Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Hudson
It was the Arabs who developed the lateen sail. Later on, sailors used it in the Mediterranean...
|
Regarding the lateen sail, several authors have suggested in the past that it was introduced to the Mediterranean by the Arabs, possibly having originally appeared in India. However, the discovery of new representations and literary references in recent decades has led scholars to push back the appearance of the lateen sail in the Levant to the late Hellenistic or early Roman periods.
The Portuguese around the 15th century adapted this sail to the famous Portuguese caravel, becoming one of the main characteristics of these vessels. It helped the great navigators in their great expeditions, and Vasco da Gama was one of the first to use it for this purpose.
(Casson 1995, p. 243–245, fig. 180–182. Basch 2001, p. 57–64.Campbell 1995, p. 8–11. Pomey 2006, p. 326–329).
-