonia He commanded the fleet of ships in the Armada. Unfortunately, although he was very good at organising fleets and armies, he did not have very much experience of being an admiral at sea.
Duke (Prince) of Parma The Duke ruled over the Netherlands on behalf of Spain. He was in charge of the main army (30 000 soldiers), which travelled on board the ships of the Armada, to invade England in 1588.
Elizabeth I Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was Queen of England from 1558 to 1603. Her reign is seen as a golden period of English history with great advances in the arts, development of the theatre, discoveries by explorers, the growth of trade and the success of the navy. All this made England an important country and a strong power in Europe. Although there were lots of arguments over religion and dangerous political plots, Elizabeth continued to rule for 45 years.
fireship A ship carrying explosives, set on fire, and sent adrift among enemy ships to destroy them.
Flanders An area of northwest Europe now divided into Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. It was a busy centre for trade. It was ruled over by the Spanish at the time of the Armada.
Francis Drake Famous sailor and admiral of the Elizabethan age. He played an important part in the sea battles against the Armada.
gained the weather gage Positioned the ship so that the wind blew in its sails, which would drive the ship faster. To ‘gain the weather-gage’ of another ship would be to get the better of it.
galleasses Large warship powered by both oars and sails (the largest type of galley).
galleys Large but low ships driven mainly by oars and sails.
gallion Large, long, low-built warship (with one deck) powered by oars and sails.
Galway A county on the west coast of Ireland.
Hawkins A commander in the English navy in Elizabeth I’s reign. He was mainly responsible for building the great Elizabethan navy. He helped design the faster ships that beat the Spanish Armada. He was a relative of Sir Francis Drake.
hulk Large, short, tub-shaped merchant ship.
league Distance of 3 (nautical) miles.
Lisbon The capital of Portugal, its largest city and main seaport. In the 16th century, it was also one of Europe’s main trading centres.
Lizard point On the coast of Cornwall, this is the southwesternmost point of England.
Lord Admiral The Lord High Admiral: the commander-in-chief of the navy and all matters concerning the sea.
Lord Howard Charles Howard, 2nd Baron of Effingham, was a cousin of Elizabeth I. He was the Lord High Admiral of England and was in charge of the English fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada.
Lord Treasurer The Lord Treasurer looked after the money of the king/queen.
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots Mary was the daughter of James V, King of Scotland. Mary grew up at the French court and was married for a short time to a French king, Francis II. When he died, she went back to Scotland. She was very unpopular because she was a Catholic, so the Scottish nobles wanted her son to become king instead of her. She escaped to England where her cousin, Elizabeth I, kept her prisoner for 19 years. Mary became the centre of Catholic plots against the life of Elizabeth. Because she was thought to be dangerous to the English throne, Mary was beheaded at Fotheringay Castle in 1587.
Mary Tudor Mary Tudor was the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon. After her younger brother, King Edward VI died, Mary became the first queen to rule England in her own right from 1553 to 1558. After the introduction of the Protestant faith during her brother's reign, Mary tried to return the country back to the Roman Catholic faith. She married King Philip II of Spain in 1554 to make an alliance with the Spanish empire.
Netherlands A country on the coast of northwest Europe. In Elizabeth’s reign the country rebelled against their Spanish rulers.
North Sea Part of the Atlantic Ocean between Norway and Great Britain.
pataches A Portuguese vessel similar to English ‘pinnaces’, which are small, fast and well-armed ships. The Golden Hind was an example of this type of ship.
Philip II of Spain King of Spain from 1556-1558, when the Spanish Empire was at its most powerful. He was also King of Portugal. Philip married the Catholic English queen, Mary I. He was an important supporter of the pope and Roman-Catholics, but an enemy of Protestant England. He sent the Armada to invade England in 1588.
Plymouth A city in Devon, southwest England. A major port in the 16th century. The English fleet left this port to sail against the Armada.
Portland A rocky island in Dorset, on the coast of the English Channel.
Protestant Member of a branch of the Christian church that separated from the Roman Catholic church during the 16th century Reformation.
Rouen A city in northwest France.
rudder A paddle or oar used for steering a ship/boat.
shot Metal balls for shooting from guns or cannons.
ton A measurement for the amount of cargo a ship can carry. This gives an idea of the size of the ship.
The Groyne This city, now called La Coruna, lies on an inlet of the Atlantic on the northwest coast of Spain. The Armada sailed from here (July 26 1588) after taking refuge in the port from bad storms.
Venetian A very large ship from Venice, used for carrying supplies.
Walsingham Adviser to Queen Elizabeth I. He dealt with all the foreign business and created a network of spies to gather information from other countries.