Dr Ian Friel
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drianfriel.bsky.social
Dr Ian Friel
@drianfriel.bsky.social
Independent historian, FSA and FRHistS, specialising in maritime, local and house history, based in UK. Author of five books on maritime history, multiple research papers and house histories. www.ianfriel.co.uk Rep: @donaldwin.bsky.social
Glad to help! The bases probably looked a bit like these wrought-iron (15th cent) Venetian examples, or those from the #MaryRose. The word 'foist' came from the Italian 'fusta' (light galley), which had apparently come into English by 1485.
November 12, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Smallest Elizabethan warship of 1580s was the 29-ton Cygnet (built 1585), it measured 52ft overall & was 12ft wide. Assuming similar proportions, the foist (possibly an oared vessel) would have been maybe 44 x 11 ft. Bases were small, breech-loading guns on swivels, not cannon on wheeled carriages.
November 12, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Yes, but suppose that the person responsible started doing art history programmes:
'We're very excited to have discovered this unknown Rembrandt hidden away in... Oh, sorry, didn't mean to poke my finger through the canvas...'
November 12, 2025 at 4:32 PM
The editing of the Trump piece was a bad & should not have happened. The subsequent 'outrage' from right-wing politicians & media does seems to be part of a campaign to destroy what is, with all its faults, one of the best & most objective news organisations in the world. Once it's gone, it's gone.
November 11, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Reposted by Dr Ian Friel
We might also wonder why the BBC entrusts episodes of its leading current affairs strand to outside producers. But that takes us back to Conservative govmt demands, under the guise of market liberalisation, that they shift spending to independents. The slow death of the BBC was planned long ago…
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November 10, 2025 at 11:05 PM