The earliest development seems to have been Celtic, though the cog was first noted in the Dutch city of Muiden in the 10th century. The Mediterranean round ships with oars were not useful in the rougher Atlantic waters, while the maneuverable Viking long boats lacked cargo capacity and couldn't use sails against the wind. Attaching a keel, use of a square stern and rudder solved these problems. The result was a fairly small craft built of overlapping planks, with the greatest length being about 10 meters. The Hanseatic League added bow and stern castles for defense against pirates, and used them as warships.

By the 12th century cogs were the dominant trading vessels in northern Europe. The Crusades showed the advantages of these ships and their smaller crews to the Mediterranean peoples. Lacking the long oak timbers available to northern builders, they adopted a frame and plank construction, and were soon building the even larger caravels. With larger ships the use of additional masts was beneficial, so the Brig and the Barque gradually replaced the Cog.

See: Sailing ship.

Other types of sailing vessel

Further reading

• George F. Bass; "A History of Seafaring: Based on Underwater Archaeology"; 1972, Thames and Hudson Ltd., ISBN 0500010773.

External link

• Description and pictures of Cogs