The Great Michael Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Great Michael took tons of timber in the making
All the woods of Fife, bar that of Falkland
Imported wood from Norway
Forests cut from other parts of Scotland,
Wood came from France, as far as the Baltic sea.
An all because King James IV, wanted a Scots Navy

Michael was 73 m long,11 m in beam.
His oak walls were 3.0 m thick.
He displaced 1,000 tons, had four masts,
He carried 24 Flemish guns
Had a crew of 300 sailors,120 gunners,1,000 soldiers
People looked on the giant ship and gasped

Launched in 1511, the largest ship afloat,
Named after the archangel Michael
The child of carpenters, masons and shipwrights
This was a Scottish statement as well as a boat

In 1512 James boarded upon St Andrew's day
Holding an audience with the French ambassador
The Auld Alliance of Scotland and France was agreed

And then the King was killed at the Battle of Flodden
To upkeep Michael, Scotland was hard pressed
His boat was sold to Louis XII of France
The French let Michael slowly rot at Brest