Simply bomb!
The first large-caliber European bombards were assembled from square iron rods forged together, then bound with iron hoops for strength. However, they soon learned to cast them from bronze and make them disassemblable. The illustration on the left shows a bombard that can be disassembled into two parts (indicated by the sockets for the levers), and to the right, a similar one, cast in one piece. Illustration from the "Book of Armament" by Bartholomeus Freisleben. Circa 1502. Bavarian State Library, Munich.
"Then the inhabitants rushed to the fortress walls, but saw not a single bulky weapon, usually used in sieges, in the French camp. After a second, also less-than-accurate volley—the cannonballs struck the wall, causing it to crack—the besieged realized that the noise and cannonballs were coming from long chimneys lying on the hill, with clouds of smoke billowing above them. Horror gripped everyone, and the women rushed to the church, begging God to protect them from this satanic invention.
Thus, in the wars waged by the Western countries, the first cannon shot was fired."
The French She-Wolf by Maurice Druon
Thus, in the wars waged by the Western countries, the first cannon shot was fired."
The French She-Wolf by Maurice Druon
Stories about the old days weapons. First of all, let's point out that by the mid-15th century, not a single battle took place without the use of firearms. And the first time cannons were fired in Europe was during the Battle of Crécy in 1346 (as reported by the historian Froissart, who, admittedly, was eight or nine years old at the time). It's understandable that modern historians want to gain as much knowledge as possible about any historical period preceding our time. But this is not always possible, primarily because we lack the corresponding written sources. Although, in fact, artillery The tools of that time have survived to our era.
One of the first iron artillery pieces, with a barrel forged from iron bars connected by iron hoops. Cyprus, Famagusta. Photo by the author.
However, in the field of military affairs, weapons, and ammunition from the late 15th and early 16th centuries, there is a beautifully illustrated manuscript compiled by Bartholomeus Freisleben (an armaments specialist) in the service of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519). This manuscript was called the "Book of Armaments," and it contains numerous beautiful color illustrations. Maximilian I sought to strengthen his army and therefore ordered Bartholomeus to compile an inventory of everything contained in his arsenals, in order to have an accurate picture of his military might.
What did the first arquebuses of the early 16th century look like, for example? Just look at the page of the "Book of Armament." And who's firing? A landsknecht of Emperor Maximilian I, of course... Illustration from the "Book of Armament" by Bartholomeus Freisleben. Circa 1502. Bavarian State Library, Munich.
The manuscript is exceptionally richly illuminated, which is not surprising, as it was compiled for the emperor, and its design was carried out by the imperial court artist Jörg Kolderer (c. 1465–1540). It is believed to have been created in 1502. It is quite possible that this is a copy of the original, which sometime in the 16th century came into the possession of the free imperial city of Ratisbon (now Regensburg). There, the manuscript, although unfinished, was bound and added to the city library's collection. In 1812, it was transferred from Regensburg to the Bavarian State Library, where it remains today. Needless to say, this is a valuable source and the riches of studying it. We will now explore some of its illustrations, which will allow us to be transported vividly back to that distant era!
By 1502, artillery had already developed sufficiently and eventually began to be divided into siege and field artillery, and the latter, although initially a novelty, showed itself very well in the battles of Formigny and Castillon in 1450, that is, already a hundred years after its first appearance.
The most common weapons of the 15th century were the multi-barreled ribaudequin, a primitive machine gun; the wogleur, a cannon used in field combat and therefore mounted on wheels; and the heavy, fixed bombard. All weapons are from the Museum of Medieval Warfare at Castelnau Castle (in the French commune of Castelnau-la-Chapelle in the Dordogne department).
But siege artillery played a more important role at that time, as its powerful weapons were used to enforce royal order in the country and to crush the walls of feudal castles. It's no surprise that the last time a wheeled siege tower was used in France was in 1356, although missile engines remained in use for somewhat longer, until the middle of the following century. The power of siege artillery during that period is illustrated by the following fact: with the help of artillery, sixty fortified castles were taken in just sixteen months, from 1449 to 1450.
These were enormous barrels of thick bronze, held in place by iron hoops and mounted on wooden carriages without wheels. Each of these monsters required a dozen horses to transport, and two dozen soldiers to set it up, aim it, and load it. Each barrel was placed in a sort of box made of thick wooden beams to protect the crew in case the muzzle ruptured.
This is how Maurice Druon described these guns in his novel “The French She-Wolf” from the “Accursed Kings” series.
