Perhaps fire arrows like those in the link below were used in the Swedish Loshult cannon, 1340-1360?
I found this forum thread, showing a lot of cool stuff; above all the fire arrows and arrows used in pot-de-fer-cannons, such as described/linked to in these posts:
Die Geschützdarstellungen des Walter de Milemète von 1326/7
Fitting round pegs into square holes?
Cool page about the earliest cannons
The earliest firearms didn’t use granulated powder, but finely ground. Previously, I have posted a link about slow burning powder, where a guy (the same one as in these clips?) argues that a gunner had the time to ignite his powder, take aim and wait for the actual shot.
These movie clips show that principle, which indeed makes it possible – if not probable – that handgunners acted alone, although other evidence suggests they also could have acted in pairs.
A handgonne with a serpentine lock, 1411
The serpentine lock – the earliest known form of trigger – is depicted in Johannes Hartlieb’s Kriegsbuch from 1411. This guy has reproduced a handgonne with this kind of lock.
Here, the same guy is readying and shooting his handgonne:
The distance to the target is not far, and his shooting conditions are perfect, but it is still a reminder of that the handgonnes of the age had at least decent accuracy, which made them usable in combat.
The latest post links to a description of a scabbard for a falchion. This post links to the falchion-owner’s blog post about his weapon. In Swedish.
Some of us have recently returned from a trip in northern Germany, where we visited Bergen am Rügen, Stralsund (including the Nikolaikirche and the Kulturhistorische Museum), Bad Doberan and the Doberaner Münster (including King Albrecht’s resting place) plus Rostock with the museum in Kloster zum Heiligen Kreuz (including effigies of Rostock knights and burghers). It was a good trip with loads of laughs, some beer and good food. It was a good opportunity for some of our members to actually see the king and to get a taste of the wholesome German cuisine!
Good article, plus links, on the early 15th century Feuerwerkbuch.
Another interesting article on the earliest firearms. The author tries to prove that the earliest types of cannons, like the Loshult gun, were used in the siege of Eltz castle in 1331-1333.
I came across this page when surfing: The Milemete Guns. It contains an analysis of the pot-de-fers known from Walter de Milemete’s De Nobilitatibus, Sapientis, et Prudentia Regum. It’s well worth a read if you are into handgonnes like us!
History during the 14th century can be quite confusing, and it’s more or less impossible to write a chronology in common prose. That is why we have made this timeline. Hopefully it will help you out when trying to understand the different schemes, alliances and events that took place during the period.
Click the tiny image to make it (a lot) bigger.
