15th century culveriners.

A culverin was a simple ancestor of the musket, and later a medieval cannon of relatively long barrel and light construction that fired solid round shot projectiles with a high muzzle velocity, giving a relatively long range and flat trajectory. A musket is a muzzle -loaded Smoothbore Long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural Round shot is an obsolete solid Projectile without explosive charge fired from Small arms or Cannons As the name implies round shot is spherical Round shot refers to the classic solid spherical cannonball. Round shot is an obsolete solid Projectile without explosive charge fired from Small arms or Cannons As the name implies round shot is spherical The culverin was adapted for use by the French in the 15th century, and later adapted for naval use by the English in the late 16th century. The culverin was used to bombard targets from a distance.

Hand culverins

"Hand bombard", or early culverin, 1390-1400. A bombard is a type of Medieval Cannon or mortar, used chiefly in Sieges for throwing heavy stone balls

Hand culverin (middle) with two small cannons, Europe, 15th century.

Early culverins (15th century): a hand culverin (top), and a sabot-loaded culverin (bottom).

The term "culverin" is derived from the Latin, colubrinus, or "of the nature of a snake". It was originally the name of a medieval ancestor of the musket, used in the 15th and 16th centuries. ^[1]

The hand culverin consisted in a simple smoothbore tube, closed at one hand except for a small hole designed to fire the gunpowder. Gunpowder is a an explosive mixture of Sulfur, Charcoal and Potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre/saltpeter that burns rapidly producing volumes The tube was held in place by a wooden piece which could be held under the arm. The tube was loaded with gunpowder and lead bullets. The culverin was fired by inserting a lighted cord into the hole.

"Murderer", 1410 France.

These hand culverins soon evolved into heavier portable culverins, around 40kg in weight, which required a swivel for support and aiming. Such culverines were further equipped with back-loading sabots to facilitate reloading, and were often used on ships.

Field culverins

There were three types of culverin in use, distinguished by their size: the culverin extraordinary, the ordinary, and the least-sized. The culverin extraordinary had a diameter of 5 1/2 inches (13. 97 cm), a length of 32 calibers (13 ft, 3. 9 m), and a weight of 4800 pounds (2177 kg); its load weighed over 12 pounds (5. 4 kg), and it carried a shot with a diameter of 5 1/4 inches and weight of 20 pounds. The ordinary culverin was 12 ft long, carried a ball of 17 pounds 5 ounces, had a caliber of 5 1/2 inches, and weighed 4500 pounds. The culverin of the least size had a diameter of 5 inches, was 12 ft long, weighed 4000, carried a shot 3 1/4 inches in diameter, weighing 14 pounds 9 ounces. ^[2]

Bronze culverins and demi-cannon

There were also smaller versions, including the bastard culverin (4 inches diameter, 7 pound shot) and the demi-culverin or culverin-moyen (4 1/2 inches [11. The Demi-cannon medium sized Cannon, similar to but slightly larger than a Culverin and smaller than a regular 42lb (19kg Cannon developed in the early 43 cm] diamter, 10 pound [4. 5 kg] shot). ^[1]

Overall, the culverin was a significant advantage over the ballista, which was the "light artillery" unit of the previous eras. The ballista ( Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα - ballistra, from - βάλλω ballō, "to throw" plural ballistae Since it fired a ball of iron and relied on gunpowder for propulsion, the heavier ball meant a more stable flight and the gunpowder propulsion meant a faster and farther-ranged weapon. A replica culverin extraordinary has achieved a muzzle velocity of 408 m/s, and a range over 450 m using only mimimal elevation. ^[3]

The culverin was later replaced by the field gun once technology had advanced to the point where cannonballs had become explosive. A field gun is an Artillery piece Originally the term referred to smaller Guns that could accompany a field army on the march and when in combat could be

"Hurrah! the foes are moving. Hark to the mingled din,

Of fife, and steed, and trump, and drum, and roaring culverin. "

Macaulay, Ivry, 31-32

"In this, my countrymen, be rul'd by me:

Have special care that no man sally forth

Till you shall hear a culverin discharg'd

By him that bears the linstock, 199 kindled thus;

Then issue out and come to rescue me,

For happily I shall be in distress,

Or you released of this servitude. "

Marlowe, The Jew of Malta, Act V

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "culverin". The Jew of Malta is a play by Christopher Marlowe, probably written in 1589 or 1590. Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2nd ed. 1989.
2. ^ This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain. Cyclopaedia or A Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences ( folio, 2 vols The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
3. ^ Discovery Channel, Battlefield Detectives, episode "Who Sank the Armada"

External links

• [1] Encyclopedia Britannica
• [2] Specifications and pictures of a French culverin found in the Azores.