Sinclairs to Venice Dec.1999
Niven Sinclair's trip to Venice Dec. 16, 1999

JARL Henry Voyage to be replicated

I have just returned from Venice where we were received with great warmth by the Venetian Commune, by the Naval College (where the Reception and Press Conference was held and where I gave a Presentation (supported by slides and film) of the Zen voyage to Greenland (1393-1395) and to the New World  (1398).

Laura Zolo to replicate the Zen voyage. 
The occasion of the gathering was to support the intention of Italian yachts-woman Laura Zolo to replicate the Zen voyage.  She will leave Venice on Thursday, January 6th, 2000 in her yacht "The Seven Roses". This day has a religious significance, being the traditional Three Kings Day. 

She will be escorted by the Italian Navy out to the open sea.  Laura had heard about the Nicolo Zen voyage to Orkney in 1390 when she visited Orkney in 1997 during the annual Orkney Science Festival. This was just after The Sinclair Orkney Symposium had been held. Nicolo assisted Jarl Henry St. Clair in bringing the Shetland under control and in 1393 set sail to carry out a survey of Greenland.  He returned in 1395 to Orkney and died shortly afterwards.  His brother, Antonio had joined him by then from Venice and became Henry's Admiral of the fleet.  They set sail in 1398 and landed in Nova Scotia June 2, 1398.  Antonio is known to have returned to Venice in 1404.

Antonio recorded his trip in "The Zeno Narrative".  Later this Narrative was signed by the Venetian State Secretary, Rumusio, which effectively gave it the seal of approval of the Doge and the Council of Ten who governed Venetian affairs.  They would not have willingly, knowingly or deliberately have debased the accurate historical records of the Venetian State by endorsing a forgery.  Venetian records are renowned for their accuracy.  

  Being an Italian, Laura was intrigued with the idea of making a similar voyage and began enlisting support.  She met with an immediate response from the Venetian authorities and from the Italian Naval College which is based in the Arsenale in Venice.  Moral support was also offered by the Prince Henry Sinclair Society in Canada and the United States and from myself.

En route, Laura intends to visit the Mediterranean ports which were used in the great trading days of the Venetians and, later, by the Knights Templar.  She will then go onto the Channel ports before heading North for Orkney and Shetland where, we hope, she will receive further official support from the respective Island Councils.  She will then proceed to the New World via the Faeroes, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

It is a wonderful project by a beautiful lady who has already circumnavigated the World.  She has the experience, the courage and the determination to complete the voyage.  She deserves our unstinted support.

The Zeno voyage can be 'replicated' as Laura Zolo will undoubtedly prove.  However, the craftsmen are no longer available who could replicate the splendors of Venice.  It is a truly unique City in a truly unique setting.  Safe guarding such a treasure is an international responsibility. Ensuring that Laura has the resources to complete her voyage is our responsibility.  The Italians have done their bit. We must do ours. 

Meeting with the Zen Family of Venice

Whilst in Venice we were also graciously received by the Zen family whose present head is, appropriately, Nicolo Zeno. His son is called Carlo Zeno so the tradition in the family lives on.  We were received in the Zen Palace which hinted at something of the former grandeur of this family.  At one time they had 8 Palaces in Venice alone.  The Zen family could have provided Jarl Henry with a whole fleet of ships without counting the cost.  In the 14th Century, even after the scourge of the Black Death, Venice was still producing one ship a day.
    Over 400 ships left the Arsenale carrying troops in support of King Peter of Cyprus's Crusade against Alexandria in 1365. It is thought that Jarl Henry St. Clair, as a young man, participated in this Crusade.  Certainly there are Templar connections with Venice. The Venetian coat-of-arms bears the croix pattee of the Knights Templar. Today, we little appreciate the great influence which Venice exerted in the Mediterranean at that period
Henry's voyage would have been small in compari- son.  And it wasn't that hard to make the trip. People had been using this route for 400 years.  It is known that beaver pelts rolled and wrapped in the manner of the Iroquois had been landed in Bristol, England since the beginning of the 15th century, almost 100 years before England claimed John Cabot  arrived in North America in 1497.

However, the Venetian State needed new trade routes to compensate for the loss of trade with the Levant after their involvement in this Crusade.  The extent of that need is best demonstrated by the decision to send two brothers from one of the State's most distinguished and famous families. (By  brilliant Naval strategy, Carlo Zeno had saved Venice from a Carthaginian attack in 1380).  There can be no doubt that the presence of the Zen brothers with Jarl Henry St. Clair had the full authority of the Doge and Council of Ten which controlled all Venetian affairs. 
This understanding puts a completely different complexion on  the presence of the Zeno brothers in the North.  They were not there at the behest or request of Jarl Henry St. Clair nor were they there as the result of a storm which had (allegedly) blown Nicolo off course.  They were there on the orders of the Venetian Senate and would not (and could not) have been there under any other circumstances.

This was my first visit to Venice and I have to admit that I was overwhelmed with what I saw.  The power of Venice in its hey-day must have been truly awesome.  At different times. she withstood the strength of Rome, the southward march of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and the ambitions of Napoleon.  The beauty of Venice is legendary.  It will be a sad day if the sea (which made Venice great) eventually accomplishes that which the above Empires failed to achieve.  Venice must be preserved.  Man's engineering ingenuity must be used to safeguard  Man's architectural masterpieces. The World would be a much poorer place if we allowed Venice to slide under the waves.  We often talk about the loss of Atlantis.  I hope we will never have to talk about the loss of Venice.

Niven Sinclair-Dec. 1999