Editing Square rig

{{short description|Generic type of sail and rigging arrangement}}
[[File:square-rigged mainmast.jpg|thumb|Main-mast of a square-rigged [[brig]], with all square sails set except the [[course (sail)|course]]]]

'''Square rig''' is a generic type of [[sail plan|sail and rigging arrangement]] in which a [[sailing ship|sailing vessel]]'s primary driving sails are carried on horizontal [[spar (sailing)|spars]] that are [[perpendicular]] (or [[wikt:square#Adjective|square]]) to the [[median plane]] of the [[keel]] and masts of the vessel. These spars are called {{em|[[yard (sailing)|yards]]}} and their tips, outside the lifts, are called the {{em|[[yardarms]]}}.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary</ref> A ship mainly rigged so is called a '''square-rigger'''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Keegan|first=John |author-link=John Keegan |title=The Price of Admiralty |publisher=Viking |date=1989 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/priceofadmiralty00keeg/page/280 280] |isbn=0-670-81416-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/priceofadmiralty00keeg/page/280}}</ref>

In "[[customs and traditions of the Royal Navy|Jackspeak]]" (Royal Navy slang), it also refers to the [[uniforms of the Royal Navy|dress uniform]] of Junior Ratings.

== History ==
[[File:Humber Keel Ada Dews painted by Reuben Chappell.jpg|thumb|The single-masted, square-rigged [[Humber keel]] performed well to windward.<ref name="Mannering 1997">{{cite book |editor1-last=Mannering |editor1-first=Julian |title=The Chatham directory of inshore craft : traditional working vessels of the British Isles |date=1997 |publisher=Chatham Pub |location=London |isbn=1-86176-029-9}}</ref>{{rp|54}}]]
Single sail square rigs were used by the ancient Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Celts. Later the Scandinavians, the Germanic peoples, and the Slavs adopted the single square-rigged sail, with it becoming one of the defining characteristics of the classic “Viking” ships.<ref>The Viking ship's single square-rigged sail. http://Longshipco.org/sail.html Retrieved 2018-8-20</ref>

==See also==
* [[Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)]]
* [[Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z)]]
* [[Fore-and-aft rig]]

{{commons category|Square-riggers under sail}}
{{commons category|Historical images of square-riggers under sail}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6DZIvMZWzQ Video: How the Square Rig Works]

{{Sailing Vessels and Rigs|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Sailing rigs and rigging]]