This study compares evidence for medieval ships and shipbuilding from archaeological sources with contemporary depictions in manuscripts. Traditionally evidence in illuminated manuscripts has been treated with caution and scepticism when it comes to medieval maritime study, and Joe Flatman attempts to assess more accurately their accuracy. To this end the study includes vast catalogues of both kinds of evidence, and draws detailed conclusions about the reliability of manuscript illustration - whilst individual components are often accurately depicted, rigging is for example for more prone to error than hulls.