Gribshunden
| History | |
|---|---|
 Denmark
|
|
| Name: | Gribshunden, Gribshund, Gripshunden, Gripshund, Griff, Griffen, or Griffone |
| In service: | 1486 |
| Out of service: | 1495 |
| Fate: | Burned down and sank in 1495 |
| Status: | Shipwreck |
| General characteristics | |
| Length: | 35 m (115 ft) |
| Beam: | 7.5 m (25 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Complement: | 150 men |
| Armament: | 11 iron cannons |
Coordinates: 56°8′41.2″N 15°13′15.3″E / 56.144778°N 15.220917°E
Gribshunden or Griffen (English: "Griffin-Hound" or "Griffin"), also known by several variant names including Gribshund, Gripshunden, Gripshund, Griff, and Griffone, was a Danish warship, the flagship of John, King of Denmark (r. 1481–1513).Gribshunden sank in 1495 after catching fire while in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Ronneby in southeastern Sweden; she is one of the best-preserved wrecks from the late medieval period.
The first known mention of the ship is in a letter, dated May 16, 1486, in which John, King of Denmark, wrote "in navi nostra Griffone", Latin for "in our ship Griffon".Gribshunden and its variant names were then subsequently recorded in the Danish fleet's ship lists from 1487 to 1495.
In summer 1495, John set sail for Kalmar, Sweden, to enter into negotiations with Sten Sture the Elder, the Swedish leader who was threatening to break the Swedes away from the Kalmar Union. As the premier ship of the Danish fleet, Gribshunden was a symbol of military power intended to help deter the Swedes from independence.
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Wikipedia