Q&A: How Genoese galley mercenaries were organized

Were the Genoese at the 1342 Battle of Brest hired only as crews, or did they bring their own galleys?

They were mercenaries who brought and crewed their own galleys.

The Genoese served as mercenaries and brought their own galleys. This made the force more than a pool of hired sailors for somebody else’s ships. The arrangement bundled specialized Mediterranean crews with the vessels and seamanship needed to operate them. It explains how a galley force from Genoa appeared in the 1342 fighting during the Breton War of Succession.