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A "rutter" is the name of the pilot book or seaman's guide carried by early (i.e., middle ages) navigators. The word "rutter" is likely derived from the French word "routier," meaning "something that finds a way." Italian navigators called the books "portolano." |
Precursors to modern navigation charts, rutters contained written sailing directions between ports and indicated prominent costal landmarks and navigational hazards. The earliest rutters are thought to have appeared at the beginning of the fourteenth century, likely originating in Genoa.
Continually updated and revised, rutters represented the best knowledge at the time about the way to get safely from one place to another and were the navigator's most prized possession.
