G A L'L EV, a naval vessel of large size, long and narrow, usually propelled by oars, with occasionally the addition of sails. Most of the ships employed by the ancients may be termed galleys, and ac cording to the number of banks of row ers were biremes when with two banks, triremes when with three, and so on, up to as many as forty, but those with more than four or live banks must be re garded as curiosities. Galleys were in use in the Mediterranean until the close of the eighteenth century, for coast navi gation, the largest of which were about 160 feet long and 30 feet wide, with 52 oars. Among the Venetians there was in use a kind of large galley, with a very lofty poop, called ga,:mzza. The state galley of the Doges was termed Dec KN. TA UR.—The punishment of the galleys i. e. the employment of condemned crim inals in the toilsome employment of row ing them, is said to have originated under the Greek empire ; as well as the name or galley slaves—in French ga hlriens. It was used by all the nations bordering on the Mediterranean. In
France, under the old jurisprudence, the punishment of the galleys was the se verest after that of death. About the end of the reign of Louis XIV., when galleys themselves began to be disused, the galley slaves were employed in hos pitals, public works, &e.: and the name of the punishment was changed by the constituent assembly (1793) to traraux fords, compulsory labor, whence the wordforcal for a criminal so condemned. Under the code of the empire the pun ishment was accompanied with forfeiture of property, infamy, and branding. By an alteration of the law effected in 1832, the brand was abolished ; and the crim inals, who had hitherto been intermingled in the three penal fortresses (Toulon, Rochefort, and Brest,) were classified. Toulon was appropriated to those con demned for 10 years and under ; Brest, to those from 10 to 20 ; Rochefort, to the condemned for life.