Editing Brigantine

{{Short description|Two-masted sailing vessel}}
{{Distinguish|Brig}}
{{About|the sailing vessel category|the adjective Brigantine|House of Braganza|the city|Brigantine, New Jersey|the kind of medieval armor|Brigandine}}
{{Infobox weapon
|is_vehicle=yes
|type=Sailing rig
|origin=Atlantic maritime nations
| name         = Brigantine
| image        = Brigantine copperEtch.png
| image_size   = 429
| caption      = Brigantine ''Experiment'' of Newburyport, 114 tons, built at Amesbury in 1803
| length       =
| weight       =
| speed        =
| crew         =
}}
A '''brigantine''' is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully [[square-rig]]ged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square [[topsail]] and a [[Gaff rig|gaff sail]] mainsail (behind the mast).<ref name="oktett.net">{{Cite web |url=http://sailing-ships.oktett.net/brigantine.html |title=Brigantine (Archived copy) |year=2000 |first=Fredrik |last= Sandström |access-date=2013-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209121341/http://sailing-ships.oktett.net/brigantine.html |archive-date=2014-02-09 |url-status = dead}}</ref> The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts.

Older usages are looser; in addition to the rigorous definition above (attested from 1695), the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' includes two {{Circa|1525}} definitions: "a small vessel equipped both for sailing and rowing, swifter and more easily manœuvred than larger ships" and "(loosely) various kinds of foreign sailing and rowing vessels, as the [[galleon]], galliot, etc."<ref>{{Cite OED|brigantine|id=23300}}</ref>

Modern American definitions include vessels without any square sail(s) on the main mast.

==Mediterranean brigantines==
In the [[Mediterranean Basin]] during the 13th century, a brigantine referred to a sail- and oar-driven war vessel.<ref name=Haalmeijer2006>{{cite book |last1= Haalmeijer |first1=Hans |title=Aken, tjalken en kraken: zeilschepen van de Lage Landen : de binnenvaart. |trans-title=Barges and others: sailing ships of the Low Countries: inland navigation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szDVygAACAAJ|year=2006|publisher=De Alk |language=nl   |isbn=978-90-6013-274-6}}</ref> It was [[lateen|lateen rigged]] on two masts and had between eight and twelve oars on each side. Its speed, maneuverability, and ease of handling made it a favourite of Mediterranean pirates. Its name is derived from the Italian word ''{{lang|it|[[wikt:brigantino|brigantino]]}}'', which in turn is derived from ''{{lang|it|[[wikt:brigante|brigante]]}}''<ref>{{cite web |language=it |url=http://www.etimo.it/?term=brigantino |title='Brigantino'  |work=Dizionario Etimologico Online |access-date=February 8, 2019}}</ref> "[[brigandage|brigand]]". Other than in names, this vessel has no relation to the later brigantines developed in [[Northern Europe]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

==17th century and onwards==
[[File:Brigantine.png|thumb|sup|A brigantine [[Sail-plan|sail plan]] ]]
By the 17th century, the term was adopted by Atlantic maritime nations. The vessel had no lateen sails, but was instead [[square rig|square-rigged]] on the foremast and had a gaff-rigged mainsail with square rig above it on the mainmast.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Kemp |year=1994 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780192115539 |location=Oxford |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00kemp }}</ref> The mainmast of a brigantine is the aft one.

By the first half of the 18th century, the word had evolved to refer not to a kind of vessel, but rather to a particular type of rigging: two-masted, with her foremast fully square-rigged and her mainmast rigged with both a [[Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft]] mainsail (a [[Gaff rig|gaff sail]]) and square [[topsail]]s and possibly [[Topgallant sail|topgallant]] sails.<ref name="oktett.net"/>

The brigantine was the second-most popular rig for ships built in the British colonies in North America before 1775, after the [[sloop]].<ref name=Gaspee>{{cite web |url=http://www.gaspee.info/history/shipsdescribed/brigentineDescribed.htm|title=Brigentines Described|website=www.gaspee.info|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> The brigantine was swifter and more easily maneuvered than a sloop or schooner,  hence was employed for  piracy, espionage, and reconnoitering, and as an outlying attendant upon large ships for protecting a ship, or for supply or landing purposes in a fleet.

The brigantine could be of various sizes, ranging from 30 to 150 tons burden.<ref name=Gaspee /> The brigantine was generally larger than a [[sloop]] or [[schooner]], but smaller than a [[brig]].<ref name=Haalmeijer2006 />

==Modern terminology==
[[File:HermaphroditeBrig.png|thumb|right|A modern brigantine [[Sail-plan|sail plan]] or "hermaphrodite brig"]]
[[File:SS Columbia Full Sail.jpg|thumb|right|The [[steamship]] ''[[SS Columbia (1880)|Columbia]]'', an example of a late 19th-century auxiliary schooner brig-rigged vessel]]

The definition given above describes the international usage of the term brigantine. In modern American terminology, the term brigantine usually means a vessel with the foremast square rigged and the mainmast [[Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft rigged]], without any square sails. Historically, this rig used was called a "schooner brig" or "hermaphrodite brig".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://universalium.academic.ru/85396/brigantine |title=brigantine |website=Universalium Academic |access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> In Europe, the distinction is typically still made. The training ship [[Zebu (ship)|''Zebu'']], which circumnavigated the Earth as part of Operation Raleigh, is an example of a schooner brig.

== Differences from brig ==
The word brig is an 18th-century shortening of the word brigantine, but to mean a different type of rigging. The gaff-rigged mainsail on a brigantine distinguishes it from the brig, which is principally square-rigged on both masts. In addition to the different sail configuration, the brigantine's mainmast is made from two parts and equal to that of a schooner, a quite long mast and a top mast. The mainmast of a brig is made from three parts and equal to that of a fully rigged ship - a mast, topmast, and topgallant mast. With the advent of modern (metal) pole masts, this last difference typically no longer exists.

==See also==
*[[Snow (ship)]]
*[[Brig (ship)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://www.navegar-es-preciso.com/news/el-bergantin-goleta-jaime-soberano-segundo/ El bergantín goleta "Jaime Soberano segundo"] {{in lang|es}}

{{Sailing Vessels and Rigs}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Brigantines| ]]
[[Category:Sailing rigs and rigging]]
[[Category:Sailing ship types]]
[[Category:Sailing ships]]
[[Category:Ship types]]
[[Category:Pirate ships]]
[[Category:Tall ships]]