Aforesail is one of a few different types ofsail set on theforemostmast (foremast) of asailing vessel:
Sails set forward of themainmast, such asjibs andstaysails, are sometimes referred to as foresails, although "headsails" is a more common term, headsail can also specifically refer to the sail on a forestay that connects directly to the head of the mast.
Foresails set on foremasts betweenmidships andbow were the first type of sail to appear after themainsail which had been the sole standard rig on sailing vessels for millennia, down toclassical antiquity.[3] The earliest foresail, or two-masted ship, has been identified on anEtruscanpyxis fromCaere,Italy, dating to the mid-7th century BC: a warship with a furledmainsail is engaging an enemy vessel, deploying a foresail.[4] A two-mastedmerchant vessel with a sizable foresail rigged on a slightly inclinedforemast is depicted in an Etruscantomb painting from 475 to 450 BC.[5] Anartemon (Greek for foresail) almost the same size as thegalley's mainsail can be found on aCorinthiankrater as early as the late 6th century BC, but apart from thatGreek longships of the 8th–5th century BC are uniformly shown without it.[6]
The foresail became fairly common onRoman war galleys,[6] where it seems to be used rather for steering than as a driver.[3] Its size was reduced and the now strongly raked foremast made it more appear like abowsprit sail.[6] While most of the evidence is iconographic, the existence of foresails can alsoarchaeologically be deduced from slots in foremast-feet located too close to theprow for a mainsail.[7]Artemon, along with mainsail andtopsail, developed into the standard rig of seagoing vessels inimperial times, complemented by amizzen on the largest freighters.[8] Throughoutantiquity, both foresail and mizzen remained secondary in terms of canvas size, but still large enough to require fullrunning rigging.[8] Inlate antiquity, the foremast lost most of its tilt, standing nearly upright on some ships.[8]
By the onset of theEarly Middle Ages, rigging had undergone a fundamental transformation inMediterranean navigation: thelateen which had long evolved on smallerGreco-Roman craft replaced the square rig, the chief sail type of the ancients, which practically disappeared from the record until the 14th century (while it remained dominant in northern Europe).[9][10] Thedromon, the lateen-rigged and oaredbireme of theByzantine navy, almost certainly had two sails, a larger foresail and one midships. The length of its foremast has been estimated at 12 m, somewhat smaller than that of theSicilian war galleys of the time.[11]
Multiple-mastedsailing ships were reintroduced into theMediterranean by theLate Middle Ages. Large vessels were coming more and more into use and the need for additional sails to control these ships adequately grew with the increase in tonnage. Unlike in antiquity, the foresail was adopted on medieval two-masters after the mizzen, evidence for which dates to the mid-14th century. To balance out the sail plan the next obvious step was to add a mast fore of the main-mast, which first appears on aCatalan vessel from 1409. With the three-masted ship established, propelled bysquare rig andlateen, and guided by thepintle-and-gudgeonrudder, all advanced ship design technology necessary for theAge of Discovery's great transoceanic voyages was in place by the early 15th century.[12]