SAGITTA - Omiš pirate ship is known as the

"Omiš Arrow"

​The name "Sagitta" derives from Latin and literally means "arrow", a term that aptly describes both the form and the function of the vessel. Historical documents characterize these ships as “as fast and as light as an arrow.”

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The only surviving visual representation of Sagitta is a graffito carved into the wall of the Church of St. Luke near Donji Humac on the island of Brač. This graffito served as the primary visual reference for subsequent research and corroborated written historical descriptions of the vessel. 

According to these sources, Sagitta was a rowing ship with a shallow beam—narrow, lightweight, and exceptionally fast. She was operated by fifteen oarsmen on each side, for a total of thirty, and was equipped with two lateen (Latin) sails. The ship featured a curved stern, a steering paddle mounted on the side of the stern, and, most notably, a bow bridge forming a rostrum.

Sagitta thus represented a highly distinctive type of vessel, fundamentally different from other known Adriatic ship forms of the period.

The ship’s most remarkable characteristic was its method of attack. Sagitta was designed to engage enemies head-on, using the bow to ram and break through the hull of opposing ships with the rostrum. This rostrum was most likely reinforced with iron fittings to increase its impact strength.

After ramming the enemy vessel, pirates would secure the ships together using an anchor-like grappling hook and cross over the bow bridge onto the opposing deck. In this way, naval combat was effectively transformed into close-range, land-style combat.

Documentary evidence supports this interpretation. Agreements with the Republic of Dubrovnik and the Republic of Venice explicitly state that Omiš ships were forbidden from approaching their vessels bow-first and were permitted to approach only with the stern. An approach with the bow was legally considered an act of attack.

To conceal their intentions, Sagitta ships employed a visual illusion created by the curved stern, making it difficult to distinguish the bow from the stern at a distance. Combined with their exceptional speed and the bow bridge, this feature gave Omiš pirates a decisive advantage in maritime engagements.

Sagitta was steered using a lateral steering paddle mounted on the side of the stern, a common technique prior to the introduction of the central stern rudder. All ships of this period used such side-mounted paddles for steering. The centralized rudder would not become widespread until the 13th century.