Like the ship itself, the sails also underwent an evolution, although this does not refer to the design of the sail itself but to the so-called sail plan that a ship carried. It was not always a complete plan as it was known in the early 19th century. The first ships of antiquity usually carried one or two masts, each with one or two square sails. Others had a rectangular lateen sail, etc.
The cog, by
H.-J. Draeger
(x)
The first so-called ocean-going ships, such as the cog from the 10th century, also initially carried only one mast and one square sail, which then changed to the holk in the 13th/14th century. She now carried two masts with a square sail and a third with a lateen sail.
Caravels of Christopher Columbus, 1451-1506, by Rafael Monleon y Torres, 1880 (x)
The caravel of the 14th/16th century looked similar. In the Mediterranean, it was more likely to have two or three masts and were rigged with lateen sails (caravela latina). In the North Sea, on the other hand, its plan was similar to that of a ship. it could carry up to four masts and a bowsprit. The foremast was square rigged and now the topsail above it, and all the others were still equipped with a lateen sail, which was then called a caravela redonda. It was also possible to combine the fore and main mast square rigged and the mizzen with a lateen sail. This enabled them to sail even better in the wind, and with them the age of discovery finally began, with men like colombus and Vasco de Gama using these ships.
An english galleon, c. 1580 in : The Story of Sail, by Richard Woodman
In the 16th century, with the advent of the galleon, ships like the Golden Hind were given a different plan. their masts were reduced from four to three, a fore, main and mizzen mast, a bowsprit and the sails to match. the fore and main mast carried a main sail above it, the top sail. The mizzen now carried the mizzen mainsail and the bowsprit its spritsail. Sometimes the mizzen mast was given a small additional mast, the so-called bonaventura, to give the mast more stability.
1620 was a year that saw the introduction of four additional sails. The spritsail topsail which was placed over the spritsail on the bowsprit and the mizzen topsail. The foremast and mainmast now also had top gallants over the topsails.
1637 was the year the Sovereign of the Seas was launched and not only was she the first ship of the line with three full decks, her sail plan expanded becaue of her size. All three masts now had top gallants. The foremast and mainmast even received the so-called royals, but these were not yet frequently used, as the ships had not yet achieved the stability that the later examples did.