A cast bombard with raised patterns and coats of arms on the barrel. Next to it are accessories, including a "trough" for the gunpowder mixture and a "shovel" for loading it into the barrel. Also present is a swab and a coil of rope wick. Illustration from the "Book of Armament" by Bartholomeus Freisleben. Circa 1502. Bavarian State Library, Munich.
Incidentally, the very first treatise on artillery was written in France in 1430 and had the telling title "Book of the Secrets of Artillery and Gunnery." However, the oldest of the manuals was published eighty years before the French edition in German, and was called "Method of Preparing Gunpowder, Loading Cannons, and Firing."
Historians note that the French artillery of the 15th century was probably the most organized and numerous for that time. It was commanded by the Bureau brothers, who were "Commander-in-Chief and Inspector of the Royal Artillery". Moreover, at the same time, the artillery of Mehmed II destroyed the walls of Constantinople in 1453, and along with them, buried the centuries-old Byzantine Empire.
The Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, also considered it "necessary for his honor" to have the most powerful and numerous artillery. And he was right! At the Battle of Brustem in 1467, his light artillery was able to crush the eighteen thousand-strong army of Liège without resorting to cavalry. Interestingly, even then, it was common practice to give large guns their own names. For example, his guns "Shepherd and Shepherdess" and "Four Sisters" were well-known, and we know about them because they were among the spoils of war.
Another collapsible bombard and mortar—a short-barreled weapon that fired high-angle fire. Illustration from Bartholomeus Freisleben's "Book of Armament." Circa 1502. Bavarian State Library, Munich.
How such bombards were fired is well described by the same Maurice Druon:
The bombardiers lit coals in braziers near each bombard, where iron rods were heated until red-hot. They then began loading the bombards through the muzzles: first, they poured gunpowder with wrought iron scoops, then added tow wads, and finally rolled a large stone cannonball, weighing about a hundred pounds, down each barrel. Then they poured a small amount of gunpowder into a recess in the breech of the bombards, connected through a small hole to the charge inside the barrel.
Trunnions—cylindrical axles on gun barrels for vertical aiming—appeared around 1480. Interestingly, this ingeniously simple invention was first mentioned around 1400, but it took a full 80 years for it to become truly widespread. However, much depended on technology. As soon as cannon barrels were cast, trunnions appeared almost immediately. However, this improvement necessitated the abandonment of the practice of breech-loading large cannons, as it became impossible to securely fasten the "chamber" to the rear of cast guns.
The 1502 field gun already had trunnions on its barrel. The gun carriage was single-beam, resembling a tuning fork. Illustration from Bartholomeus Freisleben's "Book of Armament." Circa 1502. Bavarian State Library, Munich.
Moreover, advances in gunpowder production, which now became granular and therefore more powerful, meant that the previously removable breech could no longer withstand the force of a shot. However, cannons still existed whose barrels were secured in a wooden deck with a vertical screw at the rear. The deck was raised (and lowered!) by a rack and pin and secured to the rear of the gun carriage on two arches with holes for the mounting pin.
Soon, the Europeans started casting cannons en masse, but the British lagged behind in this, and in 1475, during the invasion of Edward IV into France, their guns were still loaded with interchangeable chambers from the treasury, and transported them on special carts.
But Charles VIII succeeded "to plunge Italy into horror" The mere sight of his 140 large-caliber guns was enough to impress. His successor, Louis XII, managed to transport 60 heavy cannons and another 500 light guns across the Alps in 1507, manned by 720 gunners.
In Austria, cannon casting developed in Innsbruck, where the industrialists Silos and Endorfer were engaged. In fact, beginning in 1485, under Emperor Maximilian I, they began casting cannons with very rich decoration, images of which, fortunately for us, were included in his "Buch der Arme" (Book of Armament). So, even then, Germany possessed the best artillery of its time.
A cast iron gun with an original cast relief on the barrel surface. Army Museum, Paris. Photo by the author.
True, at first, each craftsman cast a cannon... of his own caliber. Because of this, each cannon, and consequently each cannonball, had to be assigned a unique number! Clearly, someone was bound to find this situation intolerable, and... there was one!
Legend has it that this unusual cannon was crafted in the late 16th century for the wedding of Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg. However, the wedding never took place, and over the years the Duke fell deeply into debt. Toward the end of his life, he became fascinated with alchemy and the search for the Philosopher's Stone, hoping to acquire enough gold to pay off his debts. The decoration on the barrel of this cannon can be viewed in this light. It depicts Frederick himself in the breech alongside the four elements of nature, controlled by alchemists. The dolphin-shaped handles are adorned with embraces of male and female couples. According to legend, this symbolizes the Duke's wedding, but the men's faces do not resemble his portrait. Rather, this decoration should be interpreted as a depiction of an alchemical wedding: the meeting and merging of two complementary opposites. And from their union is born... a snake, which crawls along the cannon's twisted barrel and is usually associated with the Philosopher's Stone. Barrel caliber: 125 mm. Barrel length: 4,19 m. Weight: 2545 kg. Army Museum, Paris. Photo by the author.
It was Emperor Charles V who ordered the caliber of all cannons cast in his kingdom to be fixed within a uniform system of measurements. As a result, in 1535, Spanish foundries in Málaga finally produced the first series of four cannons firing cast-iron balls weighing 40, 24, 6, and 3 livres (a unit of weight derived from the Latin pound). Now such cannons had to be cast throughout the empire, and they were, although it wasn't until the end of the century that the old, "non-caliber" cannons were completely phased out.
At that time, bombard cannonballs weren't cast yet, but rather hewn from stone. The courtyard of Český Krumlov Castle. Photo by the author.
Moreover, giant cannons were now completely abandoned. A cannon with a caliber of 180 mm and a ball weight of 20 kg was now considered heavy, weighing 4250 kg. A large culverin weighed 2800 kg, fired an 8 kg ball, and had a caliber of 120 mm. A medium culverin had a caliber of 60 mm, fired a 1,5 kg ball, and weighed 1200 kg. A mortar had a caliber of 350 mm, a ball weight of 50 kg, and weighed 3000 kg. Incidentally, as early as 1550, gunpowder bombs with a fuse were invented for mortars, exploding upon hitting the ground.
The "Pumhart von Steyr" (Styrian Cannon) is the largest known cast-iron bombard. It weighs approximately 8 tons and is over 2,59 meters long. It was made in the early 15th century and, according to modern calculations, could fire a stone cannonball with a diameter of 800 mm and a weight of 690 kg a distance of approximately 600 meters. To achieve this, it had to be filled with 15 kg of gunpowder and tilted at an angle of 10°. Museum of Military Technology, Vienna
Mortar of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from the island of Rhodes, 1480-1500. It fired granite cannonballs weighing 260 kg. The mortar itself weighed 3325 kg. Army Museum, Paris. Photo by the author.
A cast bronze mortar. These mortars fired not only stone but also cast iron cannonballs and gunpowder bombs, and were used even in the mid-19th century. Principality of Monaco. The square in front of the palace. Photo by the author.
Making a model of a medieval cannon, say, the Pumhart bombard or the Rhodes mortar, won't be difficult, since we'll be making it out of paper and coffee stirrers. But before we start making the barrel, we need to find the cannonballs. Wooden balls of varying diameters, sold in sets at Leonardo stores, are ideal for this purpose.
Having collected at least four cannonballs to pile up neatly next to the gun, we roll a paper tube the same diameter as the cannonballs. The tube shouldn't be too thin, to avoid warping, and not too thick, as that's unnecessary. Next, glue coffee stirrers to the outside of the tube, one after the other, in two staggered rows, using PVA glue. Then, cover the barrel with two more layers of paper, making sure to keep it as even as possible. Insert two cannonballs into the barrel to prevent warping as it dries, and... now we need to wait until our construction is completely dry.
The edges are then sanded, and the barrel itself is covered with 2-3 mm thick strips of paper from quilling kits. Since guns of the time had a composite barrel, and the back was often narrower than the front, an empty plastic lipstick cap was glued to the back, also covered with paper for the purpose. A touch hole was drilled in the very back of the cap.
The finished barrel of a medieval cannon, clearly reminiscent of the "Pumhart von Steyr," before painting. The decorative white plastic detail at the end of the barrel is a piece of plastic fencing from a model railroad fence kit. Such kits are now readily available online. Photo by the author.
The end of the barrel bore is decorated with small cardboard squares of appropriate width, which imitate the iron bars from which bombard barrels were forged at that time.
The barrel is painted a dark metallic color using acrylic paint from Leonardo. Photo by the author.
The gun carriage is very simple. Two "boxes" made of cardboard, covered with strips of veneer. They are connected by "beams" made of four sticks glued together, threaded through their walls.
The finished painted gun carriage. Photo by the author.
The cannonballs for our gun will also need to be painted with acrylic paint to match the limestone color, as they were made of stone at the time. The cannon barrel is glued to the gun carriage. You can stack the cannonballs in a pile (or just shove one down the barrel!), and our medieval bombard is ready. Now, think of a stand for it and make it yourself…
A finished bombard with cannonballs
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